Yaki Udon
Published Dec. 7, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1tablespoon mirin
- 1tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1pound frozen udon noodles
- Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½pound ground pork, or beef, chicken or turkey
- 1small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4ounces white or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1large carrot, scrubbed or peeled, cut into thin 3-inch-long sticks
- 1medium bok choy, sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 3large garlic cloves, chopped
- 3scallions, sliced into 2-inch pieces, plus more for serving
- Crushed red pepper, to taste
- Sesame seeds, furikake or chile oil, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, combine the dark soy sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and sugar. Taste a little and balance salty, acidic and sweet flavors, if needed.
- Step 2
Bring a medium pot of water to boil over medium-high. Add the frozen noodles and cook, gently nudging them apart, until they separate and are pleasantly chewy, about 2 minutes. Drain, quickly rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, transfer to a medium bowl and drizzle with a little sesame oil (about 1 teaspoon) so they don’t stick to each other.
- Step 3
In a wok or a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high. Add the pork and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a small bowl.
- Step 4
Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil into the wok. Add the onion and mushrooms, and stir-fry, tossing frequently, until fragrant and the vegetables take on a little color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrot, bok choy and garlic; constantly stir until the vegetables cook but still have a crunch, about 3 minutes. Stir in the scallions and cooked pork; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the noodles and sauce, tossing until the noodles are coated and glossy. Taste and adjust any seasonings, if needed.
- Step 5
Transfer yaki udon to bowls, and top each serving with chopped scallion and crushed red pepper, to taste. Serve with sesame seeds, furikake and chile oil, if you like.
Tip
- Dark soy sauce can be found at Asian markets, online and some grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can use regular soy sauce and adjust sugar amounts, but the sauce won’t be as thick and glossy.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
selah
as a japanese person who’s comfort food is yaki udon, this recipe is way too much. Just looking at it, it’s going to be too salty. All my family did was use the soy soup base, the same you would use to make udon soup or somen base soup. that’s all you need. and it is the best.
Dee
Really loved it as directed - using trader joe's vacuum packed udon noodles, which didn't need to be precooked. Don't have Asian grocery nearby. Next time I'd add pepper flakes early and maybe peanuts. I'd leave out the sugar. Too sweet.
Jeff
I didn't have frozen udon on hand so made it without as a stir fry and ate it over rice.. lol it was GOOD! I'm Japanese and I also think as written it's too salty. I would use a 1:1 ratio of soy sauce and mirin plus whatever amount of oyster/hoisin sauce you desire.
Jennifer S
Didn’t have time to go to the Asian grocery store for fresh/frozen udon noods so used dry and drained well before stir-frying. I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again. Great Friday night option instead of take-out. Fast, easy, satisfying.
Tamago san
Tips from a lazy Japanese - if udon comes with dried soup packages, just dump half of the package as seasoning per serving of udon. Maybe add a teaspoon of soy sauce to taste. I like adding cabbage, carrots, onion, and protein. If you can get pickled ginger from a Japanese store, top the yaki udon with it before serving.
avery
Great recipe! Didn’t have frozen udon noodles so used dry udon noodles and it turned out great!
paul s
I remember being in a small, dark restaurant in Japan, and feasting on some delicious yaki udon. The one thing that made it extra memorable? The topping of some chopped pickled ginger, which cut so elegantly through the rich dish.
Christine
Leave out sugar Trader Joe’s vacuum packed udon
Tracey
FWIW, for those who are reluctant to purchase dark soy sauce just for this dish, it's nice to have dark soy sauce on hand of you ever make pad see ew. Pretty much a required ingredient for that dish.
Sandra
A pastry blender is a great tool for quickly chopping up eggs for egg salad. Takes just a few seconds to do it right in the bowl, and no messy cutting board to clean up!
Duane
For those who don't want to mess with six sauces, my Japanese host family always used tonkatsu sauce for their yaki udon and it was delicious. Easy too.
