Rich Miso Udon — Driven by Three Misos and Dried Shiitake

Rinse the dried shiitake quickly, place gill-side down in water, weight with a plate, and rehydrate in the fridge overnight. Reserve the soaking liquid; lightly squeeze the rehydrated shiitake.

Dice the beef tallow into 5mm cubes.

Finely chop the beef pieces (or use ground beef).

Mince the rehydrated shiitake — the finer, the better the sauce will cling.

Mince the burdock, ginger, and banno-negi separately.

In a bowl, lightly stir together red miso, Shinshu miso, white miso, mirin, white sugar, and sake. Add the shiitake soaking liquid and mix well — this is your miso blend.

Add the diced tallow to a frying pan; once it starts to smoke, lower the heat and slowly render until golden, melting out the fat. Strain the rendered fat into a bowl.

In the same pan with a small amount of the rendered fat, fry the beef pieces over low heat until loose and crispy. Lift them out and drain.

Return the rendered fat to the pan and stir-fry the minced shiitake over medium heat until the oil and the shiitake aromas come together and the moisture cooks off.

Add the burdock and ginger and stir-fry.

Take the pan off the heat and add the miso blend from step 6. Return to the heat: bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens to a curry-udon-like consistency.

Boil the frozen udon in plenty of water and serve in a bowl with some of the cooking water.

Place the warm sauce in a separate bowl and top with the crispy beef and minced banno-negi.

Dip the udon in the sauce and enjoy.