Mushroom noodle soup

Serves 4, vegan
This is a very substantial soup and could be served as a main meal, a quick lunch or a light supper. Use whatever mushrooms are available - wild mushrooms would be great. I have used the pre cooked udon noodles but you can add your favourite noodles.
Ingredients little sesame oil 300g (1 cup) fresh shitake and or button mushrooms 800ml (3 cups) dashi 60ml (4 tbsp) Sake 60ml (4 tbsp) mirin 80ml (6 tbsp) soy sauce 4 200g packs ready cooked udon noodles	Slice the mushrooms. Heat a little sesame oil in a medium sized saucepan and add the mushrooms. Saute them until they are soft and starting to brown. Add the dashi, sake, mirin and soy sauce and simmer lightly for about ten minutes to allow the mushroom flavour to infuse into the stock. Place a pack of cooked noodles into each bowl and pour over the hot soup. Serve immediately.

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Miso is a salty paste made from the fermentation of soy beans, rice or barley. there are two main types white miso and red miso. The white miso tends to be much sweeter and is the one I prefer but don't worry if you don't know which one to choose (there are many varieties) all types will work fine in the recipes in this book.
Sake is a Japanese rice wine. The quality can vary enormously but for cooking purposes I would buy quite a cheap one to start with. If you like to drink it buy a big bottle.
Mirin is a sweetened sake with a similar taste to a sweet sherry. It is used a lot in Japanese cooking and used in many recipes in this book so it is worth seeking out a bottle. Lots of supermarkets now stock mirin and you will more than likely find it in your local Asian grocer. It can be quite expensive but no more than a good sherry.