To me, there’s nothing more comforting that a steaming hot bowl of noodles. If you’ve ever watched Ratatouille (I love that movie!), you’ll recall this scene where the food critic is instantly brought back to childhood when he has a bite of ratatouille. My mom never made me stir fry yaki udon as a kid, but she did make bowls and bowls of other kinds of noodles. As a result, noodles (all kinds) are one of those extremely comforting foods for me.
When I’m looking for some fast comfort, yakiudon is one of my go to meals. It’s easy, flavourful, and takes no time at all. And you can basically chuck in any leftover meat or vegetables you might have lying around in your fridge and it’ll taste pretty darn delicious. Have it with meat, tofu, or even just veggies. Sometimes (most times) it’s the simple things in life that make me happiest of all.
Yakiudon Recipe
serves 2
- oil
- 1/2 small shallot, sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced meat of choice, if desired*
- 1/2 carrot, shredded
- 1 brick frozen sanuki udon
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dashi powder**
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 green onion, sliced
- dried bonito flakes, to garnish
Soak your frozen udon in a bowl of warm water making sure that all of the strands of noodles are separate. Drain and set aside.
Heat up a small bit of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, meat (if using) and shredded carrot. Cook until the carrots and shallots are soft, but not overly brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add the drained udon noodles as well as the soy sauce, dashi powder, and sugar. Toss to coat the noodles and turn the heat to medium-high to slightly reduce the sauce, about 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat off, taste and season with freshly ground pepper to taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and bonito flakes. Enjoy hot.
*This udon tastes perfectly delicious without meat, but if you’d like to add in some protein, go right ahead. In this version, I added some leftover roasted duck that I had on hand. Just cut your cooked meat into strips (or shred it) and add it in.
**If you haven’t heard of dashi powder, it’s basically instant soup stock. You can find it in Asian grocery stores in the Japanese section. It definitely adds so I don’t recommend skipping it – but of course cooking is all about being flexible!
PS – If you love the Finex skillet featured in this post, don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
When I was teenager stir fried Udon with oyster sauce and sesame oil was my instant Mac and cheese. I love how the noodles pure white is turned burnish black by stir frying; Throw an egg in there and you have party!
A bow of hot noodle? Yes, that is my comfort food!! Love these!
mmm yum!!!! i LOVE yakiudon!!!! and i am with you, a big bowl of noodles = COMFORT.
Reminds me of the noodles my grandma used to make for us :) yum!
I LOVE yakiudon! And over the years I find that the frozen ones from japan just has a incomparably better texture and chewiness than the mushy ones u find in refrigerator section. One of my favorite Japanese joint in Vancouver downtown (might not be still open), drops a handful of bonito flakes right on top the hot udon. The rising steam makes the bonito look like they dancing :)
YES! frozen udon is the only udon i ever buy!!!!
The steam coming off of those noodles (or nooooders as my 4 year old self likes to say) is to.die.for. Such a pretty dish and ALL the comfort. Seriously, I want to just dive in! (P.S. CONGRATS ON THE BOOK!! can’t wait to get my copy!)
Looks amazing – I love yaki udon! Comfort food at its best!!
Ooh have had tons of yakisoba but never yakiudon! Glad to know this exists. Need to find some udon noodles….
Am I missing a step? I see only a TB of soy as the only liquid, but you call for reducing the liquid. Do we make the dashi with the water as prescribed on the pack and then add it or add the granules? So sorry if this is a dumb question. Sometimes I am thick.
Hi Shannan,
Just add the granules as is without liquid. You want to reduce the soy (I know it’s a small amount) slightly so that the sauce clings to the noodles – it’s not a very saucy dish. Of course, you can add more soy to taste if needed! Hope that helps!
YUMMM!!! This looks so good!