U is for: Udon Noodle Soup {gluten free, guest post}

For the Noodles:

• 4.5 oz (125 grams) brown rice flour (use regular rice flour if you want the more traditional white noodle look)
• 1 3/4 cup (400 ml) water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus additional for water and for tossing with noodles
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional for water
• 4.5 ounces (125 grams) tapioca flour
• additional water for boiling

For the Soup:

• 4-5 cups chicken broth
• 2 eggs
• Gluten-free homemade pre-cooked udon noodles
• 4-5 bok choy leaves, sliced into ribbons
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 10-12 poached shrimp
• 3-4 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid Amino (or soy sauce, tamari, etc.)
• 1 clove minced garlic

For the noodles:

1. Boil about 2 cups of water in a 4-quart pot. In a double boiler or a bowl or pot that fits into the 4-quart pot, mix the rice flour with1 3/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
2. Once mixed together, place the double boiler (or bowl or pot) onto the pot with the boiling water. Stir for about 3 minutes until mixture has thickened.
3. Remove from heat and fill the pot with boiling water about 3/4 full. (You will use this for cooking the noodles). Salt and add a bit of oil to the water, let it return to a boil.
4. Stir in tapioca flour a little at a time to the thickened rice flour mixture. (Slowly! tapioca flour is very fine and can get everywhere if you stir to aggressively.)
5. Take a plastic bag and poke small holes in to the bottom. Load all of the “sticky” pasta dough into the plastic bag. Once the water has returned to a rapid boil… hold the plastic bag over the pot and SQUEEZE! The “noodles” will drop into the boiling water.
6. When the noodles rise to the top, use a strainer to left them out and immediately submerge in cold water. Once they have cooled, rinse them in a colander and toss with a little more sesame oil so that they don’t stick together.
7. Use in whatever recipe you choose! (See below for soup idea).

For the soup:

1. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. (The broth should be about 2 inches deep in the pan.) Add the garlic and onions and let simmer.
2. Crack the eggs into separate measuring cups and slip them one at a time into the broth. Cook for two minutes. Add the noodles and bok choy, mushrooms and shrimp and stir very gently so as not to break the eggs.
3. Cook for an additional two minutes, until the egg whites are completely set but the middles are still loose. (Cook for an additional minute if you like your yolks set.)
4. Off the heat, gently stir in the Bragg’s. Taste and add more Bragg’s if necessary. Divide the soup between two bowls and eat immediately.