Asian Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly of Chinese and Asian styles | Taste Hong Kong

Asian Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Cabbage

It seems that my injured shoulder is recovering fairly well as I could cook this stir-fry pretty fast. While the minor injury has kept me from carrying heavy objects, it also leads me to repeat dishes that are simple and easy to prepare. This is one of them.

It is also my humble version of stir-fried udon, somewhat like the Japanese yaki-udon (yaki means grilled, broiled or pan-fried; and udon noodles are thick wheat noodles). To me this is a more convenient version as the sauce mainly consists of soy and oyster sauce.

I often do stir-fried noodles in wok, here I use a cast iron balti. Smaller though, it doesn’t seem to under-perform a Chinese wok for making a stir-fry.

Like cooking with a wok, I heat the balti to the point when it is just able to caramelize the foods, yet not burning them. It might be a bit tricky, but if we get it right, the wok or balti will impart flavors on the foods with its “breath”, called “wok hei 鑊氣” in Chinese. Wok hei may be best practiced in professional kitchens however, we may do it in our home kitchens too. I’m going to share some little tips.

Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

  • Ingredients
  • 1 pack frozen udon noodles, ~230g
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cabbage, shredded
  • 1/4 carrot, shredded or shaved into long strips
  • 3-4 fresh black mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • pinch of salt to taste
  • 1-2 servings

Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

  • Sauce
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce (you may turn this recipe into a vegetarian dish by using vegetarian oyster sauce)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cooking wine
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp water

Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

Coating the noodles with a beaten egg will make them less sticky to wok



Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables
Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

Stir-fry vegetables and mushrooms until they are about half-way cooked


Method

Thaw frozen udon noodles at room temperature; you may also move them from freezer to fridge the day before (also bring it to room temperature before cooking). Gently untangle noodles with fingers. Blot them dry if there is any excess moisture. For this recipe, I don’t suggest thawing frozen udon by boiling as the noodles might turn soggy after repeated cooking.

Mix well all ingredients for the sauce. And add beaten egg to noodles, mixing briefly. Set aside.

Heat wok over medium-high heat; add a tablespoon of oil in it. The oil shall ripple a little when the wok is heated enough (also see tip); wait a few more seconds if it does not.

Add in chopped shallot and garlic, sautéing until golden, which shall take only seconds if the wok is really hot. Toss in carrot, and black mushrooms, flipping and stirring with a turner (better use a wooden type if you cook with a cast iron wok or balti) so that all of them constantly get heated. Add cabbage, keep stir-frying them until they are about half-way cooked, 1-2 minutes. Dish up.

Wipe clean the wok with dry kitchen towel if there is any water.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in wok, add in noodles with beaten egg. As the egg is set on the downside, flip to the other side. Coated with a beaten egg, the noodles should be less sticky to wok. Keep stir-frying until noodles are heated through.

Return vegetables and mushrooms to wok, and add in the mixed sauce, stirring through evenly. Keep stir-frying until they are just cooked, adding another pinch of salt to taste. Dish up.

Serve hot (with chili sauce if desired). It is always good to serve this as a light meal along with soup or congee.

Enjoy!

Japanese Stir-Fry Udon Noodles with Vegetables

Tips
Udon noodles
* You may use fresh or dried udon noodles, but they both need to be cooked first according to package instructions but are 70-80% done. Also drained dry until no more water drips.
* Whichever noodles are used, they need to be drained dry or blotted dry, otherwise they might turn out soggy. Excess water will also dilute the flavor.

Vegetables
* If you rinse the cabbage and carrot, let them drip-dry in a colander. They can be somewhat damp, but with no more water drips out when added into wok.

Oil
* Use oil with high smoking point, like peanut oil or camellia oil.

Wok
* Apply few droplets of water in wok, if it is heated enough they should roll around immediately on contact (than simply bubble) . You may want to adjust heat from medium to higher level to prevent overheating.
* Do not over-crowd the wok or balti, fill it about one-third full. Therefore,if you need to cook for more than two servings of this, use a larger wok.


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Comments

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  1. Monica

    Great to see a post/recipe; it’s been too long! : ) Hope your shoulder gets better soon. You know what’s funny – I just made a stir-fry udon about a week ago for the first time (it’s always been soup noodles) and it was very, very similar to this. My family loved it. I will definitely use your tips to make it even better next time!

  2. TasteHongKong

    @Monica,
    Thank you!
    Hope you enjoy this with your family again soon, and hope my tips help.

  3. tigerfish

    Good to know your injured shoulder is recovering well.

    I like your tip about the noodles + egg (in order for the noodles not to stick too much). Will try this tip the next time, as I make stir-fry udon quite often. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.

  4. Angie@Angie's Recipes

    A lovely yakiudon, I love esp. those beautiful black mushrooms.

  5. Juliana

    So good to see you back…and glad that your shoulder is getting better.
    I love udon noodles…and you just reminded me that I have not had it for a while…I too like the stir-fry…and with lots of vegetables…
    Have a great week Maureen 🙂

  6. E. Thai

    Sorry to hear about your shoulder injuiry, but good to see you back! I come back on and off for your Chinese recipes.

    I’ve been using frozen udon that I get from the Korean market. I usually use it in soup. A couple of days ago, I made curry chicken, and I used udon instead of the regular rice noodle for my laksa dish (I’m originally from Malaysia). This udon stir-fry sounds easy. I have some red cabbage in the fridge. Do you think that is a good sub for regular cabbage?

    Gas stove and wok hei are the reasons to go to a Chinese restaurant!

  7. TasteHongKong

    @E. Thai,
    Thanks! Curry udon sounds nice too. If you like chicken, also consider stir-frying some slices of chicken fillet and add them to the udon.
    Red cabbage? That is an unusual idea and it will make the udon look reddish. I’m a bit hesitate, allow me to stick to the regular cabbage at the moment.

  8. LucyL

    Maureen, so sorry to hear about your shoulder injury, I’ve had a shoulder impingement on my right shoulder for the past 2 yrs and know just how horrible it is, I wish you all the best in recovery!

    Stir fried udon is simple and fast to make, I love the sound of your sauce!

    Lucy
    http://www.lucylovestoeat.com

  9. TasteHongKong

    Thanks Lucy!

  10. plateculture

    All the recipes look sooo delish !!! Keep up the good work!

  11. Ed Schenk

    Going back through old post and looked at this. Great recipe. I am feeling like shrimp tonight. This may be the preparation I use!

  12. Amanda Fair

    Is there any substitute for the cooking wine? I hate to buy an entire bottle and only use it once lol.

  13. TasteHongKong

    @Amanda Fair,
    You may try using dry Sherry or white wine to see which better suits your taste.
    Please excuse me for my delayed reply.

  14. D. Larson

    Thanks for sharing your recipe. My daughter loves these noodles and this is one of our favorite dishes to cook together.