This udon noodles recipe, also known as yaki udon, is a Japanese stir-fried dish made with thick and chewy noodles, vegetables, shiitake mushrooms and a savory sauce. This recipe uses a mix of soy sauce, red miso, sriracha, mirin and sesame oil for balanced flavor. The vegetables and mushrooms make it a wholesome and filling meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Japanese, World

Ingredients

  • 200 grams udon noodles (– dried)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4.5 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon red miso
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon cooking sake
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons oil (– any neutral tasting oil)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic (– finely chopped)
  • 2 teaspoons ginger (– finely chopped)
  • 1 cup onions (– sliced, can use spring onion whites instead)
  • 1 cup cabbage (– shredded)
  • 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
  • ½ cup carrots (– finely chopped or shredded)
  • ½ cup bell pepper (– sliced, green or red or yellow bell pepper)
  • 1 cup fresh spinach (– chopped or ½ cup frozen spinach)
  • ½ teaspoon ground white pepper (or ground black pepper)
  • salt (according to taste)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons spring onion greens

Method

Cook Udon Noodles

  1. Boil water and salt in a pot or a saucepan.
  2. Add the udon noodles.
  3. Cook the noodles in the salted water until soft and chewy.
  4. Drain and keep aside.
  5. Prepare the sauce by mixing soy sauce, red miso, sriracha, sugar, mirin, cooking sake and toasted sesame oil until well combined.
  6. Keep this sauce mix aside.

Make Yaki Udon

  1. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry onions, ginger and garlic on high heat for 2 minutes.
  2. Add cabbage, mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers.
  3. Stir fry on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender yet crisp.
  4. Add spinach, pepper and salt. Cook until the spinach wilts.
  5. Lower the heat and add the cooked noodles along with the prepared sauce.
  6. Gently mix to coat the noodles evenly and heat through for 2 to 3 minutes.
  7. Finish with spring onion greens. Mix and serve hot sprinkled with some sesame seeds.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.