Japanify: Ponzu-Dashi Udon

Last Friday, Kayoko hosted a girl's night at her house. While our other halves sulked around the house or went away for the weekend into the mountains, us girls gorged ourselves on beef, pork and chicken balls. It was also my birthday, so my sister surprised me with my first Baked Alaska. Cocktails, beef, ice cream cake -- a girl could not ask for more! Sitting on the table for shabu shabu dipping condiments was a ponzu that Kayoko recently got from a Hokkaido fair in San Jose, and a bottle of gomadare. I could not get enough of the ponzu that night. So this week, I've been obsessing over the ponzu in my fridge. For a quick lunch, I've been satiating my ponzu cravings with this udon recipe. I was lucky enough to find some fresh Hawaiian kelp at my grocery store, which I used for garnish. INGREDIENTS 1 serving udon 2 cups dashi 1 tbsp ponzu 1 tbsp of kelp, wakame or nori Lemon or yuzu peel for garnish METHOD 1. Boil udon noodles according to the package. 2. Meanwhile, heat up the dashi in a pot. 3. After boiling the noodles, rinse with water and raise on a colander for a couple minutes to strain out excess water. 4. Put hot dashi in a bowl, add the ponzu. Mix briefly with a pair of chopsticks or spoon. 5. Pile udon into the bowl and top with kelp or nori. Garnish with citrus (lemon or yuzu) peel. Add citrus zest to add a refreshing, dynamic burst of flavor to your dishes. I've found that udon and citrus is a great remedy for that "I-think-I'm-getting-sick" feeling that we will all be vulnerable to as winter approaches. Slurrrp!