New Years Recipe for Yaki-Udon
Submitted by Stephen Li
The New Years parties… The feasts shared with family and friends… The liters of alcohol consumed… We all have our own fond memories that make it easy to feel a little nostalgic during the holiday seasons. For me, besides getting hammered from the notoriously strong bai jiu (which is 60% alcohol by volume), eating Yaki Udon reminds me of an old family friend who had a big impact on my life.
Even though I was 3 years younger than him, he was one of my best friends and we would always share a meal of Yaki Udon and sushi/sashimi whenever we went to Japanese restaurants around the new years. Not only did he persuade me to go to church when I was younger, but he also inspired me to take pride in my Chinese heritage.
As a fun side note for my anime lovers out there who enjoy Food Wars Shokugeki no Soma, this dish is for you! Though the show features Yaki Soba noodles, their preparation methods are very similar to Yaki Udon noodles!
Check out this recipe from Namiko Chen, owner of Just One Cookbook, to learn how to cook this delicious dish. Hope you’ll enjoy it! Visit her website here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/yaki-udon/
Description: Yaki Udon is stir-fry udon noodles with meat and vegetables seasoned with sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 servings Udon Noodles
- 2 cabbage leaves
- 1 carrot
- ½ onion
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 2 green onions/scallions
- ½ lb sliced pork belly (or your choice of meat, seafood, or vegetables)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Seasoning
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp mentsuyu/tsuyu (noodle soup base)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
*Notes – mentsuyu can be homemade or substituted with 2-3 Tbsp of soy sauce.
Toppings
- 1 Tbsp pickled red ginger (optional)
- 3 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
Instructions
- Gather ingredients. Using frozen udon noodles, boil it for 1 minute. If udon noodles are refrigerated, loosen them in water before using it. If udon noodles are dry, boil them accordion to the package instruction
- Use a large pot to boil frozen udon noodles for 1 minute.
- Slice onions and cut cabbages into 1’ square pieces and cut the carrots into 2’ sticks
- Cut off the shitake stems and slice the mushroom tops. Slice 2” the top of scallions or the green part (for garnish). Cut the rest of the scallions into 2” pieces
- Cut pork belly slices into 1” pieces
- In a frying pan, heat oil in medium high heat. Add the pork and cook until it’s almost cooked through. Then add and cook the onion until soft.
- Add cabbage and carrots and stir fry until coated with oil. Then add shiitake mushrooms and scallion. Stir fry until vegetables are wilted
- Add seasoning – Mix together the black pepper, 3 Tbsp Mentsuyu, and 1 tsp soy sauce.
- Sprinkle bonito flakes and green onions on top of the finish dish and serve on plate.
Works Cited
Chen, Namiko, et al. “Yaki Udon (Stir-Fried Udon Noodles) 焼きうどん • Just One Cookbook.” Just One Cookbook, 24 Dec. 2020, www.justonecookbook.com/yaki-udon/ .
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