My kids are really into the movie Ponyo lately. Ponyo is this animated film that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, “The Little Mermaid”, and set in Japan. In the film, the children eat a noodle soup that always makes me hungry. So, I decided to make an Americanized version of the Japanese noodle soup in the film.
I made a broth out of store bought chicken stock doctored with a bit of soy sauce and mirin. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content. I cut up some carrots and snap peas and cooked them briefly in the broth. When they were cooked but still crisp, I added udon noodles and roasted chicken.
Insert children’s chopsticks and eat! You can use different noodles, veggies, and any leftover meat. I added some chili garlic sauce to my soup for a bit of spice. This is grandma’s chicken soup after it has taken a trip to Tokyo.
Ponyo Soup
4-6 cups store bought or homemade chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
udon noodles
3 handfuls of baby carrots, chopped
2 handfuls of snap peas, slice lengthwise
1. Warm broth in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Add carrots and snap peas and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add noodles and cook according to instructions on package. Add roasted chicken. Taste broth and adjust seasoning to taste.
edamamemonster 
It’s amazing how many soup recipes this film inspired–here’s mine! http://wp.me/p1hboa-aa
I know! The soup in that movie looks so good that it creates a great opportunity to get kids to try a similar soup (if they aren’t already familiar with a Japanese-style soup). Thanks for the comment and the recipe. I will definitely try it out!