Cook: Udon (Japanese Noodle Soup)
Udon is my favorite type of Japanese noodle soup. It varies from ramen in that it’s a thicker noodle and a simpler sauce. I love it because of the chewy udon noodles which are typically fatter and chewier than other types of noodles. It’s a simple dish that can be served with minimal ingredients, or dressed up with proteins, toppings, and spices. I also love the fact that you can eat it hot in the colder times of the year, or it can be eaten cold during summer.
This recipe will give you all the varieties that udon has to offer. A fun fact about udon noodles is that Japanese people traditionally knead it with their feet because the process gets tiring on your hands. The dough is placed in a bag and stepped on for the perfect consistency. I recently made udon noodles by hand and will post a recipe once I get it just right!
I also included links to ingredients in case you’re unsure of what you’re looking for at the grocery store. Most ingredients will be found at your regular supermarket or an Asian market.
Serves: 2-4 (2 larger bowls, or 4 smaller portions)
Prep Time: 20 minutes (if you’re not making your own noodles), Total Time: 45 minutes
Broth Ingredients:
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of mirin (or more to taste)
1/3 cup of shoyu (or more to taste) - shoyu is soy sauce
1 tsp dashi powder
Kosher salt and sugar to taste
Toppings:
2-3 green onions (sliced)
1-2 tbsp ginger (grated)
Kamaboko (fish cake with light to bright pink outer skin, sliced) - my personal favorite are the yasai fishcakes (veggie)
Red shoga (canned red ginger) - you’ll find these in the refrigerated section of the Asian store, usually by the pickled stuff
Other topping ideas: jammy boiled eggs, spinach or greens, snap peas, chicken breast, pork, beef, toasted sesame seeds, mushrooms, corn, roasted nori (seaweed) strips, togarashi… (the possibilities are really endless)
1 package Japanese udon noodles (if you’re going all out, this is a great recipe to make fresh udon noodles).
Directions:
Add all the broth ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. If you’re using homemade dashi, just use the amount of soup base you need. You don’t have to worry about the dashi powder. If you’re making it with dashi powder, this is an easy way to make dashi instantly. At the store, you’ll find this in the soup area and the brand I like is HonDashi. Pour this dashi into the water first, mix it up and then add the rest of the ingredients. Some people like a sweeter broth, some people like it more savory, so adjust your ingredients to taste.
Boil the noodles until soft, cool in ice water and then drain.
Place noodles in a bowl and evenly divide your soup broth among 2-4 bowls. Add green onions, grated ginger, kamaboko, red shoga and any other toppings.
For cold udon:
Cut the amount of water in half that you use for the broth. Follow the same directions above. The broth will be much more concentrated. Serve in a small bowl alongside cold noodles as a dipping sauce.
A sneak peek at my first attempt at homemade udon noodles!
Give your noodles a rinse in ice water after they’ve boiled.
The cold version, dipping sauce on the side.