12 Udon Recipes That Will Impress Even The Pickiest Noodle Connoisseur

Udon recipes

As much as we love a good hearty bowl of ramen, there’s something just so irresistible about thick chewy udon noodles in a bowl of umami-packed broth. Until we can travel to Japan for an authentic bowl of noodles again, check out our list of easy udon recipes that will satisfy your noodle cravings.

– Udon recipes with hot broth –

1. Kake udon

Image credit: @pistolenpolly

Kake udon (かけうどん) is the perfect udon dish for someone who enjoys eating noodles with no frills. The boiled and drained udon noodles are served in a bowl of hot dashi broth, then topped with a generous amount of spring onions and sometimes kamaboko, a type of Japanese fish cake.

Image credit: @tsurumaru_udon

At udon eateries in Japan, people often order kake udon along with side dishes such as onsen tamago and tempura. For some added flavour and spice, we recommend sprinkling shichimi (七味), a type of Japanese seasoning blend with seven spices.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dashi stock

1700ml water
30g-40g bonito flakes
10g kombu (Japanese dried kelp)
2 tbsp sake
5 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp light soya sauce

Others

Udon noodles of your choice
Chopped green onions and sliced kamaboko for garnish

Steps:

Dashi stock

Prepare a pot of water. Using a slightly damp cloth, gently clean the surface of the kombu. The white powdery substance on the surface contributes to the umami flavour of the stock, so be sure not to wipe everything away.
Soak the dried kombu in the water for 30 to 60 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your toppings. Thinly slice green onions and kamaboko. Set aside until ready to use.
Once the dried kombu has softened, heat the pot of water using medium heat.
When it boils, turn off the heat and remove the kombu pieces. Add bonito flakes and let it soak for 3 to 4 minutes. Use a ladle and skim off any scum on the surface.
Line a strainer with a kitchen cloth or towel and slowly filter the stock through the cloth.
Return the filtered stock to the pot and heat gently on medium-low heat. Add sake, mirin, and soya sauce. Stir thoroughly to combine and heat until it is hot.

Assembly

Prepare your ready-made udon noodles by following the cooking instructions on the package.
Once the noodles are done cooking, drain the noodles and transfer them to a bowl. Top with a few ladlefuls of warm broth, green onions, and kamaboko. Serve immediately.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Yao Lam / 日本太太の私房菜 Japanese Home Cooking

2. Kitsune udon

Image credit: @yukibonyukibon

Kitsune udon (きつねうどん) is made by simply topping a bowl of kake udon with aburaage (油揚げ), which are thin slices of deep-fried seasoned tofu pouches.

The name literally translates to “fox udon”, which is apt since the fried tofu’s light brown exterior resembles the fur colour of foxes. Also, in Japanese folktales, aburaage is widely thought to be the favourite food of foxes.

Image credit: @silverfeathersangels

When enjoyed together, the slightly sweet aburaage soaks up the savoury broth and pairs wonderfully with the udon noodles.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Dashi stock

1 piece of kombu
15g dried bonito flakes
600ml water
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp light soya sauce
½ tsp salt

Others and toppings

Udon noodles of your choice
4 aburaage (Japanese deep-fried seasoned tofu)
Narutomaki (Japanese fish cake)
Sliced green onions
Shichimi

Steps:

Dashi stock

Soak the kombu in water for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the water and softened kombu to a pot and bring to a boil over medium-low heat.
When it starts to simmer, remove it from heat and take out the kombu. Add dried bonito flakes and bring the mixture to a boil again.
Once the dashi is boiling again, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 seconds. Turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom.
Strain the dashi stock with a fine-mesh strainer and return it to the pot.
To make the udon soup, season the dashi stock with mirin, sugar, soya sauce, and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

Assembly

To prepare the toppings, thinly slice green onions. Squeeze out the excess liquid from the aburaage and slice the narutomaki into 0.3cm thick pieces.
Bring a pot of water to boil and follow the cooking instructions on the package for the store-bought udon noodles.
Drain the cooked noodles and remove excess water. Transfer the noodles to a bowl, fill with hot soup and top it off with the prepared toppings.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Just One Cookbook

3. Tsukimi udon

Image credit: @muse_poledancer

Eggs are a mainstay of Japanese cuisine. You can find them rolled, half-boiled, steamed, and even raw. Tsukimi udon (月見うどん), or “moon viewing” udon, comprises a raw egg yolk set atop a bed of udon noodles. The round yellow yolk resembles a full, bright moon during mid-autumn, which explains the dish’s name.

