This dish is noodle-perfection! It’s an all-in-one meal in a bowl with a perfect blend of meats and vegetables! Not only is it fun to make, it’s fun to eat! Grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in!

Comfort food in our house usually involves noodles, in some form. When I discovered udon noodles at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants, it was love at first bite! Thick, chewy, and hearty – just look at them, what’s not to love!!

What are udon noodles? They are a thick and chewy wheat-flour noodle used frequently in Japanese cuisine and are a perfect accompaniment to soup or stir-fries like this one.

What is yaki udon? Yaki udon is Japanese stir-fried udon noodles mixed with meat and vegetables.

There are so many things to love about this recipe! Not only is it beautiful to serve – just look at those bright, bold colors – it’s fun to make and fun to eat! Even better, it is completely customizable: you can omit any ingredients you don’t like, add the ones you do, or add more or less of anything. The one thing that I wouldn’t recommend changing is the soup base. It gives this recipe such incredible flavor that it just wouldn’t be the same without it.

Some ingredients might be unusual and tricky to find, but this recipe is worth the extra effort! I would start in the Asian food aisle of your local grocery store, or even better, your local Asian market.

Ingredients:

Soup base (mentsuyu): This soup base comes together quickly and is so full of flavor. It really makes this dish what it is. The ingredients are unusual but necessary. You won’t regret using this soup base for your udon noodles!

• Sake: Basically, it’s a Japanese rice wine common in cooking. You can find this in the alcohol aisle of your grocery store.
• Mirin: It’s similar to sake but has more sugar and lower alcohol content.
• Soy sauce: I think we are all familiar with this one…made from the fermented paste of soybeans.
• Kombu (dried kelp): Edible kelp that is widely eaten in East Asia. Kelp is actually quite good for you; if you are new to eating it, I recommend giving it a try. Not only is it high in healthy iodine, but it also contains iron, calcium, vitamins A and C.
• Dried Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi): This is another unusual ingredient, but one that we have really enjoyed using in multiple dishes because of its strong, distinct flavor. What is it? Katsuobushi is dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna. I usually use bonito flakes, which is a young bonito fish and an inexpensive substitute for skipjack tuna. 

Udon noodles: Typically, there are three ways to buy udon noodles: dried (like typical pasta), frozen, and fresh. And yes, some options are much better than others – way better, in fact! I would never recommend buying dried udon noodles. When cooked, they do not have the texture that udon is known and loved for. I actually would avoid buying udon altogether if dried was my only option. Frozen is a step up from dried and most brands are pretty good. But fresh udon is the absolute best way to buy udon. And I don’t normally promote brands on my blog, but Sun Noodles are by far the best I’ve found. Since they are fresh, they are sold in the refrigerated section. They will expire quicker than dried or frozen, usually within a couple of weeks of buying, so take note of the date. Follow the cooking directions on the package of whichever you buy. Fresh udon is only boiled for a couple of minutes, drained, and then rinsed in cool water to stop the cooking. Rinsing also removes some of the starch and prevents the noodles from sticking together. You’ll want your noodles to have a chewy texture, not mushy, so take care not to overcook them.

Meat: You have quite a few options for the meat…you could even make this vegetarian. I have made it with chicken, pork, and char siu. You could even do beef, cut into thin strips. Once I tried char siu pork, though, I was hooked, and it’s how I always make it now. What is char siu? It’s a Chinese version of barbecue pork, with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder, fermented tofu (red), dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sherry or rice wine. I buy mine already made in the meat section, but you can certainly make it yourself.

Kamaboko (or steamed fish cake): Many of you may be wondering what this is. If you frequent ramen restaurants, you most likely have seen it and eaten it. Basically, it’s a cured, processed seafood product of Japan. It is made of puréed white fish, formed into different shapes, including semi-cylinder loaves, and steamed until it becomes firm. High-quality kamaboko will contain as much protein as eggs and many healthy nutrients. It will also be low in fat and calories. However, it may be high in sodium, so when you are purchasing kamaboko, you will want to check the ingredients to ensure you are making a health-conscious choice. Color is often added to give it that bold, bright pink color. It certainly does look pretty in this dish, but if you prefer not to have the color additive, you can buy kamaboko without the pink color added.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Vegetables: This is where you can get really creative. You could add a variety of vegetables that I don’t have listed. I have seen people use mushrooms, bok choy, baby corn, asparagus, peppers, or snow peas. You are really only limited by your creativity!

• Cabbage: I prefer napa cabbage, also called Chinese cabbage, for this dish. Cabbage will cook down to almost nothing, seriously! The first time I made this, I used 5 big leaves, and by the time I finished cooking the yaki udon, I could hardly find the cabbage. My husband actually said, “you know what would go good with this? Cabbage.” So the next time, I added more – a whole head, to be exact! Trust me; it cooks down! To prepare the cabbage, I remove the outermost leaves and discard them. I then separate the remaining leaves and cut out the thick rib in the center of each leaf, just using the tender outer edges of the leaves. You can either cut or tear the leaves by hand, but don’t make the pieces too small, or they will be nonexistent when cooked.
• Carrots: I like to julienne the carrots (cut into long thin strips).
• Onion: I use a sweet onion, roughly chopped. You could also use yellow onion.

Most of the work to make this dish is in the prep, making the soup base, and cutting up the meat and the vegetables. But once the prep is done, it comes together quite quickly. Don’t let the length of this post or the ingredients intimidate you. This is a dish worth making! I hope this will become a favorite in your home like it is in mine! If you make this, comment and let me know! How did you customize your yaki udon?

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my Curry Udon Soup.