These yaki udon noodles will make a delicious and simple weeknight meal for the whole family! The recipe is easy to prepare and it’s packed with fresh vegetables and Japanese flavors. 25 minutes is all you need for this easy stir-fry!
I love that this recipe is fresh, colorful, and comforting at the same time! Don’t miss out on the crispy tofu. Besides, it’s a great recipe to use up leftover vegetables in your fridge!
What Is Yaki Udon?
Yaki udon is a Japanese dish that consists of thick and chewy udon noodles, vegetables, and a soy-based sauce. Besides, it often contains pork or other meat. However, it’s also great with tofu.
Yaki udon is very easy to make and is very versatile. You can use many different kinds of vegetables, so it’s a great dish to get rid of leftover vegetables in your fridge.
There are stories that the popular Japanese stir-fry dish was first made after World War II when food was scare.
The sauce that is used for yaki udon is very easy to make. All you need is a bit of sugar, black pepper, Japanese soy sauce, and mirin. Mirin is a condiment essential to the Japanese cuisine.
It’s a sweet rice wine that is used for cooking. It enhances the flavors of the dish and it is an essential part of yaki udon.
“Yaki” is Japanese for “grill” or “fry”, so you could loosely translate the name to fried udon noodles.
Yaki Udon Noodles
So what exactly are udon noodles? Udon noodles are thick, white, and chewy noodles made with wheat flour and water. You can either buy them fresh, frozen, or dried.
Udon noodles are very popular in Japan because they’re delicious, cheap, easy to prepare, and very versatile. You can use them for all kinds of stir-fry recipes or noodle soups.
They perfectly soak up the flavors of the dish you’re making. And they’re super comforting and satisfying!
What You Need For This Yaki Udon
The ingredient list for this yaki udon isn’t too long. However, you might not be able to find all of the ingredients in any supermarket. But it shouldn’t be a problem in a well-stored, bigger grocery store or an Asian market.
You need:
- pak choi
- shiitake mushrooms
- udon noodles (I prefer fresh, but you could also use frozen or dried)
- green onions
- broccoli
- firm tofu
- red bell pepper
- shallot
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- vegan Worcestershire sauce
- brown sugar
- mirin
- cayenne pepper
As always, you can find the full ingredient list and the recipe instructions in a separate, printable recipe box at the end of this post.
How To Make Yaki Udon
The yaki udon recipe is pretty easy to make. All steps are simple and straightforward. All in all, the dish is ready in about 25 minutes.
STEP 1: Prepare the udon noodles according to the instructions on the package. Set aside.
STEP 2: Wash the vegetables and cut the red bell pepper, the shiitake mushrooms, and the pak choi into thin strips. Divide the broccoli into small florets.
STEP 3: Cut the tofu into cubes. In a small bowl add two teaspoons of soy sauce and 1/3 cup of corn starch. Make sure all of the tofu cubes are covered.
STEP 4: Heat some sesame oil in a large pan and pan-fry the tofu cubes for about 5 minutes on high heat or until they’re golden and crispy. Set aside.
STEP 5: In the same pan, heat some more sesame oil and sauté the shallots for about 3 minutes or until they’re translucent. Then add the red bell pepper, the shiitake mushrooms, the broccoli, and the pak choi. Cook for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
STEP 6: Then add the cooked udon noodles.
STEP 7: Make the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, the brown sugar, the mirin, and the cayenne pepper.
STEP 8: Add the sauce to the vegetables and the udon noodles together with the tofu and stir well. Cook for another 2 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped green onions on top. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- Make sure to use firm tofu for this recipe. You want the tofu cubes to be really crispy. This does not work with silken tofu or very soft tofu.
- Are you having a hard time finding pak choi, mirin, and udon noodles? Then check out the Asian section of your supermarket. Or make a trip to your local Asian market. It’s the best place to buy Asian products. You will have a larger assortment and you will probably pay less than at your regular supermarket.
- I used a package of pre-cooked udon noodles for this recipe, which works best. Packages of pre-cooked udon noodles are very common to find. Sometimes you can also find frozen udon noodles in Asian markets. Just cook them for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
- If you use pre-cooked noodles and they stick together, just loosen them under running water.
- If you can’t find pre-cooked udon noodles, you could also use dried udon noodles. However, they are usually lower in quality and are thinner and shorter. Besides, they don’t absorb the flavors as well as fresh udon noodles do.
- The recipe is pretty versatile when it comes to the vegetables. You could also use other vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, green beans, or asparagus.
- Make sure to use Japanese soy sauce for this recipe. It has a different flavor than Indonesian or Chinese soy sauce and makes this Japanese stir-fry more authentic.
- If you want to make this yaki udon a bit spicier, you can add some sriracha sauce on top if you want.
Other Vegan Asian-Inspired Recipes You Might Like:
- Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Vegan Pad Thai
- Congee (Savory Rice Pudding)
- Vegan Ramen
- Vegan Pho
- 50 Amazing Vegan Asian Recipes
I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS!
I hope you like these yaki udon noodles as much as we do around here.
If you give them a try, I’d love to know what you think about them. Just leave me a comment and a star rating below. Your comments really make my day!
You like my recipes and want to see more? Then follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Sina
Yaki Udon
Ingredients
For the noodles:
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 14 oz precooked udon noodles
- 10 oz pak choi
- 4 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 red bell pepper
- 7 oz firm tofu
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- sesame oil
- 2 green onions
- sesame seeds
For the yaki udon sauce:
- 3 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- cayenne pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the udon noodles according to the instructions on the package. Set aside.
- Wash the vegetables and cut the red bell pepper, the shiitake mushrooms, and the pak choi into thin strips. Divide the broccoli into small florets.
- Cut the tofu into cubes. In a small bowl add two teaspoons of soy sauce and 1/3 cup of corn starch. Make sure all of the tofu cubes are covered.
- Heat some sesame oil in a large pan and pan-fry the tofu cubes for about 5 minutes on high heat or until they're golden and crispy. Set aside.
- In the same pan, heat some more sesame oil and sauté the shallots for about 3 minutes or until they're translucent. Then add the red bell pepper, the shiitake mushrooms, the broccoli, and the pak choi. Cook for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Then add the cooked udon noodles.
- Make the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, the brown sugar, the mirin, and the cayenne pepper.
- Add the sauce to the vegetables and the udon noodles together with the tofu and stir well. Cook for another 2 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped green onions on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make sure to use firm tofu for this recipe. You want the tofu cubes to be really crispy. This does not work with silken tofu or very soft tofu.
- Are you having a hard time finding pak choi, mirin, and udon noodles? Then check out the Asian section of your supermarket. Or make a trip to your local Asian market. It's the best place to buy Asian products. You will have a larger assortment and you will probably pay less than at your regular supermarket.
- I used a package of pre-cooked udon noodles for this recipe, which works best. Packages of pre-cooked udon noodles are very common to find. Sometimes you can also find frozen udon noodles in Asian markets. Just cook them for a couple of minutes in boiling water.
- If you use pre-cooked noodles and they stick together, just loosen them under running water.
- If you can't find pre-cooked udon noodles, you could also use dried udon noodles. However, they are usually lower in quality and are thinner and shorter. Besides, they don't absorb the flavors as well as fresh udon noodles do.
- The recipe is pretty versatile when it comes to the vegetables. You could also use other vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, green beans, or asparagus.
- Make sure to use Japanese soy sauce for this recipe. It has a different flavor than Indonesian or Chinese soy sauce and makes this Japanese stir-fry more authentic.
- If you want to make this yaki udon a bit spicier, you can add some sriracha sauce on top if you want.
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