Hi all! Today I will look at interesting recipes that include Japanese wheat noodles udon. It turns out very tasty with vegetables, meat or other additives, which I will talk about in today’s review.
Also, when preparing such a dish, various sauces are used (for example, soy or teriyaki), which makes it even tastier and more aromatic.
All dishes proposed in this article are prepared very quickly, in less than an hour. And as a result, you can get a very satisfying lunch or dinner that the whole family will be satisfied with.
A good addition to serving udon noodles would be Korean-style carrots (there are several interesting recipes that you can also check out) or even our usual pickles. For example, lightly salted cucumbers (see quick recipes in a package here) or instant pickled cabbage.
It is most convenient to prepare such dishes at home in a frying pan with high sides, in a cauldron or in a saucepan with a thick bottom and walls. To prepare the noodles and sauce, you will need separate dishes.
Udon noodles with chicken and vegetables in teriyaki sauce
This recipe is easy and quite quick. Noodles with chicken and vegetables are very tasty and aromatic. And the sauce that we will prepare and add to it is simply amazing and delights everyone who tries this wonderful dish.
Ingredients:
- Noodles - 1 pack.
- Chicken fillet - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 3 pcs.
- Sweet pepper - 2-3 pcs.
- Young zucchini or zucchini - 2 pcs.
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Sesame - 2 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil - for frying
- Soy sauce - 5 tablespoons
- Honey - 2 teaspoons
- Ground ginger - 2 teaspoons
- Starch - 1 teaspoon
Preparation:
1. Let's start with vegetables. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Peel the sweet peppers and remove the stem. Cut it into small strips. Cut the zucchini directly with the skin into thin and long strips. Cut the onion into small cubes.
2. Wash the chicken fillet under cold water, dry with a paper towel and cut into small pieces.
3. Heat a frying pan and pour vegetable oil into it. Place all the vegetables and meat pieces there. Add salt, ground black pepper and ground red pepper. Mix everything thoroughly and fry until cooked. About 20 minutes, remembering to stir.
4. At this time, cook the noodles in salted water until done and make teriyaki sauce. Pour soy sauce into a bowl. Add honey, ground ginger and starch. Stir and put on fire. Stirring, bring to a boil and remove from heat.
5. When the chicken and vegetables are ready, add sesame seeds. Place the boiled noodles and pour in the sauce. Mix everything well and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Then you can put udon noodles with chicken and vegetables on plates, serve them on the table and invite your relatives over for a meal.
What is udon
This is the one made from wheat flour, water and salt. It is somewhat similar to ours, but it turns out to be more elastic and soft. The noodles themselves are quite thick - up to 4 mm in diameter, and after cooking they look voluminous. Its color can range from white to grayish. This type of noodle can also be found in our supermarkets, so everyone can try to prepare a dish in the Japanese style at home. To serve udon, you don’t need any specific recipe. The Japanese serve such noodles with a wide variety of vegetables, the main thing is that it is tasty and satisfying. We will certainly give you several options.
Recipe for udon noodles with pork
You can also cook udon noodles with pork. I present to you a simple recipe that will take no more than 40 minutes to prepare, including cutting the ingredients. This dish is good to make in a hurry. Especially if guests are already on the doorstep and you need to quickly whip up something to serve.
Ingredients:
- Wheat udon noodles - 1 pack.
- Pork – 300 gr
- Bell pepper - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 1-2 pcs.
- Young zucchini - 2 pcs.
- Teriyaki sauce - 3 tablespoons
- Soy sauce - 5 tablespoons
- Herbes de Provence - 0.5 teaspoon (optional)
- Balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon (optional)
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons
Preparation:
1. Place a cauldron (or frying pan) on the fire, pour in vegetable oil and leave to heat up. In the meantime, cut the pork into thin strips. Then place the meat on the bottom of the dish and add a little salt. Fry it until slightly browned, stirring occasionally.
At the same time, place a pan of water. Bring to a boil, add salt and add noodles. Cook for about 10 minutes or read package instructions.
2. While the meat is frying, cut the carrots into cubes and add to the pork. Stir and continue frying for 3-4 minutes.
3. Also cut the zucchini and bell pepper into cubes. Send them to the cauldron with the rest of the products. Add a small pinch of salt, stir everything well and fry them until half cooked.
4. Now let's start preparing the sauce. Pour balsamic vinegar into a deep bowl, add ground black pepper, herbs de Provence, soy sauce and teriyaki. Mix everything thoroughly.
5. Pour the prepared sauce into the cauldron with meat and vegetables. Stir well, bring to a boil and simmer for about 3 minutes.
6. Place the finished noodles in a colander, rinse with cold water and add to the cauldron. Mix well, simmer for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat.
Udon noodles with pork and vegetables are ready to serve.
