my son loves udon noodles, now what??

[addicted2cake]

My teenaged son went out to dinner with friends over the weekend and had a Japanese dish with udon noodles. He loved the sauce, but couldn't really tell me much about it except that it was mildly spicy and tasted really good. It was vegetarian. He would like me to make something similar for him, but I'm not the most talented or creative cook and could use some help with a recipe or 2. I'm not familiar with Japanese cuisine (sauces, spices, etc.). Thanks for any help you can give. Oh yes, please, the recipes must be fairly easy (no more than 30-45 minutes tops, from start to finish. Thanks again!

[DuchessNukem]

Or you could take this as an opportunity to spend a little time with honorable son, researching together at local joints once-twice a week, until he can find something similar in flavor to share with you. Then, when you've got better descriptors, everyone could pile on with recipes.

Just a suggestion. ;^)

[pdxgastro]

And you can try replicating the recipe together in the kitchen!

[addicted2cake]

Once he's finished with school, (snow days have to be made up), this is a great idea. Thanks!

[addicted2cake]

Fun idea. A little expensive, but I like your thinking!

[catbert]

was it a fried dish or a salad? i don't think we're talking about eating it with dipping sauce, but udon can be versatile. although, joonjoon is probably on the right track with yaki udon. i think i had a recipe for one that used ketchup...

[paulj]

Udon is also served in a soup. Roughly - half fill a bowl with noodles, top with a variety ingredients like sliced pork, chopped green onion, bean sprouts, raw or cooked egg, and fill with a hot broth.

Here's a sumo udon recipe
http://sumokitchen.com/JapaneseRecipe...

[addicted2cake]

Paulj, I love soup. This would be great for me. Son might like this, too. Thanks for your suggestion and the link.

[addicted2cake]

No, not a salad. It was an entree, no dipping sauce.

[Joebob]

Perhaps you and your son would enjoy and be inspired by the great Japanese comedy "Tampopo".

[addicted2cake]

Great idea! Saw this film years ago, but can't remember what it was about. Thanks for the suggestion!

[joonjoon]

The dish you're looking for is called yaki udon. If you google it you will find lots of recipes, but it goes something like this:

Noodles: Udon
Veggies: Some combination of carrots, snow peas, onions, scallions, some type of asian cabbage, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic/ginger, bean sprouts
Seasoning/sauce: Soy sauce, sesame oil, wine/sake, mirin, dashi (or dashi powder) or chicken stock, possibly some type of starch to thicken
Meat: Thinly sliced protein of your choice.

Basically you want to saute the veggies/aromatics and meat in a pan, and then add the noodles and sauce and toss. Top with sesame seeds and/or togarashi. Maybe shredded nori.

Enjoy!

[Jeri L]

If it was indeed yakiudon, you can buy ready made yakisoba sauce which can also be used for udon. It's rather like a thick, slightly sweet Worcestershire sauce.

[addicted2cake]

This is good. Yaki Udon. I'll google and look for recipes. I appreciate your help, joonjoon.

[escondido123]

Teenage son loved the dish. Maybe he could do the research on the dish, get the ingredients and the two of you could cook it together. Wouldn't that be fun?

[ultimatepotato]

Was it sweet and spicy? Just savoury and mildly spicy?

I make noodles with a variety of sauces depending on my mood. While I tend to lean towards Malay and Thai preparations, I'd use some of the following if I wanted a 'Japanese' flavour: Sukiyaki, Tamari (Japanese Soy), Mirin (rice wine), Teriyaki (which can be made or bought prepared). I'd use ingredients like enoki mushrooms if available, fresh ginger, tofu, potentially egg. Noodles are used so diversly in Asian cooking and I don't think I'll ever get tired of them.

Here's a link to a recipe search that might help - I'm afraid mine are all a bit too 'throw in some of this and add a dash of that' to be written down:

http://foodieview.com/search.jsp?quer...

[joonjoon]

ultimatepotato, sukiyaki is not an ingredient but the name of a Japanese dish where you cook a bunch of stuff in a pot and cook thin slices of meat in it...

[ultimatepotato]

Thanks for the info! I more meant a type of sauce that gets sold over here, I use it for beef enoki rolls: http://www.japanesefoodshop.co.uk/ekm...

[joonjoon]

Ah, I guess that's a bottled Sukiyaki sauce! I've never seen that before. You learn something new every day. :)

[addicted2cake]

It was savory and mildly spicy. Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

[chef chicklet]

I'll check with my Japanese friends if they have a recipe, and I'll try to remember to post it.

[addicted2cake]

That's very kind. Thank you!