Kees
My favorite dark (and sweet) soy sauce is Ketjap Manis. It's Indonesian, brand name "Conimex", Available at Amazon
Pam from NJ
The sauce combo is perfect, making this a great recipe! I subbed TVP for the pork and sautéed it along with the onions and mushrooms; added a tbsp tomato paste and some paprika to the TVP also. Did not miss the meat. Phenomenal flavors and colors!
Amanda Rocha
I used the shelf stable, steamed noodles and it was perfect! We also added fish sauce and used beef stir fry cuts-- so rich and light but filling!
Allison
Not only for a Thai dish, if you would like to explore the world of Chinese cuisine then both dark and light soy sauce are essential ingredients.
sean
Made this but did tiny shrimps instead of pork. Really good! I also didn’t have dark soy sauce and just used tamari…so I probably didn’t make this dish in some peoples eyes but honestly, flexible/really good meal!
Cynthia
Made this as directed and family thought it was delicious, not too salty or sweet for us, garnished with red chili pepper flakes as suggested. Next time will try adding peanuts as someone suggested.
Jimbob
Just made this for the second time, and once again we exclaimed, "Restaurant quality!" Added some additional vegetables because I had them: red pepper strips, cabbage shreds and celery. But why no nutritional info with this recipe? As someone who is now logging all the calories, carbs, fat and protein that I eat, I need to know. Most NYT recipes include it (though some obliquely say "per serving," without stating the size of a serving).
manniokka
1:1 soy/mirin, leave out sugar
Arrivederchi
I have only ever been able to find very skinny dried Udon noodles, as thin or thinner than angel hair pasta. I prefer, and could swear I’ve previously eaten thicker noodles more akin to linguine. Are Udon always so skinny, or have I not looked thoroughly enough?
frankie
try with soup packet and no mushrooms
Topher
excellent!~ shelf-stable udon noodles work too, and will save you step 2.
SS
I made this as directed with all the sauces and in the listed amounts. Our family loved it. We didn't find it too salty. We loved the flavors and textures. It will go into regular rotation now that we have the sauces on hand.
Mark
Home made yakiundon sauce is easy and can be made gluten-free by using tamari in place of normal soy sauce. In my opinion, it isn't yakisoba without red pickled ginger (beni shona).
Zoei
I more or less made this as directed and it was delicious. My 4 year old helped cut the vegetables and she ate it all right up. Typically she’s a veggie skeptic. The only thing different we did was not use dark soy sauce and only used 2TBSP of regular soy sauce. And broccoli instead of bokchoy as a request by my family. Oh and I added a splash of water to the sauce to help scrape up any bit on the bottom of my pan. This will definitely be in our rotation!
Patrick Clary
Dark soy sauce is a trap for the unwary cook with celiac family members. I’ve never seen it gluten-free. Anyone else have an idea about this? The “tip” references adjustments for lack of dark soy sauce but doesn’t specify them. Sad.
Marianna
YUM! Used TVP instead of meat--a perfect vegan meal. Thankyou NYT!
tinaindenver
Made this tonight and it was a big hit. Could not find dark soy sauce so just used regular and left out the sugar. I thought the amount of sauce called for was not sufficient, so next time I will use more. Trader Joe’s Thai wheat noodles worked very well.
Jennifer
So good! One tip if using ground chicken - definitely add some of the sauce once the chicken has started browning. No frozen Udon here but the dried noodles, cooked per package instructions, were great.
Vida
This turned out great. Added ginger with the garlic. Used 1 container of tofu instead of meat. Added 200g of snow peas, used 5 baby bok choy, increased mushrooms by 1 oz, as the reviews said there weren't enough veggies to noodles. Once I'd made the veggies, I realized the noodle amount was too small. I ended up using 800g of Udon to balance. The sauce amount was perfect for this increased veg/noodle amount, so if I made less I'd hold back some of the sauce. Decreased sugar in sauce to 1 tsp.
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