Image credit: @nel_kun_0306

Use fresh eggs for the recipe. If you’re not comfortable with eating raw eggs, you can also swop it out for a poached egg with a runny yolk.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 serving of dashi stock (Refer to recipe for kake udon or kitsune udon)
1 serving of store-bought udon noodles
Thinly sliced green onions
2 slices of kamaboko
1 egg

Steps:

Prepare dashi stock and set it aside.
Add your noodles to a pot filled with boiling water and prepare according to package instructions.
Drain your cooked noodles and transfer them to a bowl. Add a few ladlefuls of hot dashi stock, and garnish with green onions and kamaboko.
Finally, crack an egg and separate the yolk from the white. Gently place the raw egg yolk in the middle of the noodles, being careful not to break it. Serve.

Check out the original recipe here.

4. Tempura udon

Image credit: @moto_club4ag

For some additional texture, try tempura udon – hot udon noodles paired with crispy pieces of fried vegetables and shrimp. From seasonal vegetables found in your local supermarkets to fresh seafood, almost anything can be turned into tempura.

Image credit: @tatikoma1984

Serve the tempura together with the bowl of soupy noodles, or on a separate plate if you want to retain its crisp exterior.

Image credit: @mochiko_pan1

Here’s a protip – sprinkle the batter into the hot oil and make some tenkasu (tempura crumbs). Save the crispy fried crumbs and make yourself a bowl of tanuki udon (狸うどん), a hot brothy noodle dish served with tempura bits.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Udon noodles

300g flour
140ml water
15g salt

Tempura

110g flour
200ml of egg yolk and water combined
Carrots, eggplant, okra, and shrimp, or any ingredients of your choice
Flour for coating

Soup

900ml water
10g kombu
20g dried sardines
20g thick bonito flakes
5g thin bonito flakes
1 tsp soya sauce
Salt

Steps:

Udon noodles

Sift the flour into a bowl. Dissolve the salt in the water and add the mixture into the flour. Combine everything together and lightly knead until it forms a stiff dough.
Transfer the dough to a ziplock bag and knead the dough by stepping on it. Once it becomes flat, fold the dough and step on it again. Repeat this process a few times.
Rest the dough for 1 hour.
On a generously floured surface, place the dough and flatten it. Roll with a rolling pin, fold it, and cut into strips of noodles. Set aside.

Tip: You can use pre-packaged udon noodles to cut down on prep time.

Tempura

Shred the carrots into thin strips. Cut off the tip of the eggplant, halve it, and cut it lengthwise. Without cutting through the top, make multiple cuts lengthwise and press down on the eggplant to fan the slices out.
Rub the okra with salt to get rid of the fine bristles on the surface. Using a toothpick, prick the okra so that they won’t explode when deep-fried.
For the shrimp, cut off the tip of the tail and squeeze out any excess liquid. Make shallow incisions on the back of the shrimp so that it won’t curl up while it is being fried. Gently press along the cuts to stretch out the shrimp.
For the batter, add water to a beaten egg yolk until the mixture reaches 200ml. Add the mixture to the flour and mix until there are no lumps.
Coat shredded carrots with flour, then the wet batter. Using a mesh strainer, scoop the carrots to drain off excess batter and drop them into the hot oil. The temperature of the oil should be 180℃.
When the exterior turns light golden brown, remove and transfer the tempura to a rack. Repeat the same steps for other vegetables and shrimp.

Soup

Add dried sardines, kombu, and water in a pot over medium heat. Right before the water boils, remove the sardines and kombu.
Add the thick bonito flakes and boil for a few minutes. Turn off the heat, add the thin bonito flakes, and wait for about 5 minutes until they’ve settled to the bottom.
Filter the soup through a kitchen towel. Then, add soya sauce and a pinch of salt.

Assembly

Boil handmade udon noodles for about 10 minutes. When they are done, drain the noodles and put them in a bowl. Pour an adequate amount of the hot broth and top it off with tempura pieces.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: JunsKitchen

5. Kakiage udon

Image credit: @freeride_cooking

Kakiage udon (かき揚げうどん) features the titular kakiage, which is a type of vegetable tempura. Vegetables such as carrots and onions are julienned – chef speak for “thinly sliced” – and coated with a tiny amount of tempura batter. It is also common to add small shrimps to the vegetable medley.

If you have leftover vegetables that are past their prime in your fridge, you can use them up by making kakiage udon.

