Udon

Posted byKazukoPosted inSoupTags:, , , , , , , ,

Udon is a thick noodle made of flour. It is one of the most popular noodles in Japan, and there are many restaurants specializing in it. Just like soba, udon can be eaten cold or hot, in a soup or with dipping sauce. Here, I will show you how to make udon in a hot soup (“Kake-Udon“). You can follow this same recipe to cook soba in a hot soup, by replacing udon with soba. Conversely, if you want to make udon with dipping sauce, follow the recipe for soba and boil udon instead of soba.

Cooking time: 15 mins

INGREDIENTS (1 Serving)
  1. Udon: 70-100g
  2. Water: 300g (300ml)
  3. Dashi powder: 1g (⅕ teaspoon)
  4. Soy sauce: 15g (1 tbsp)
  5. Mirin: 15g (1 tbsp)
    or white wine & sugar/honey (3:1)
  6. [Optional] Salt: a pinch
  7. [Optional] Boiled egg
  8. [Optional] Negi or green onions
BEFORE YOU START

Q. What type of udon should I use?
Udon is sold in many different forms; dry, fresh and refrigerated or frozen (shown in the picture), or sometimes vacuum-packed for storage at room temperature. For this recipe I am using the dried type, which is probably the most widely available outside of Japan.

Q. What kind of toppings can I add?
Like soba, you can add anything you like, and popular toppings include egg, tempura, meat, mochi or even curry! In Japan people like to pour a raw egg over udon (called “tsukimi udon”), but depending on where you live, it may not be safe to eat raw eggs, so here I am using a boiled egg, which is my son’s favorite.

NOW, LET’S START!

1. Cook udon. First, fill a large pot with plenty of water (not included in the ingredients list) and bring it to a boil. Put the udon1 in the boiling water. No need to add salt. Cook according to the instructions. (Mine says 10 minutes)

2. Make soup stock. Prepare the soup separately while the udon cooks.  Heat the 300ml of water2 in a small pot.  When the water boils, add the dashi3 powder.

3. Add soy sauce and mirin. Add the soy sauce4 and mirin5 to the soup stock and let it boil for 30 seconds so that the alcohol in the mirin evaporates. Taste the soup and add some salt6, if you wish. Turn the heat off and the soup is ready!

4. Drain water. When the udon is cooked, drain the water well. If you want to serve it cold, rinse it with cold running water (and also cool down the soup in the fridge).

5. Serve in a bowl. Serve the udon in a bowl and pour in the soup. Add toppings of your choice, like a boiled egg7 and negi8 as shown in the picture, and eat right away, while it’s still hot and hearty!

Udon is a great food for adults as well as kids. My son was a picky eater when he was little and often demanded to eat only udon and nothing else.  So I negotiated with him and started adding a boiled egg, which is a good source of protein (and looks pretty too).  Be creative and experiment with different toppings to create your own special udon!