Udon noodles with mushrooms and vegetables in soy sauce
I recommend trying this wonderful recipe with mushrooms instead of meat. By the way, you can also add green beans and green peas here. This will make the dish even more satisfying. But this is at your request.
Ingredients for 2 servings:
- Onions - 1 pc.
- Udon noodles – 150 gr
- Bell pepper - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 1-3 cloves
- Soy sauce - 2 tablespoons
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Champignons (or others) - 250-300 g
- Vegetable oil - for frying
Preparation:
1. Pour a large amount of water into a saucepan and place on fire. When it boils, add salt and add noodles. Cook for 7-10 minutes (follow the instructions on the package). Then drain it in a colander, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and set aside for now.
2. Heat a frying pan over heat and pour in vegetable oil. Cut the onion into small cubes and place on a hot surface. Fry over medium heat, stirring, for 3-5 minutes.
3. Cut the champignons into any shape and add to the onion. Stir, increase heat slightly and fry for 5 minutes. The mushrooms should be browned.
4. Next, remove the seeds from the bell pepper. Cut it into strips and add to the contents of the frying pan. Stir and fry for about 3-5 minutes.
5. Chop the garlic in your preferred way and add to the pan. Add sesame seeds, 0.5 teaspoon of salt, pepper and mix well. Then pour in soy sauce. Stir again and fry for 2-3 minutes.
6. Then place the finished noodles there. Stir and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Place the hot dish on plates and serve.
Cooking noodles yourself - a guide from A to Z
The most famous recipe
If you have a desire to make udon at home, then I suggest using the following instructions for the Japanese recipe. The process is quite unusual, but for Asians it is a common thing.
For one serving you will need:
- wheat flour (100 g);
- water (45 ml);
- salt (5 g).
How to cook?
- Add salt to the specified amount of water at room temperature and stir until completely dissolved.
- Now combine the flour with salted water and knead the dough into a ball shape.
- We place it in a sealed bag, from which we remove all the air if possible. We wait half an hour.
- Next, place a small towel on the floor and place a bag of dough on top of it.
- We again place another towel on this bag and begin to knead the dough with our own feet. This must be done for 30 seconds, stepping over it lightly, walking back and forth on it until it becomes flat.
- We take the dough out of the bag and give it a spherical shape again.
- Now we put it back in the bag and do the same thing 3 times. Let's not overdo it!
- After 3 times, we form a ball again, place it in the same bag and let it rest for another 3 hours.
- Now sprinkle the table with starch and place the rested dough on it.
- Roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3 mm and lightly sprinkle with starch.
- Mentally divide the dough into three equal parts. We bend one part towards the center, and then the second - on top of the first. It turns out to be on top of each other.
- Turn the dough over and use a sharp knife to cut thin strips 2-3 mm wide.
- After this, sprinkle the strips with starch again. The noodles are ready! It is advisable to use it fresh, but you can also store it in the refrigerator in an airtight bag for up to a month.
Homemade beef udon
Here is another option for preparing udon noodles. Already with beef. To prevent the meat from being tough, the pieces need to be fried a little longer than in previous recipes, and then, one by one, add the rest of the ingredients. And then the dish turns out simply magnificent.
Ingredients:
- Beef - 400-500 gr
- Onions - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Bell pepper - 3 pcs.
- Beijing cabbage – 300-400 g
- Udon noodles - 1 pack.
- Soy sauce - 4 tablespoons
- Sesame - 1 tablespoon
- Adjika – 1 tablespoon
- Salt, pepper - to taste
- Vegetable oil - for frying
Preparation:
1. First, boil the noodles in boiling salted water (cooking time about 10 minutes). Then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
2. Next, let's start cutting food. Cut the beef into not very large pieces. Cut bell peppers and carrots into strips. Cut the onion into half rings. And also cut the Chinese cabbage into small strips.
3. Pour 100 ml of vegetable oil into a frying pan with high sides and heat thoroughly. Then place the meat there and fry, stirring for about 20 minutes over medium heat. Then add salt, ground pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Continue frying for another 10 minutes over low heat.
4. Next, add carrots and onions to the meat. Stir and fry them for 3 minutes. Then add bell pepper. And after 5 minutes - Chinese cabbage. Mix everything well and continue frying over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
5. Now it’s time to add the prepared noodles to the contents of the pan. Pour in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and adjika. Mix everything well. Simmer for 3 minutes and you can remove from heat. Udon noodles with beef and vegetables are ready. Before serving, sprinkle the dish with sesame seeds.
What is udon
The type of pasta depends on the flour used as a basis. Udon is thin and flat noodles. It is made from wheat flour. The energy value is 337 kcal per 100 g. It takes a little time to cook such noodles, which is why it has become popular. If you make it as a separate dish, you can simply sprinkle it with vegetable oil. Although udon is more often consumed with celery, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables, fish, seafood and chicken, chicken, pork or beef. How to cook udon noodles? Very simple - just 7-8 minutes in boiling water is enough.
