Cold Udon Noodles- 2 ways!
With summer in full swing, I’m always looking for ways to make easy dishes that doesn’t require a lot of cooking. I love eating udon so this cold udon noodles done in 2 ways is the perfect dish for a hot summer day! This recipe contains one with a cold soup and one that is dry mixed. Both are delicious!
You may have heard of Korean cold noodles and they have one that is a cold soup and one that is mixed with a spicy sauce. I LOVE udon so I thought I can do the same with udon!
I always have udon in my kitchen and I love the chewiness of udon noodles. If you don’t have udon on hand, some thin wheat noodles like Somen would also be good!
Ingredients
For noodles, I prefer frozen udon because it doesn’t break as easily and have a chewy taste. For the veggies, I used cucumbers, cherry tomatoes. You can also add in shredded carrots as well. I also added a soft boiled egg.
Non-soup sauce:
For the sauce, I made 2 servings. I used soy sauce, miso paste, brown sugar, mirin, and rice vinegar.
Soup base:
For the soup base: I used soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, lemon juice, minced garlic cloves, thai chili and toasted sesame seeds. I also used a cup of cold water for the soup. The thai chili is optional if you don’t like spicy food.
Veggies and other toppings:
Have fun and play around with the toppings. I love using cucumber for its refreshing and crunchy taste. I also love adding some cherry tomatoes as well.
Substitution:
Vegetables: if you don’t like cucumbers, shredded carrots are also a good option. You can add some salt and sugar and leave the carrots to drain out some of the water. This way the carrots are still crunchy but are not as hard as before.
Protein: if you don’t want to put an egg, you can try adding some stir fried marinated thinly sliced beef on top it would be good as well!
How to make it
I recommend to making the soup base or the sauce first and set aside.
For the sauce: combine soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, rice vinegar in a bowl and then divide in half into the noodle bowls.
For the soup: The recipe amount given is for 2 servings. Divide in half for single serving. Combine in a noodle bowl: minced garlic, Thai chili, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and lemon juice. Add in the water.
Then julienne the cucumbers and carrots. I halved the cherry tomatoes, and set aside.
This is optional: boil some water and once it’s boiled, turn the heat to low and put 1-2 egg in and let it cook on low heat for 7 minutes. Put the egg into cold water, peel the shell carefully. Set aside.
In a pot, boil some water, add in the udon and cook based on the package instruction. I prefer frozen udon because it’s chewy when cooked and doesn’t break easily. Once it’s done put the udon into cold water and wash with cool water
To assemble, put the soup or sauce into a noodle bowl, add in udon noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes and boiled egg cut in half. I also added a couple of slices of lemons for some tartness and freshness.
Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!
Pro-tip
- Make sure to run the udon under cold water, it will stop the cooking and also prevent the noodles from sticking together.
- For the dried mixed noodles, use a whisk to mix the miso into the sauce
Check out some of my other easy recipes:
Cold Udon Noodles- 2 ways
Ingredients
- 2 packs of udon noodles
Soup base for 2 servings
- ยผ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 small Thai chili
- 2 cups cold water
Sauce for dry mixed udon for 2 serving
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Toppings for 2 servings
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes halved optional
- Handful julienne peeled cucumber
- 2 soft boiled egg
- Handful julienned carrots
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the egg and turn the heat to very low to simmer for 7 minutes. This will give you soft boiled egg.
- Place into cold water to prevent over cooking. Peel the egg and cut in half.
- Boil your udon noodles. Place the udon noodles into cold water after cooking to cool it down.
- Julienne the cucumber and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Making the soup base
- In your noodle bowl, add in minced garlic, Thai chili, white sesame seeds, soy sauce, lemon juice, oyster sauce and water.
Sauce for dry mixed Udon
- For the dry mixed udon, combine soy sauce with brown sugar, sesame seeds, mirin, and rice vinegar into a bowl. Mix together until smooth.
Assembling the bowl
- Into the bowl, add in cooked udon noodles, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and soft boiled egg. Sprinkle some scallions and toasted white sesame seeds if desired, enjoy!
