Japanese Yaki Udon. Savoury with a hint of tang and a little kick! This udon noodle dish is absolutely delicious and is perfect for dinner or lunch. It's also made in 25 minutes!
I love this Japanese yaki udon noodles recipe so much! It's one of my favourites to make when I want something quick but hits every taste bud in my mouth!
Easy to make!
This easy udon noodles recipe is a fantastic dish that is simple to make at home and great for a weeknight meal. In addition, it's a great dish for leftovers too. Perfect for that office lunch that smells so delicious that your colleagues will be asking!
Udon noodles are great to cook with. It cooks very quick and to cook it you don't even need to fully boil it because you're going to fry it with your veggies and proteins later. This is how you keep those noodles chewy and delicious!
What is Japanese yaki udon?
It's a spin off Japanese yaki soba noodles. Instead of using soba noodles, we are using udon. The udon noodles are usually stir fried with a protein, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers and mushrooms with a tangy savoury sauce.
Other Recipes You May Like!
Mushroom Yaki Soba Noodles
20 minute Udon Carbonara
Stir Fried Vegetable Tofu Udon
Mushroom Udon Noodles
FAQ
What does Yaki Udon mean?
It is a Japanese style stir-fried udon noodle with meat and vegetables with a savoury sweet flavour.
What does yaki udon taste like?
Thick chewy udon noodles smothered in a salty tangy umami tasting sauce with meat and vegetables.
What is Japanese udon?
They are thick chewy bouncy white noodles made with rice flour.
Is Yaki Udon like lo mein?
Not really. Yaki udon has thick chewy bouncy noodles smothered in savoury tangy sauce whereas lo mein is usually made with Cantonese chow mein or wonton noodles and then mixed in a savoury salty sauce.
For this recipe
You will need the following ingredients for my Japanese yaki udon recipe:
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 4 napa cabbage leaves, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 5 pieces pork belly, sliced
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1000 grams udon noodles, frozen kind soaked in hot water and loosened
Japanese yaki udon sauce:
- 2 tsp cane sugar
- 4 tsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp organic ketchup
- 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
How to make Japanese yaki udon
- In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients.
- In a large mix filled with hot boiling water, soak your frozen udon noodles until they've loosened. Strain immediately.
- In a hot pan set over medium high heat, add avocado oil followed by pork belly. Fry until they're browned.
- Add shallot and mix in with pork belly.
- Then add in chopped bell peppers and saute for 1 minute until soft.
- Next add shiitake mushrooms and napa cabbage. Cook until leaves have softened a bit. Push everything to the side and add your noodles, followed by sauce.
- Mix everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve and enjoy this udon stir fry!
Tips to make a good Yaki Udon
- As mentioned above, do not boil your noodles. Instead soak your frozen udon cakes in hot boiling water and allow them to loosen. Once loosened, strain right away.
- Pre-cut your veggies into thin or matchstick like shapes. This blends with the noodles more easily because they're relatively the same thickness. It's also easier to eat.
- Pre-mix your sauce so the sugar dissolves well for your udon noodle stir fry
- I recommend using a fattier meat, like chicken thigh, pork belly or a steak with marbling running through it. It offers a nice taste to this noodles especially with the acidity from the Worcestershire sauce and ketchup.
- Do not over cook your veggies for this udon noodles stir fry. I find because the noodles are chewy and more on the softer side, you need some crunch from the veggies and chew from the meat.
- Once your noodles have been coated in the sauce along with the veggies and protein, there's no need to continue cooking it for 5 minutes. Thanks to the high heat, only 2 minutes is suffice as you've already cooked your veggies and protein prior too and you've blanched your noodles too.
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my Japanese Yaki Udon recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Christie
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Japanese Yaki Udon (20-min. Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 shallot chopped
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- 6 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 4 leaves Napa cabbage chopped
- 5 pieces pork belly sliced
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1000 grams udon noodles frozen kind, soaked in hot water and loosened
Yakisoba Sauce:
- 2 tsp cane sugar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp oyster sauce
- 4 tsp ketchup
- 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients.
- In a large mix filled with hot boiling water, soak your frozen udon noodles until they've loosened. Strain immediately.
- In a hot pan set over medium high heat, add avocado oil followed by pork belly. Fry until they're browned.
- Add shallot and mix in with pork belly.
- Then add in chopped bell peppers and saute for 1 minute until soft.
- Next add shiitake mushrooms and napa cabbage. Cook until leaves have softened a bit. Push everything to the side and add your noodles, followed by sauce.
- Mix everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
What a yummy noodle dish! Udon noodles are my favorite, and I love how this recipe also has pork belly!
Thank you so much! It's so good with the pork belly.
One of my all time favourite Japanese dishes - I can't wait to recreate at home!
Thanks Alex!! I hope you enjoy it!
I am always up for a delicious udon meal! I love the addition of all the lovely veggies and pork belly here - yum! I imagine this would be such a treat for a Friday night dinner, after a long busy week! Heaven!
Thanks so much Katerina!! It's so good and fast to make! A great weeknight meal.
This is such a fun dinner idea for summer with all the fresh veggies and the tasty fun sauce. I hope you have an amazing week!