Image credit: @syokudoumonoheizo

Serves 5

Ingredients:

Kakiage

240g leek
100g small shrimps
1 tbsp katakuriko (potato starch)
4 tbsp plain or cake flour
2 tbsp water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg

Base

2000ml water
3 tbsp soya sauce
4 tbsp mirin
1.5-2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dashi powder
5 servings of store-bought udon noodles

Steps:

Kakiage

Prepare the leek by cutting it into thin long strips the size of matchsticks. Place the leeks in a bowl along with the shrimps, katakuriko, and flour. Toss thoroughly to ensure that everything is coated evenly.
In a separate bowl, add water, apple cider vinegar, and egg. Whisk to combine and add the egg mixture to the vegetables. Toss and coat evenly.
Bring a pot of oil to around 165℃. Gently place spoonfuls of the raw kakiage mixture into the oil and fry until lightly browned. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess oil.

Base

Add water, soya sauce, mirin, sugar, salt, and dashi powder to a pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and set aside.
Boil the udon noodles according to package directions, stirring occasionally to ensure that the noodles don’t stick together.
Once the noodles are cooked, transfer them to a bowl, then top off with soup and a piece of kakiage.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: wa’s Kitchen recipes

6. Niku udon

Image credit: @na_paleczkach

While the name “niku udon” (肉うどん) translates to “meat udon”, most niku udon in Japan are typically served with beef. Topped with a hearty portion of thinly sliced beef, the hot bowl of udon noodles is the perfect dish for meat lovers.

Image credit: @utsuwany

The tender beef slices are seasoned with a touch of sugar and coupled with naturally sweet onions, which adds another dimension to the savoury broth. Though beef is used in this recipe, you can also substitute it with other types of meat such as chicken or pork. Just make sure that the meat is thinly sliced to allow the marinade to penetrate it fully.

Image credit: @cobainajah

Serves 1

Ingredients:

120g sliced beef
⅛ piece of onion
2 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soya sauce
400ml dashi stock (refer to the recipe for kitsune udon)
Salt to taste
1 serving of frozen udon noodles, thawed
1 stalk of green onions, chopped

Steps:

Thinly slice the onions. Heat the pot over medium heat and add about 1 tbsp of oil. Sauté the onions until they have softened.
Add in the beef slices and fry until they are mostly brown.
Deglaze the pan with sake, then sprinkle in the sugar. Stir to distribute evenly.
Add soya sauce and let the beef cook for a few minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Remove the cooked beef mixture from the heat and add the dashi stock. Taste and adjust accordingly – you can add a pinch of salt if it’s too bland for your liking.
Once the soup comes to a boil, add the udon noodles and cook for a few more minutes.
Transfer the noodles to a bowl followed by the beef slices, the broth, and finally, a generous topping of chopped green onions.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: MASA’s Cooking ABC

– Cold udon recipes –

7. Zaru udon

Image credit: @chako_33

The heat of summer is too much for piping hot bowls of udon noodles, which is why the Japanese came up with zaru udon (ざるうどん). The simple udon dish comprises chilled chewy udon noodles served on a bamboo draining basket (zaru), alongside a cold dipping sauce known as mentsuyu (麺汁).

Double the sauce recipe and keep the extra in the fridge so that you can quickly whip up zaru udon anytime when you need a refreshing meal.

Image credit: @mitz.zenith

Serves 2

Ingredients:

480ml soya sauce
480ml mirin
1 piece of kombu
30g thick dried bonito flakes
2 servings of store-bought udon noodles
Shredded nori (seaweed)

Steps:

Add soya sauce, mirin, kombu, and dried bonito flakes to a pot.
Heat the mixture over low heat until it reaches around 60℃. Remove the kombu.
Continue cooking until it comes to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Strain the mixture with a fine-mesh strainer and let it cool completely.
To prepare the mentsuyu, dilute the mixture with ice water. The ratio of mixture to water should be 1:2.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add your udon noodles. Once they are cooked, drain the noodles with a strainer, rinse with running tap water, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process and allow the noodles to retain their chewy texture.
Serve the chilled noodles with shredded nori as garnish and enjoy with the dipping sauce on the side.

Check out the recipe for the dipping sauce here:

Video credit: Kitchen Princess Bamboo

8. Bukkake udon

Image credit: @moto_915

Bukkake udon (ぶっかけうどん) is another cold udon dish enjoyed during the hotter months. Thick wheat noodles are served chilled with cold dashi broth poured over it, then topped with simple condiments such as grated ginger and green onions. Tempura goes well with this dish as you can enjoy the contrast in texture between the crispy tempura and chewy cold noodles.

