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Yaki Udon

Jan 18, 2025, 2 min read

A stir-fry with big chewy noodles, since everyone likes big chewy noodles.

Adapted from NYT Cooking. Makes 4-5 servings.

Ingredient notes

You should be able to find all the ingredients for this dish at your local Asian market. I bought the following brands on recommendation and have been satisfied with all of them:

  • Lee Kum Kee “Panda Brand” oyster sauce
  • Pearl River Bridge dark soy sauce
  • Kikkoman aji-mirin

If you can’t find shabu-shabu style (that is, outrageously paper-thin) cuts of meat, any fine slice or dice will do. There’s no ulterior motive here; you’re cooking them on a hot wok and you don’t want it to take too long.

Ingredients: Stir-fry

  • 1 lb frozen or refrigerated udon noodles
  • 1 lb shabu-shabu style thin-sliced pork or beef
  • 1 bell pepper, chunked
  • 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 3-inch slices
  • Neutral oil for stir-frying
  • Toasted sesame oil for drizzling
  • Furikake, optional

Ingredients: Sauce

  • 2 T dark soy sauce
  • 2 T low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 T oyster sauce
  • 1 T mirin
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • 1 T granulated sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat wok over high heat.
  2. Boil a pot of water. Add udon noodles and cook briefly until they can be separated with chopsticks, 1-2 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, drizzle with sesame oil, and toss to coat.
  3. Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.
  4. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the wok. Fry the meat until browned, turning as needed, then set aside.
  5. Fry onions in a small amount of oil. Add carrot, garlic, and bell pepper. Stir-fry to your liking. Set aside.
  6. Reserve some of the green onion for a garnish. Fry the rest until they get some color, then set aside.
  7. Put the meat, noodles, and sauce in the wok and cook until the sauce coats the noodles and reduces slightly. Add the vegetables and toss to coat. Remove from heat.
  8. Serve with a garnish of green onion and furikake.

Note: A bit of browning/crisping on the noodles would be welcome. Next time I make this, I’m going to try stir-frying the noodles on their own for a minute before adding the meat and sauce.