Udon Noodles (Kake Udon in Dashi Broth)

About This Recipe

Udon (うどん) are Japan's thickest and most pillowy noodles — broad, round wheat noodles made from just flour, water, and salt — served in a delicate golden broth (kakejiru) made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. In their most essential form as kake udon (plain broth udon), they demonstrate a fundamental principle of Japanese cuisine: that the finest ingredients, handled with restraint, need nothing added. The slippery, chewy resistance of a well-made udon noodle against a perfectly balanced, clear broth is deeply, quietly satisfying. Udon has been eaten in Japan since at least the Nara period (710–794), possibly introduced from China. Sanuki (modern Kagawa Prefecture) on the island of Shikoku emerged as Japan's udon capital — its particular wheat flour, water, and tradition of making noodles by foot-kneading (ashi-fumikomi) produce what many consider the finest udon in Japan. The Sanuki style is characteristically firm with a bouncy, elastic texture quite different from the softer Tokyo udon. The broth differs dramatically by region: Kanto (Tokyo) udon broth is dark with soy sauce and bolder in flavor; Kansai (Osaka) udon broth is pale, delicate, and barely tinted, relying on high-quality dashi for depth. This recipe follows the Kansai style — the more elegant and harder-to-master approach. Toppings range from a poached egg (tsukimi udon) to kakiage tempura fritter, age (deep-fried tofu), or the beloved kitsune udon with its simmered sweetened aburaage tofu pouch.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 400 gfresh or frozen udon noodles(Sanuki-style preferred; dried udon works but is inferior)
• 800 mlichiban dashi(first-draw kombu and katsuobushi dashi)
• 3 tbsplight soy sauce(usukuchi shoyu for pale Kansai broth; regular soy for darker Tokyo style)
• 2 tbspmirin
• 1 tspsalt(adjust to taste)
• 2 stalksgreen onion(finely sliced on diagonal)
• 2 tbsptenkasu(tempura crumbs — optional topping)
• 2 piecesaburaage fried tofu(for kitsune udon variation)
• 1 tbspsoy sauce(for simmering aburaage)
• 1 tbspmirin(for simmering aburaage)
• 1 tspsugar(for simmering aburaage)
• 2 tsptogarashi shichimi(seven-spice blend, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the kakejiru broth

   Combine dashi, light soy sauce, mirin, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and taste carefully — it should be delicate and clearly savory. Kansai-style broth is intentionally mild; do not oversalt.

   Light soy sauce (usukuchi) is saltier but much paler in color than regular soy sauce — it produces the characteristic golden Kansai broth. If using regular soy, halve the amount and adjust with salt.

2. 2

   Prepare the aburaage (for kitsune udon)

   Pour boiling water over aburaage to remove excess oil. Squeeze dry. Simmer in 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sugar, and 100ml water for 8 minutes until flavors are absorbed. Remove and set aside as a topping.

3. 3

   Cook the udon noodles

   Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a vigorous boil. Cook fresh udon 1–2 minutes, frozen udon 2–3 minutes, dried udon per package. The noodles should be tender but retain a firm, slightly bouncy core. Drain and rinse briefly under hot water to remove surface starch.

   Do not cook udon in the broth itself — surface starch from the noodles clouds and thickens the delicate clear broth.

4. 4

   Warm the bowls

   Pour boiling water into the serving bowls for 30 seconds to warm them, then drain. Cold bowls rapidly cool udon broth — in Japan, udon restaurants heat bowls to near-scalding before service.

5. 5

   Assemble and serve

   Divide hot noodles between warm bowls. Ladle boiling-hot broth over generously — the broth should come to the noodle level, not submerge them. Top with green onion, tenkasu, and aburaage if making kitsune udon. Serve with togarashi on the side. Eat immediately while everything is piping hot.

Variations

• •

  Kitsune udon: top with sweetened simmered aburaage (fried tofu pouch) — the most popular udon topping in western Japan.

• •

  Tsukimi udon: slide a raw egg into the boiling broth for 1 minute to form a poached egg topping — 'moon-viewing udon' named for the egg's resemblance to a full moon.

• •

  Yaki udon: stir-fry cooked udon noodles with pork, cabbage, and a Worcestershire-soy sauce — a completely different preparation eaten dry rather than in broth.

Storage

Cook and serve udon immediately — noodles sitting in broth absorb liquid and become bloated and starchy. Store cooked drained noodles and broth separately in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Reheat broth to a boil before assembling bowls.

Frequently Asked Questions