Image credit: @ggu_nyam.zip

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 servings of frozen udon noodles
2 eggs
2 – 3 stalks of green onions
Freshly grated ginger
59ml mentsuyu (Refer to recipe for zaru udon) + 59ml water

Steps:

In a pot, place your room temperature eggs and submerge them in hot water.
Leave it to cook for 20 minutes, covered. After that, add some ice cubes to stop the eggs from cooking. Alternatively, remove the eggs from the water and submerge them in ice water.
To prepare the toppings, grate ginger and thinly slice green onions. Set aside until ready for use.
Dilute the mentsuyu with an equal amount of water. The ratio of sauce to water is 1:1.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook udon noodles according to the instructions written on the package. Drain the cooked noodles and rinse with cold running water.
Transfer the noodles to a bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the egg and carefully place it in the middle. Garnish with grated ginger and green onions. Finally, pour mentsuyu over the noodles and enjoy.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Kitchen Princess Bamboo

– Other udon recipes –

9. Nabeyaki udon

Image credit: @pastamagoria

Winter is upon us and what better way to warm ourselves up than with a piping hot nabeyaki udon (鍋焼きうどん)? Instead of being served in normal bowls, nabeyaki udon is cooked and served in donabe (traditional Japanese earthenware pots; どん鍋).

Image credit: @midori_syokudou

The pots retain heat well, which means that they will keep the contents warm until you’ve finished eating, even in the dead of winter. Besides a generous amount of noodles, nabeyaki udon also contains an assortment of vegetables and meat for a hearty winter meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Toppings

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 stalk of spinach, rinsed
3cm carrot
4 slices of kamaboko
⅓ package of shimeji mushrooms, with bottoms trimmed
1 stalk of Japanese long onion
1 chicken thigh
2 servings of udon noodles
2 eggs
2 stalks of mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley)
Shichimi togarashi

Soup

720ml dashi
Dashi from dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp mirin
1.5 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp salt

Tempura

2 large shrimp
25g tempura batter mix
40ml cold water
Potato starch or cornstarch for dusting

Steps:

Toppings

Soak the shiitake mushrooms for 15 minutes. Once they’ve softened, squeeze out the excess water, remove the stems, and score a cross on top of the mushrooms. Keep the liquid for later.
Blanch spinach for 1 minute, then transfer it to a bowl of ice water. Trim off the stems and cut the spinach into 4cm pieces.
Slice carrots and cut them into flower shapes with a cookie cutter.
Thinly slice kamaboko. Halve the shimeji mushrooms, trim the bottom and cut the mushroom stalks into half.
Cut the chicken into 2.5cm pieces. Then, diagonally slice the Japanese long onions.

Soup

Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Set aside until ready for use.

Tempura

Add the cold water to the tempura batter mix and whisk to combine thoroughly.
Sprinkle cornstarch over the de-shelled and deveined shrimps. Toss around to coat evenly.
Dip the shrimps in the tempura batter, then drop them individually into a pot of hot oil. When the exterior becomes light golden brown, remove it from oil and drain it on a paper towel.

Assembly

Boil udon noodles and remove them before they are fully cooked. Soak the noodles in a bowl of ice water.
To assemble, lay a bed of udon noodles in the donabe. Arrange the kamaboko, long onions, chicken pieces, shimeji mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots nicely.
Add an adequate amount of udon soup and bring the pot to boil over medium-low heat, covered.
Skim any scum on the surface. Make a well in the middle and carefully crack an egg. Add the spinach and garnish with mitsuba.
Cover the pot and let the content simmer for a few minutes. Finally, top with shrimp tempura, sprinkle some shichimi togarashi and serve.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Just One Cookbook

10. Curry udon

Image credit: @yaoya_03

As amazing as curry rice is, there’s only so much rice you can consume before it gets repetitive. Enter curry udon. The noodles absorb the soupy Japanese curry, making it more flavourful compared to its dashi-based counterparts.

Image adapted from: Cooking With Dog

Serves 1

Ingredients:

50g onions
50g shimeji mushrooms
10g carrot
12cm long green onion, white part
½ tbsp vegetable oil
50g beef slices
1 tbsp curry powder
250ml dashi stock
1 tsp sugar
1⅓ tbsp light soya sauce
Thickener (½ tbsp potato starch + 1 tbsp water)
1 serving of udon noodles
Chopped spring onions

Steps:

