Inspired by Shojin Ryori, a type of food served in Japanese temples – this delicious vegetarian patty goes superbly well with soba noodles in a kombu and tsuyu sauce.  

Method (serves 2)

Dashi Stock
• Wipe the Kombu with a cloth. The Kombu shouldn’t be washed, only wiped clean.
• Rinse the Shiitake mushrooms. Put 1 litre of water in a pan and soak the Kombu and mushrooms for at least 30 minutes. Don’t drain or throw away the liquid, this will become the dashi stock.
• Squeeze out the mushrooms that have been soaking. Remove them from the water. Set them to one side. Leave the kombu in the water.
• Heat the water up on a medium heat. As the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and take out the Kombu.
Tsuyu Sauce
• Put the soy sauce, mirin and dashi into a pan and bring to a boil.
• When it starts boiling, remove from the heat.
• Pour the sauce into a sauce plate
• Grate the daikon and set to one side.
Tofu Patties
• Soak the hijiki in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.
• Wrap the tofu in kitchen paper and gently squeeze to remove the excess water.
• Do the same for the shiitake mushrooms reserved from making the dashi. Slice them thinly.
• Strain the soaked hijiki, ready for use.
• Chop the carrots into small matchstick size pieces.
• Add the carrots, hijiki, mushrooms and edamame together in a bowl.
• To this mixture, add a beaten egg, flour, miso, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seeds. Mix together by hand to bind the ingredients together.
• Form the combined mixture into small patties. This recipe will make around 8.
• Heat up the oil in a deep frying pan and shallow fry the patties for 3 minutes each, or until golden brown. Remove once ready to a plate with a paper towel.
Soba Noodles
• Bring a big pot of water to the boil. Add in the soba noodles, cook for 4-5 minutes
• When ready, drain the water and rinse them under cold water to stop them from cooking further. Leave them to one side in the colander.
Plating and Serving
• Place the noodles into a serving bowl. Top with a heaped tablespoon of the grated Daikon from the Tsuyu sauce and 3-4 Ganmodoki patties.
• Then pour over the Tsuyu sauce first, using around 2-3 tablespoons per bowl. Top up the bowl with a portion of the stock, to make a light soup.
• Serve with Japanese seven spice powder, chopped chives and toasted sesame seeds.