KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — What better way to celebrate the first month of 2024 than having some New Year’s noodles?

With their long, seemingly endless strands, noodles have been traditionally linked to longevity. Certainly a wish of wellness and good fortune we’d want to partake of and to share with those we love.

The sort of noodles, however, is entirely up to us. Every family has their own taste and some of us prefer livening things up every year with a fresh approach.

May I suggest a bowl of soba noodles in piping hot soup? Topped with perfectly-fried prawn tempura — there’s nothing better, particularly on rainy weekend mornings.

The noisy slurping (you’re at home, so do as you will), the crispy batter melting tenderly into the hot broth, the slippery strands of soba hinting at paths full of promise and many adventures to come.

What better way to savour a brand new year?

NEW YEAR’S SOBA WITH TEMPURA

For convenience, use dried soba (buckwheat) noodles — perhaps a recipe for freshly made soba another time? — so stock up your pantry. Cooking the noodles is pretty straightforward; just remember that a quick soak in an ice bath prevents the soba from cooking further.

Rather than making dashi from scratch, for instance, you can easily make umami-rich Japanese broth from powdered granules these days. Just add water to the dashi powder to make instant dashi.

Also, instead of plain dashi, here I have included ikan bilis too. This gives the dashi broth a more local flavour note – there’s nothing like the Malaysian umami of dried anchovies.

For the tempura, the batter is traditionally made of only three ingredients: flour, eggs and cold water. That last one — really cold water — is very important.

In fact, I’d go as far as insisting that whisking the tempura batter with ice cubes helps ensure it stays cold for longer. This big difference in temperature — the oil ought to be really hot — creates a light, airy and crispy tempura batter.

There you have it: oodles of noodles to ring in the New Year! Slurp, savour and stay healthy, everyone.

Ingredients

• 1.5 litres water (for broth)
• 50g dried ikan bilis (dried anchovies), soaked for 10 minutes then drained
• 1 sachet of dry dashi powder
• 1 tablespoon of dried wakame seaweed
• 100g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 whole egg
• 250ml cold water (for batter)
• 2 ice cubes
• 6-8 prawns, tails intact
• Neutral cooking oil
• 1.5 litres water (for boiling soba)
• 200g dried soba noodles
• A bowl of iced water
• Sliced green onion (optional)

Method

Add the water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the spent ikan bilis. Add a sachet of dry dashi powder and stir until well combined.

Now add the dried wakame seaweed; this will expand in the hot broth. Cover the pot with a lid and set aside.

Mix the flour, baking soda and cornstarch together. Sift the mixed flours and set aside.

Beat the egg in a large mixing bowl. Add the cold water and ice cubes. Continue whisking.

Once the egg and water are well combined, add the mixed flours, about a third at a time, ensuring that the mixture is smooth before adding more.

Next heat the oil up to 180°C in a large wok. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, just drop a bit of the tempura batter into the oil. If the tempura batter sinks half way before floating to the surface of the wok, then it is the right temperature for frying.

Dip each prawn into the bowl of tempura batter bowl one at a time, before placing into the oil. Make sure to flip the prawns to ensure both sides are cooked evenly.

Drain each piece of prawn tempura over the wok before placing on some kitchen towels to drain further. Allow to cool so the batter will crisp up.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water has come to a rolling boil, add the dried soba noodles, making sure to stir continuously.

Cook for about 4 minutes (or according to the instructions on the package). Strain the soba immediately. Transfer the noodles to a bowl of iced water to chill and firm for about 2 minutes before straining again.

Transfer the soba into individual serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth into each bowl, enough to cover the noodles. Add 1-2 prawn tempura prawn to each bowl and garnish with sliced green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.

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