Couple of minor suggestions, though, for anyone following up:

1. For the chop-chopping, by hand is definitely superior. But you don’t have to skin or bone the sardines. Get the heaviest knife you have, put a passable edge on it, hold it well back on the handle, and with a motion that is all wrist, bounce the knife on the sardines, hitting mostly with the heel end rather than the tip, and letting the weight do the work. A Chinese cleaver or Japanese deba bocho is perfect. But DON’T do this with one of those awful glass cutting boards or you’ll have no edge in seconds.

2. If you want that low-flour light texture but want to simmer them a long time, I suggest whipping an egg white or two medium-stiff and stirring them in. You don’t need to fold much, just stirring will be fine. This is how you make matzoh balls that aren’t like lead.

3. To form them, again, learn from Jewish grandmothers. Keep a little bowl of cold water next to you, dip your hands in it, and form the balls freehand. Dip quickly after each ball. It’s quicker and easier than with a spoon, and you can make them as smooth or rough shaped as you like.

4. I thought it needed a bit more liquid and quite a bit more miso, but I have an unrefined sort of palate. I used Saikyo white miso, and thought it was the right flavor but needed a lot more of it to stand up to the sardines. I did go whole hog on the Kyo-yasai thing, with red carrots and kyu-jo negi and stuff, all of which was just fine but sort of pointless, I suppose.

5. I also thought this would be really best made in a nabe pot and served tableside, though you’d have to keep the heat low to avoid overcooking the miso. When you’ve finished eating all the bits, you can throw in the par-cooked udon.

Okay, I’m off to do this tomorrow. Iwashi — yum!

Marc:

Please, if you don’t already own one, DON’T buy a ceramic knife. Yes, they never need sharpening, because you can’t sharpen them: if you try, you will either chip the knife or cut your stone — not kidding. They do not, however, remain perfectly sharp forever: they hold an edge a long time, certainly, but they do dull.

They are indeed extremely brittle. If you have any tendency to “flick” a knife after cutting, i.e. if you cut something and then push or flick the pieces to the side before the next cut, a ceramic may micro-chip slightly when you do this.

They are also rather dead-feeling, meaning that if you are used to a steel knife and a wooden board, you will find that you get very little feedback from the blade.

They do come very sharp out of the box, I will say that.

Here’s the #1 question. Have you ever dropped a knife (not just to the counter, but into the sink, on the floor, etc.)? Like, EVER? Not on purpose, sure, but have you? Because you don’t want a ceramic if you cannot be 100% certain you won’t drop it: if you drop it, it’s going to break, and that’s that. And, of course, you have a bunch of super-sharp fragments to clean up.

Thanks for stopping by KF. If you try this recipe, I am very interested to see what you create!

P