This is an update to a recipe I posted earlier, but with dashi (broth) made from scratch in order to reduce our MSG intake.

This dish has become our go-to easy lunch on the weekends, when we’re running around the house doing chores. Most of the “cooking” involves letting things soak or simmer, so with some agile timer-setting you can make this dish with minimal effort.

You’ll Need:
2 stalks konbu seaweed
2 handfuls bonito flakes
4 cups water
1 cup assorted frozen fishcake (be sure to get the ones without wheat)
10 frozen fish balls (same thing, no wheat)
1/2 cup wakame seaweed
2 handfuls rice noodles
1 tsp tamari

(the links above are for reference only; I suggest buying these products for a much lower price at your local asian market)

Add the konbu and water to a pot and soak for 30 minutes. Bring the water to a boil, add the bonito flakes, and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, soak the rice noodles in warm water for 30 minutes.

Pour the dashi to a strainer, pressing the konbu and bonito down to extract more flavor. Add the fishcake to the strained dashi and return it to the stovetop on medium heat. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes, until all of the fishcake is floating on top. Add the wakame seaweed at the last couple of minutes of simmering.

Remove the noodles from the warm water and place them in two separate bowls. With tongs, pull out all the fishcake and put them on top of the noodles. Add the tamari to the broth, stir it in, and ladel the broth and wakame seaweed over the noodles.

Alternately, you can make this dish without the fishcake, for a light and super-easy weekend lunch.