Cut the onion in half lengthwise and slice it into pieces that are 1cm thick. Julienne the carrots. Tear the shimeji mushrooms into small pieces.
Diagonally slice the white part of the long green onions into 2cm long pieces and sauté them with a small amount of oil in a pot over medium heat. When the onions are lightly browned, remove them from the heat and set them aside.
Add the vegetable oil and heat the pot. Add the carrots, onions, and shimeji mushrooms. Lightly cook the ingredients.
When the oil is distributed evenly, add the beef slices. Continue to sauté the ingredients.
When the beef is almost fully cooked, lower the heat and add the curry powder. Stir-fry to bring out the aroma of the spices. Be careful not to burn the curry powder.
Pour the dashi stock, sugar, and light soya sauce into the mixture. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Skim any scum on the surface.
When the vegetables have softened, reduce the heat to low. Add the thickener bit by bit, making sure to stir the mixture while you do so.
Turn the heat back up to medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil to thicken the curry. Add the long green onions and let them simmer for a few minutes.
Boil the udon noodles and drain the noodles once they are cooked. Transfer the noodles to a bowl and pour the hot curry sauce over the noodles.
Top with chopped spring onions and serve immediately.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Cooking with Dog

11. Yaki udon

Image credit: @nam_58n

If you’re not a soup person, have a go at yaki udon (stir-fried udon; 焼うどん). The dish consists of thick udon noodles stir-fried with a sweet and savoury sauce, along with vegetables and meat. For those who hate doing the dishes, this one-pot recipe can be made with minimal prep and saves you the trouble of having to wash additional pots and pans.

Image credit: @cogeecha

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 servings of udon
100g sliced pork
¼ piece of carrot
2 Japanese green bell peppers
2 shiitake mushrooms
½ stalk of Japanese long onion
1 tsp vegetable oil
1½ tbsp soya sauce
1½ tbsp sake
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Bonito flakes

Steps:

Cut the pork slices into 1.5cm long pieces. Cut carrots into strips. For the long green onions, thinly slice them diagonally.
Remove the top and the white inner core of the bell pepper. Halve the peppers lengthwise, then cut them into long strips.
Thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms. Set the vegetables aside.
To make the sauce, combine soya sauce, sake, sugar, and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly to combine.
In a frying pan, heat up the vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and carrots. Stir-fry until they’ve softened slightly.
Add the pork and fry with the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
Lower the heat and push the mixture to one side of the pan. Add the udon noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and bell peppers.
Drizzle the sauce over the mixture and let it cook, covered, for 2 minutes. At the 1 minute mark, use a chopstick to loosen up the udon noodles.
Turn the heat up to medium heat. Toss the ingredients around to ensure that everything is distributed evenly and coated with the sauce. The dish is done when the sauce is completely absorbed into the noodles.
Transfer the udon noodles to a plate and top with bonito flakes. Serve.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: 白ごはん.comチャンネル

12. Miso nikomi udon

Image credit: @ofuton_no.1

Miso nikomi udon (味噌煮込みうどん) is a Nagoya speciality that consists of udon noodles simmered in an umami-packed miso broth. Unlike the usual light brown miso we’re used to, this regional dish uses hatcho miso (八丁味噌).

Image credit: @yamamotoya_sakuradouriotsu

Hatcho miso is a type of red miso that is made with soybean koji instead of the usual rice koji. Thanks to the longer fermentation period, hatcho miso imparts a robust and intense flavour to the broth. Red or yellow miso will also do the trick if you find the reddish-brown hatcho miso too strong for your liking.

Image credit: @222alalal

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 serving of udon noodles
250ml dashi stock
1½ tbsp hatcho miso
1½ tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
80g chicken thigh
½ a piece of aburaage
6 slices of long green onions
1 shiitake mushroom
1 egg
2 slices of kamaboko
Spring onion leaves
Shichimi chilli pepper

Steps:

Prepare the udon noodles by microwaving them at 600 watts for 3 minutes.
Remove the stem of the shiitake mushroom and slice it into 3 to 4 pieces. Cut the aburaage into bite-sized pieces.
Cut out 6 slices from the long green onion, each 0.7cm thick, using a diagonal cut. As for the spring onion leaves, slice them thinly.
Slice the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces using diagonal cuts.
Heat the dashi stock in a donabe and add the chicken.
Dissolve the miso in a fine mesh strainer. When the chicken begins to turn white, add the mirin and sugar.
Add the udon noodles, aburaage, and long green onion. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the kamaboko and shiitake mushrooms. Drop the egg in the centre and cook for about 2 minutes, uncovered.
Top with the spring onion leaves and sprinkle with shichimi. Serve.

Check out the original recipe here:

Video credit: Cooking with Dog

Udon recipes to try making at home

Most udon recipes start with a flavourful dashi broth. Once you have that down pat, you can pretty much master a plethora of udon recipes and cook up a feast from the comfort of your kitchen. So roll up your sleeves and get cooking!

Check out these articles for more recipes:

Cover image adapted from (left to right): @yaoya_03, @cobainajah, and @yukibonyukibon