Yaki Udon

From the kitchen of Carly

Japanese stir-fried udon with cabbage, shiitake, and a sweet-savory soy-mirin glaze. The thick chewy noodles soak up the sauce while staying slippery. Vegetarian-easy, weeknight-fast, ready in 20. Don't drain the noodles too thoroughly. A little water clinging helps the sauce loosen and coat instead of clumping.

Yaki Udon
Prep
5 min
Cook
15 min
Total
20 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
easy

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 250 gudon noodles (frozen, fresh, or dried)
  • 2 tbsptoasted sesame oil (divided)
  • 1yellow onion, sliced
  • 0.25 headgreen cabbage, sliced thin
  • 10shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 4scallions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
  • 4 tbspmirin
  • 2 tbspsoy sauce
  • 1 tbspcaster or granulated sugar
  • 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 250ml of cold water and the udon noodles together (the cold water helps thick udon cook through evenly).

  2. Cook per the package: 2 minutes for fresh or frozen, 5 to 6 minutes for dried, until just al dente.

  3. Drain in a colander and rinse briefly under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

  4. While the noodles cook, whisk the mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. This is your sauce.

  5. Heat 1 tbsp of the sesame oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat.

  6. Add the sliced onion and cabbage. Stir-fry 4 to 5 minutes, until the cabbage softens and starts to char at the edges.

  7. Add the shiitake mushrooms and the scallion whites. Stir-fry 1 minute more.

  8. Add the cooked noodles and the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil.

  9. Pour the sauce over everything. Toss with tongs or two spatulas for 2 minutes, until the noodles are evenly coated, sticky, and piping hot.

  10. Pull off the heat. Scatter the scallion greens over the top.

  11. Serve immediately in deep bowls.

Substitutions
  • udon noodles to soba, ramen, or even spaghetti. Soba is whole-wheat-leaning; ramen is chewier. Spaghetti is the desperate-times move; cook al dente first.
  • shiitake mushrooms to cremini, oyster, or maitake mushrooms. All work. Cremini is the most common; maitake gets the most umami when crisped.
  • Worcestershire sauce to Japanese tonkatsu sauce or extra soy + a dash of fish sauce. Tonkatsu sauce is the more traditional choice in Japan. Worcestershire is the easier-find substitute.

Pairs well with: A side of pickled cucumber or radish, A simple miso soup to start, Cold sake, Japanese beer, or green tea

Adapted from TheMealDB.