Spicy Stir Fry Udon- One Pot Meal

Sometimes when I’m too busy or come home late from work, at times like this I want something nice and quick. My husband cooks as well and he usually whip something up really quick. One time he cooked a stir fry udon dish. It was so good that I just couldn’t stop eating it. I asked him how to make it and he told me all the ingredients he put into it.

He usually doesn’t measure the ingredients so I decided to do a bit of recipe testing. I added a couple of different ingredients. It was pretty delicious. The best part about this recipe is that you can make it with leftovers veggies and proteins in the fridge. I also made this udon dish a bit spicy. While I call this stir fry udon but I’m essentially using the heat of the simmering sauce to cook the udon while covering the pan with a lid. This saves me time cleaning the dishes or cook time! Plus it takes only 20 minutes!

What type of Udon to use?

Udon usually comes in frozen or room temperature, at least in Canada. I like the frozen type because the udon doesn’t break as easily and it is chewy. It also cooks relatively fast.

The frozen udon also stores better in the fridge if you are packing the leftovers and it still taste good the day after.

Ingredients

There are only 4 main ingredients in this recipe:

• Handful of thinly beef brisket
• 2 frozen Udon
• 1 onion
• A handful of bean sprouts (optional)

Other ingredients to substitute

• bell peppers
• carrots
• chicken thigh or breast

For the protein, cut them into small pieces. For the veggies, cut them into thin strips. This will help to the ingredients to cook faster.

The sauce is very simple to make.

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp of mirin
• 1 tbsp of rice vinegar or 1/2 tbsp for white vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp Korean red pepper paste (depending on spicy you like it)
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/3-1/2 cup water
• salt to taste

Don’t put too much water or else the sauce won’t reduce before all your ingredients are cooked.

What else can I put into this dish?

The answer, anything! You can put anything in this dish. The one thing I would advise is that choose proteins and veggies that can be cooked through easily. This way, it cooks faster in one pot and also reduce the possibility of burning your food. I like thinly sliced beef brisket and bean sprouts because they could be cooked really easily.

Other suggestions include carrots, bell peppers, napa cabbage, and Bok choy. Other proteins can be chicken breast or thighs cut up into bite size.

How to make it

This is a truly one pot meal! You can directly put the udon into the pan with the sauce and veggies. You just have to let it steam and it will cook without much manipulation

Prep

1. Combine all the ingredients you need for your sauce
2. Cut the onions into slices

Making the stir fry udon

1. Put some oil in a saute pan
2. Stir fry sliced onion until they are wilted and slightly yellow (6-7 minutes). If you have bell peppers or carrots, add it here as well.
3. Add in your sliced brisket or any protein of your choice and stir fry until it’s mostly cooked (2-3 minutes).
4. Add in your sauce.
5. Let it simmer for about 1-2 minutes on medium
6. Add in your udon. Cover for 2-3 minutes on medium heat
7. Flip the udon to let it get covered with the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Check to see to make sure it’s not burnt at the bottom.
8. Once the udon is mixed in with the sauce and is soft, add in the some bean sprout. Close the lid and let it simmer for 1-2 minute and it should be done!

Pro-tip

• Prep everything before hand so it’s easier to cook as the cooking goes very quickly
• I prefer using frozen udon because it doesn’t break down when it cooks for longer. However, if you can only find the udon on the shelf, add udon only after all your other ingredients are cooked to prevent overcooking.
• You can omit or substitute any protein you prefer.
• Increase the recipe to make more for your family. I usually double it so my husband and I have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Other noodle recipes

• Hot Oil Noodles (Instant ramen)
• Beijing Zhajiang Noodles (炸酱面)- stovetop and microwave version
• Cold Udon Noodles- 2 ways!

Spicy Stir Fry Udon

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:10 minutes mins

Total Time:20 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Servings: 2

Equipment

• saute pan You want to have a pan that has a bit of depth so you can add a bit of liquid

Ingredients

• 2 pack of frozen udon
• handful frozen beef brisket or thinly sliced meat (any leftover cooked protein will work)
• 1 onion
• Handful of bean sprouts

Sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp of mirin
• 1 tbsp of rice vinegar or ½ tbsp of white vinegar
• 2 tbsp Korean red pepper paste
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• salt to taste
• ⅓-½ cup water

Instructions

• Put some oil in a saute pan
• Stir fry sliced onion until they are wilted and slightly yellow (6-7 minutes).
• Add in your sliced brisket or pork and stir fry until it’s mostly cooked (2-3 minutes).
• Add in your sauce.
• Let it simmer for about 1-2 minutes
• Add in your udon. Cover for 2-3 minutes on medium low heat
• Flip the udon to let it get covered with the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Check to see to make sure it’s not burnt at the bottom.
• Add in the some bean sprout and stir fry for another minute and it should be done!