Red Miso Udon with Onsen Tomago

Directions

1. cover the dried shiitakes with the cup of boiling water and set aside to soak for at least 20 minutes.
2. get all of of your soup garnish ingredients prepared and set aside so that you can assemble the soup at the last minute right in the bowl.
3. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and add the shiitakes to the water so you can let them cook while you blanch the bok choy and the udon. Reserve the mushroom soaking liquid.
4. submerge both halves of the bok choy in the boiling water and blanch for one minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Be careful to leave the mushrooms in the water and keep the water boiling. Have your sliced scallion, poached eggs and sliced pork handy.
5. In a smaller pot, bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the dashi granules, the wakame and 1/2 cup of strained mushroom soaking liquid and simmer for a few minutes to make your dashi broth.
6. Put the miso paste in a small bowl and ladle about 1/2 cup of hot dashi into the bowl and whisk until the miso is dissolved.
7. Take the dashi pot off of the heat and add in the miso, giving a good whisk and then set aside with a lid on the pot. Don't boil it again after adding the miso.
8. Cook the udon noodles for three in the same pot of water that you boiled the bok choy in (you have kept it simmering this whole time).
9. While the noodles cook, put out your soup bowls
10. Fish the shitakes out of the pot before you drain your noodles and set the mushooms aside.
11. DIvide the udon among the two bowls. Slice your mushrooms and arrange on the noodles, lay out the pork slices and snuggle in the bok choy. Lay the poached egg on the top and then, after giving one last stir, ladle the miso soup over the whole thing until you have just covered the noodles.
12. Sprinkle the chopped scallion and furikake (if using) over each bowl.