Could you tell me why “Yaki Udon” is so popular worldwide?
We like Yakiudon but I didn’t know that is a cool Japanese food until moving to the US.
I met a Uber driver the other day who is a big fan of Japanese culture and ask him which Japanese food he wants to try the most when visiting Japan, his answer was shocked me.
“Yaki Udon Noodles.”
To me, Yaki Udon is a typical weekend lunch at home as well as Yakisoba noodles and Instant ramen noodles.
Besides, The best Yakiudon noodles are actually the ready-cook “SUGAKIYA YAKIUDON”.
(If you visit the central region in Japan and stay where you can cook, find it in the grocery store. )
As I am looking at this cool Japanese food according to Japanese food connoisseurs, I am feeling like to make Yaki Udon at home!
So today, I am going to introduce the basic Authentic Japanese recipe and my unique Udon noodle stir fry which is used Miso sauce.
If you are looking for a brand new taste for Yakiudon, try my recipe!
Ingredients
Udon Noodles
Generally, chewy thick Udon noodles are preferred for Yaki Udon. I don’t know how easy to get Udon noodles for you. Normally, you can get frozen thick Udon noodles at the oriental grocery store.
It is an idea to buy an Udon noodle kit at the Asian food section in a regular grocery store and use pouched fresh Udon noodles in it.
If you can get frozen or fresh thick Udon noodles, you are fine.
So I use dried Udon noodles that you can get easily at a popular grocery store such as Walmart, Giant Eagle, ALDI, Sainsbury, M&S, Tesco.
Frozen and Fresh Udon Noodles
Thaw frozen Udon noodles in a microwave for a few minutes rather than boiling them. Also, it doesn’t need thaw completely.
After stir-frying the ingredients, add frozen udon noodles and steam one side of the frozen udon noodles. When the frozen udon is loosened, turn it over and steam the other side, and combined it well with the ingredients. In this way, it will keep a chewy texture without over-cooked.
When using a fresh Udon, (pouched Udon noodles,) it can be cooked together in the pan so you don’t need special preparation.
Dried Udon Noodles
According to Yaki Udon history, dried Udon noodles have been used for an original Yaki Udon. It’s good news, isn’t it?
By using dried noodles, the toasty sauce flavors noodles without making noodles soggy.
Cook dried Udon noodles until they become in “al dente”.
After cooked, drain and rinse them with cold water until the slimy feeling is away. It is not necessary to apply oil to the noodles because they will be loosened when steaming.
Vegetables
Green cabbage, beans sprout, carrots, and onions are commonly used for Yaki Udon in Japan. It just because of the regular stock vegetables for the Japanese, so there are no certain rules.
It is difficult to get fresh thick bean sprouts for me where I live, so I don’t (can’t) use it.
Whatever you like, just throw in!
But the vegetable that has much juice will make noodles too soggy.
Choose the vegetables with a crispy texture that makes a good harmony with noodles.
Protein
In Japan, we generally add protein for Yaki Udon. Thinly sliced pork belly is often used, but you can use other meat of course includes seafood, processed meat such as bacon, hams, and Vienna sausage.
About The Sauce For Yaki Udon
Roughly speaking, there are two types of sauces for Yaki Udon in Japan.
- Japanese Worcester sauce-base
- Soy sauce-base
There are a variety of recipes for the sauce ingredients, and there is no certain rule for Yaki Udon.
For example, my mother and I like soy sauce-base, but my father likes Japanese Worcester sauce-based.
Japanese Worcester sauce is sweet, fruity, and tasty itself so it is very much different from the original Worcestershire sauce. In Japan, you will meet many Japanese foods that used Japanese Worcester sauce such as Yakisoba, Yakiudon, Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, and as the dipping sauce for deep-fried foods.
But today, I am going to make a unique Yaki Udon with sweet-Miso sauce.
Also, many Japanese people use “Men Tsuyu” (めんつゆ), it is the instant Japanese sauce base for anything such as Japanese Pot-au-feu, stir fry, and dipping sauce for noodles.
“Men Tsuyu” is already combined with “Dashi” soup and sweetness, so you don’t need to add “Dashi” and also Mirin.
