Spicy Meatball Udon Soup

This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.

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Serves: 4

Ingredients

Noodles
4 serving udon noodles, cooked according to packet instructions
½ cup of dried kibbled shiitake
4 long hot Cayenne chiles, sliced
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 litre of good stock (you can use beef, chicken or pork)
1 cup boiling water
¼ cup crispy fried garlic
½ cup crispy fried shallots
2 thumb sized ginger, thinly sliced
4 stalks spring onions, chopped
1 stalk of lemon grass, bruised
1 large bunch of bok choy, blanched
salt
freshly ground black pepper
ground white pepper

Meatballs
350 g/12 oz pork mince (ground pork), 25% fat
350 g/12 oz beef mince (ground beef)
1 tbsp flour
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, seeded and minced
1 serrano, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
salt
ground white pepper

Instructions
In a mug combine kibbled shiitake and boiling water, set it aside for 30 minutes and let it rehydrate.
Prepare your meatballs, combine all meatball ingredients together, mix well and form into meatballs. In the pot that you will be using for your soup add oil and pan fry meatballs until brown on all sides. Remove the meatballs and remove any excess oil.

In the same pot gently fry the chiles, then pour your stock, the rehydrated mushrooms together with the liquid, crispy fried garlic, crispy fried shallots, ginger and lemon grass. Bring this to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes in low heat.

Add the meatballs and simmer for 15 more minutes, season with ground white pepper and salt. Turn heat off.

Prepare your serving bowls, and place your noodles and blanched bok choy. Pour some of the hot soup into the bowl together with some meatballs. Add some sliced spring onions and sliced chiles on top then serve.

Slightly adapted from a recipe from angsarap.com