Udon (うどん) are thick white noodles made of wheat flour. They are
thicker than Soba and Ramen noodles, whiter and chewier. Udon is very popular
and available at specialty Udon restaurants (Udon-Ya) all over Japan, which
usually also serve Soba noodles. Udon are served both hot and cold, with or
without soup, and sometimes with vegetables, egg and meat.
Ingredients for Udon
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- Warm water
- 1 stalk spinach, rinsed
- 1” (3 cm) carrot
- 1 package kamaboko fish cake (but you will only need a few slices)
- ⅓ package (1 oz/28 g) shimeji mushrooms, bottom ½" trimmed
- 6” (15 cm) negi (use white part) (or leeks + green onions/scallions)
- 1 chicken thigh
- 2 packages udon (I like sanuki udon)
- 2 eggs
- 2 stalks mitsuba (optional)
- 2 Shrimp Tempuras (see below for instructions)
- Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional)
For Udon Soup
- 3 cups (720 ml) dashi
- Dashi from dried shiitake mushrooms (see instructions)
- 2 Tbsp. mirin
- 1½ Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
For Shrimp Tempura
- 2 large shrimp
- 25 g (0.9 oz) tempura batter mix
- 40 ml (about 3 Tbsp.) cold water
- Potato/corn starch for dusting
How to Make Udon
- Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water to rehydrate for 15 minutes. You need just enough water to cover the mushrooms, and place a smaller bowl on top to keep the mushrooms submerged under water.
- Squeeze the excess water out of mushrooms. Cut off the stems if there are any and score a cross on top. Keep the leftover soaking liquid (dashi) for udon soup. Strain the dashi through a mesh strainer to remove any grit or impurities before using.
- In lightly salted boiling water, blanch the spinach starting from the stem side for 1 minute.
- Soak the spinach in iced water to prevent overcooking. Squeeze water out and cut into 1 ½” (4 cm) pieces.
- Slice the carrot. Optionally you can cut out the carrot into a flower shape with a vegetable cutter.
- Cut kamaboko into thinly slices and break shimeji mushrooms into small pieces.
- Slice naga negi diagonally and cut the chicken into 1” (2.5 cm) pieces.
- To make udon soup, combine dashi soup and dashi from dried shiitake mushrooms in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat.
- Once boiling, add mirin, soy sauce, and salt. When boiling again, turn off the heat and set aside.
- To make shrimp tempura, first we prepare shrimp. Follow this instruction to clean the shrimp and make them straight.
- To make shrimp tempura, click here for the complete instructions, from how to make tempura batter and to deep fry. For today’s recipe, I used tempura batter mix. Simply combine tempura batter mix and cold water.
- Cook udon in a boiling water. Once the noodles are separated, take them out and soak in ice water to prevent from cooking further. Drain and set aside.
- Divide ingredients (except for egg, spinach, and mitsuba) into two individual earthen donabe clay pots (or use any big pot).
- Add udon soup and cover with the lid. Bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat. When it comes to a boil, leave the lid slightly open to let some steam out, or it will overflow. Lower the heat and simmer to cook until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add an egg, spinach and mitsuba and cover to cook until the egg is done to your liking.
- Add shrimp tempura on top and serve. Sprinkle shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) if you like the soup spicy.
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