Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup
This delicious Korean-inspired soup is made with store-bought fish stock, mixed sautéed vegetables, chewy Udon noodles, and fresh mussels, clams, and shrimp. Even though this version not as spicy as traditional Jjamppong, there's still plenty of zing in the broth for mild spice lovers.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 10 oz uncooked Udon noodles
- 1 tbsp chili pepper flakes*
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 large carrots, sliced into thin 2-inch strips
- 3-4 baby boy choy, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 large zucchini, sliced into thin 2-inch strips
- 7 oz shiitake mushrooms (stems removed), sliced into thin strips
- 3 quarts fish stock (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 dozen raw mussels, cleaned
- 1 dozen raw littleneck clams, cleaned
- 12 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
- salt, to taste (optional)
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook Udon noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and shake to remove excess water. Drizzle and toss with toasted sesame oil to keep noodles from sticking together. Set cooked noodles aside.
- Place the raw mussels in a bowl of heavily salted cold water. Let mussels sit there and discard any sand. Right before cooking, drain and rinse mussels in cold water to remove discarded sand and excess salt.
- Place the raw clams in a bowl of heavily salted cold water. Let clams sit there and discard any sand. Right before cooking, drain and rinse clams in cold water to remove discarded sand and excess salt.
- Stir together the chili flakes and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Grate ginger and set aside.
- Slice onion, green onion, and carrots. Set aside.
- Slice mushrooms and zucchini. Set aside.
- Chop bok choy. Set aside.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven.
- Stir the sliced onions, green onions, and carrots into the oil. Sauté until veggies are softened, stirring regularly, about 10 minutes.
- Stir the mushrooms, zucchini, grated ginger, and soy sauce into the pot. Cook until mushrooms and zucchini have started to soften, stirring regularly, about 5 minutes.
- Make a well in the center of the veggies and scrape the pepper flake-oil mixture into the pot. Stir the mixture for about a minute to toast the pepper flakes, then stir into the veggies.
- Pour the fish broth and rice wine vinegar into the pot. Bring mixture to a boil.
- Add the clams, mussels, shrimp, and bok choy to the pot, stirring lightly so seafood is covered with broth.
- Cover the Dutch oven and reduce heat to medium-low. Let soup simmer 5-7 minutes, or until clams and mussels have popped open** and shrimp is cooked through.
- Taste the soup and add additional grated ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, or salt*** to your taste.
- To serve, scoop some cooked noodles into a large soup bowl and ladle over the broth, veggies, and seafood. Serve immediately.
Notes
*1 tbsp of flakes was more than enough spice for me! If you really love spice, though, feel free to add more. Traditional Spice Seafood Soup calls for 3-5 tbsp of chili pepper flakes.
**Discard any mussels and clams that do not open or only open a tiny bit; they are dead and should not be consumed.
*** The seafood may add additional levels of salt to the soup. Definitely taste the finished broth before you add salt, fish sauce, or other condiments.