When using “Men Tsuyu” for Yaki Udon, make a sauce with
1.5 tbsp of Mentsuyu + 1 tbsp Soysauce (or 2 tbsp Japanese Worcester Sauce) + 1 tbsp Sake (or white wine)
For 2 servings.
Note: Adjust the amount of soy sauce depends on the Mentsuyu taste that you use.
The Basic Authentic Yaki Udon Recipe
The Authentic Japanese Style Yaki Udon (The Basic Yaki Udon)
Ingredients
- 2 Bags Fresh Udon Noodles 400g (14.1 Ounces)
- Thinly Sliced Pork Belly
- Vegetables Cabbage, Onions, Carrots, Shiitake Mushrooms, Green onions...
- Salt & Pepper
- ½ tsp Japanese "Dashi" Soup Base Powder Or chicken soup base powder
- Dried Bonito Flakes Optional
- Pickled Ginger (not "Gari" for Sushi) Optional
- Runny Sunny-side up Optional
Stir fry Sauce
- 1½ tbsp Japanese Dark Soysauce
- 1½ tbsp Japanese Sake (White WIne)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Sesame Oil
Instructions
- Make the stir fry sauce before cooking. Mix all ingredients of the sauce well.
- Stir fry onions and carrots for a minute first, and then add pork belly. Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Stir fry "2" for seconds, gather them aside to make space for Udon noodles.
- Place Udon noodles in the space and put mushrooms and the quick-cooking vegetables on them.
- Add "the sauce" and put a lid on. Turn the stove down to the low heat. Steam it for 2 minutes.
- Open the lid and stir noodles to combine ingredients. Put the lid back again and cook for another minute.
- Open the lid, turn the stove to high heat and stir fry moving a pan constantly to evaporate moisture away.
Cooking Tips & Notes To Make A Savory Yaki Udon
When stir-frying vegetables and noodles, noodles often get soggy and sticky easily, or vegetables get over-cooked losing their fresh crispy texture. I make a list of tips for making Yaki Udon here.
- Do not try to make Yaki Udon for over 2 servings if you are a beginner. It helps to succeed to make a perfect Yaki Udon without soggy and sticky.
- Plenty of vegetables sounds really good and healthy. However, consider the volume of vegetables. You need the cooking techniques when adding a big amount of vegetables without making noodles are soggy.
- Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as bean sprouts and cabbages, should be added towards the end of cooking.
- Make the stir-fry sauce before cooking to prevent over-cooking ingredients.
- Stir-fry noodles and vegetables moving a pan rather than stirring with a tool in the last minutes. Noodles will get sticky and cut-off when touching them too much.
- Once noodles get steamed and become separated, finish cooking with the high heat to fly excess juice away. Make sure to complete this in a few minutes. Use a tool such as a pair of tongs or cooking chopsticks to spread noodles. (Not like stirring. Just spread noodles to fly moisture of the noodle’s surface away.)
The Unique Yaki Udon With Miso Sauce
Stir Fry Udon Noodles With Sweet Miso Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 bags Udon Noodles 400g (14.1 ounces)
- Vegetables Green cabbages, carrots, onions, green onions, bean sprouts, Shiitake mushrooms...
- Protein Pork belly, chicken, bacon, sausage, hams, seafood
Miso Sauce
- 1 tbsp Japanese Red Miso
- 1 tbsp Japanese Sake White Wine
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Honey
- ½ tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- ½ tsp Japanese Dashi soup powder Or Chicken soup base powder
Instructions
- Make the Miso sauce before cooking. Put all ingredients of the sauce in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it until Miso paste get combined well.
- Stir fry onions and carrots for a minute first, and then add protein.
- Stir fry "2" for seconds, gather them aside to make space for Udon noodles.
- Place Udon noodles in the space and put mushrooms and the quick-cooking vegetables on them
- Add "the sauce" and put a lid on. Turn the stove down to the low heat. Steam it for 2 minutes.
- Open the lid and stir noodles to combine ingredients. Put the lid back again and cook for another minute.
- Open the lid, turn the stove to high heat and stir fry moving a pan constantly to evaporate moisture away.
Last Thoughts
On the outside of the standard soy-sauce-based sauce, yaki udon has many recipe variations. By looking at the idea recipes I have introduced so far, discover a new favorite recipe for yaki udon. Please Try my tips for stir fry Udon noodles.
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