Kimchi Noodle Soup

After last night's kimchi stew, I had to make something similar. After the mall we went to the Asian store to pick some up, along with some other items. What resulted is this soup with zero meat, so M can finish it up after I head back home.

Kimchi Noodle Soup

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium bitter melon, thinly sliced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tsp. minced ginger
1 package firm tofu, cubed
1 head kimchi, chopped**
soy sauce
sesame oil
1 package rice noodles

Heat a pot to medium heat and add sesame oil. Cook the onion and garlic until they soften and start to brown. Add the ginger and bitter melon, cook for five minutes or until the bitter melon becomes tender. Add the chopped kimchi and enough water to cover. Cover and cook on high until boiling. Add more water if necessary. You can add beef/chicken/pork stock instead of water.

While the soup is cooking, soak the rice noodles in cool water. You can use half the package, or the whole package. I like tons of noodles so I used the whole package. Let it soak for at least five minutes. If you want to stretch the noodles out more, use kitchen shears and snip them down the middle.

Taste the soup at this time and season accordingly. I think it would have been better with a meaty stock... or even vegetable stock, but M doesn't have that kind of stuff in his kitchen. I ended up just using soy sauce, which worked out perfectly fine. Add the tofu and noodles, stir, and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, you can turn it off and let it sit, so the noodles can absorb all that wonderful kimchi goodness.

**Note: Of course in hindsight I think of chopping up the cabbage. In cooking it I just dumped it into the pot right out of the bag. It didn't occur to me until I tried to pry the leaves that cutting it ahead of time would make a lot more sense. Doh!