Heat vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute. Throw in the onions and kimchi and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until onions have softened. Add the mirin and cook for 1 minute until the alcohol has evaporated. I used dry sherry as that’s what I had at hand. Now add the stock, miso, tofu, and kimchi juice. Bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, prepare your udon noodles. Mine were the frozen kind so they just needed to be refreshed in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and drained. It’s actually more traditional to have this soup with rice so boil some up if that’s more your thing.

When the soup is done simmering, taste to adjust seasonings and add more heat if it’s not spicy enough for you. Finally, throw in the defrosted prawns (better with the shell-on to add more flavor to the soup – but you can de-shell too) and simmer for 3 more minutes. Remove pot from heat.

Place the udon or rice in bowls and ladle in the soup, sprinkle some green onions on top and enjoy!