1. Cut the kernels off the corn. Place each corncob in the middle of a big cutting board. You can hold each piece upright or on its side. Using a sturdy chef's knife, cut downward or across to remove strips of kernels, rotating the cob as needed until you've worked all the way around the cob. Reserve the kernels.
2. Place the stripped ears in a saucepan with the onion, garlic, ginger, and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the kombu and remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain the broth and discard the solids, wipe out the saucepan, and then return the strained broth to the saucepan. Add the salt and taste, adding additional salt if needed. Let stand, covered, over low heat until ready to serve.
3. Bring another saucepan of salted water to boil. Add the noodles in a strainer basket or the pasta insert that comes with your stockpot, if you have one, and cook until tender, usually 4 to 7 minutes for dried (or according to the package instructions), or 60 to 90 seconds for fresh. Lift out the noodles, reserving the cooking water, and thoroughly rinse the noodles under cold running water in order to remove excess starch. Quickly dunk them back into the hot water to reheat. Divide among four bowls.
4. Divide the tomatoes, reserved corn kernels, and eggs, if serving, over the noodles in each bowl. Cover each serving with the hot broth and scatter the basil and scallions on top. Serve immediately, passing the condiments at the table.

Image Source: Text excerpted from Bowl [6]© 2016 by Lukas Volger. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.