I was recently reading a book called “Women on Food,” and one of the essayists included a paragraph or so about the famed NYC restaurant, Mission Chinese Food (fun fact: founder Danny Bowein was raised in my hometown, Oklahoma City). If you know anything about me, you know I’m obsessed with looking at menus, so I quickly hopped on Missions’s website to peruse their offerings.

One of the first dishes that caught my eye was Hot & Sour Dan Dan Soba with white sesame broth and oyster mushrooms. Though I’ve never been to Mission Chinese Food and have certainly never tried this dish, I thought about it for days. Hot & Sour Soup meets spicy Dan Dan Noodles, but with a Japanese soba noodle twist? I was sold.

I made it my mission (pun intended) to recreate the dish. I started with the classic combo of onion, ginger and garlic, then built an umami-rich base with mushrooms like shiitake, maitake, oyster and enoki. Once the mushrooms sweat out all their liquids, I poured in vegetable broth, soy sauce for salt, rice vinegar for a sour note and garlic chili paste for spice. After letting the mixture simmer away, I added the soba noodles, let them cook, and then incorporated two eggs, stirring vigorously.

I intended for the eggs to create ribbons like they do in Hot & Sour soup, but the liquid simply wasn’t hot enough to cook the eggs right away. Instead, the eggs were incorporated into the broth, thickening it up to form a rich, luxurious gravy. My mistake actually ended up being a big win for this dish. Chopped green onions add a needed bit of freshness to help cut through the rich broth.

These Hot & Sour Soba are slurpable, easy to whip up and feel totally decadent. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

8 c. vegetable broth
8 oz. mixed mushrooms (we used shiitake, maitake, oyster & enoki)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 c. unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. garlic chili sauce
2 eggs, whisked (optional)
1 t. sesame oil
9.5 oz. soba noodles
Salt & pepper, to taste
Sesame seeds, to garnish

STEPS

1) Thinly slice the mushrooms. Heat the sesame oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger and yellow onion and sauté for 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes.

2) Add the vegetable broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce and garlic chili sauce to the Dutch oven. Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

3) Increase the heat to medium, add the soba noodles to the pot and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.

4) This next part is optional, but it helps create a fabulous, thick, creamy gravy! Stir the soup in a circular motion, then slowly pour in the whisked eggs (while you stir). Continue to stir until the eggs are fully incorporated. You may notice a few cooked yolks, which is okay.

5) Stir in half the green onions and taste the soup. Add more rice vinegar to make it sourer, and more garlic chili sauce to make it spicier, or add more soy sauce to make it saltier. You do you!

6) Ladle the noodles into bowls and top with more green onions + sesame seeds, if desired.