Yaki Udon is a Japanese stir fried noodles dish tossed in a savoury sauce. Just mix together udon noodles, shrimp, vegetables and the sauce and you are done within 20 minutes. This is fast, comfort food at its best!
What Is Yaki Udon
Yaki Udon is a Japanese stir fry dish made with udon noodles, sliced vegetables, a protein (optional) and a savoury sauce.
Udon noodles are thick, chewy, wheat-flour noodles. They are mixed with a sauce blend of soy sauce, oyster sauce and mirin. Of course, there are different variations to the sauce ingredients.
Yaki Udon is different from Yakisoba which is made with thinner, soba noodles.
If you love noodles, you will surely love this simple yet insanely delicious meal. It is a quick and easy dish for weeknight meals. And also a great way to use up leftover produce.
I love adding shrimp, mushrooms, onions and carrots to mine. But you can also mix in some bell pepper, bok choy, cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, chicken and even top it with a fried egg.
If you love spicy food, be sure to check out my 10-minute Garlic Chili Oil Noodles which are also made with wheat noodles that are thicker. But the recipe works wonderfully with udon noodles too.
Types of Udon Noodles
There are frozen, refrigerated, dried and fresh udon noodles. I am using fresh, pre-boiled Sanuki Udon Noodles (picture in the video below) which were sealed by vacuum.
I put them in boiling water for a couple of minutes till they were separated. Do not over cook these noodles, they get mushy pretty fast. The dried udon noodles are slightly thinner and taste not as good as the other types.
How To Make Yaki Udon with Shrimp
- Cut up the vegetables. Chop and slice the mushrooms, carrot, spring onion and yellow onion. Feel free to mix and match the vegetables according to what you prefer. Some other options are bell pepper, cabbage, zucchini and broccoli.
- Boil the noodles. Depending on which type of udon noodles you are using, cook them according to the package instructions. Under-cooking is better than over-cooking since you are going to be stir-frying the noodles later.
- Prepare the sauce. In my recipes, I like to use ingredients that are easily available everywhere. If you can get hold of Japanese soy sauce and mirin replace with dark soy sauce and rice vinegar respectively. For my Yaki Udon sauce I like mixing oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, black pepper, brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Dark soy sauce is different from light or regular soy sauce. It adds the dark colour to this dish and is also less salty. I highly recommend using it.
- Stir fry the vegetables. On high heat, fry the vegetables just for a minute or two. Take out and keep aside.
- Fry the shrimp. Add a dash of soy sauce (optional for flavour) to the shrimp and cook till they are no longer pink. If you are using any other protein like chicken or beef, you might need to season it more.
- Add the udon noodles. In the same pan where you fried shrimp, add the udon noodles and crisp them on high heat for a minute or two. Then pour the sauce and toss. Combine with veggies and turn off heat.
- The toppings. Add chopped spring onion (green part). If it's easily available for you, top with bonito flakes and red ginger, they are very staple additions to the Yaki Udon.
- Serve and enjoy!
Watch How to Make It
You Might Also Like
Let’s stay connected! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest updates. And subscribe to my YouTube channel for video recipes.
📖 Recipe
Yaki Udon with Shrimp
This Yaki Udon is a quick and delicious Japanese noodles stir fry dish with shrimp and veggies.
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings:
Ingredients
- 1 pack (200g) udon noodles preferably vacuum-packed
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 8-10 shrimp approx 100g
- 1 garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion sliced
- 8 white mushrooms sliced, approx 120g
- 1 carrot cut matchstick-style
- 1 spring onion green & white separately chopped
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- pinch salt and pepper
For The Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce NOT regular one
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ⅓ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Boil the udon noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drizzle some oil and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, toast the minced garlic for 1 minute then add the mushrooms. On high heat stir around until cooked. Then add the onions, white part of spring onions and carrots. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper and take the veggies out.
- In the same pan add additional 2 tablespoon oil and fry the shrimp. Add soy sauce and pinch of salt. Cook till the shrimp are no longer pink.
- Then add the udon noodles. Fry on high heat, stirring continuously so the noodles slightly crisp up evenly.
- Pour the sauce. Stir.
- Then toss in the veggies.
- Turn off heat and sprinkle spring onion.
- Take out in a plate and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 615kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1958mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 5158IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and a review in the comments. You can also tag @chilitochoc on Instagram. I love hearing your feedback!
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information read the Privacy Policy.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Debbie says
It says 1 tbsp of oyster sauce with the shrimp but in your video you put in soya sauce
Qashang says
In the video and recipe card both I have added 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tsp dark soy sauce.
Treese says
This is a delicious meal…added diced chicken as well as the shrimp and added thinly sliced red pepper….increased the sauce and noodles(X4 ) ….served with Gochushang on the side for anyone who wished a touch of heat….Diced green onion, Bonita flakes ,black sesame seed and sushi ginger topped it off….flavour is wonderful…guests were suitably impressed…will be adding it to the roster…
Hint: when using fresh packaged udon noodles, place them in a large pot of boiling water just long enough to separate gently with a wooden spoon, drain and rinse with cold water ,then splash with a bit of neutral oil to prevent them sticking. (otherwise they break apart into small pieces and the presentation is not the same)
Paula says
Amazing!
I topped with sriracha. Wow!
Helen says
This recipe was an amazing find! My husband used some mushroom soy sauce for the dark soy sauce. It's a keeper.
Nicole says
Is it one clove of garlic per serving or one head of garlic?
Qashang says
It is one clove of garlic.
Maggie says
This dish is over the top. Love it, love it! Got anymore recipes that are this good?
Mae says
My family and I love this recipe! I've never cooked udon before, and I've cooked this twice in the last 2 days lol. It's so easy and fast. I'll definitely be keeping this in rotation. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Petra says
Great. Surprisingly even better the next day (leftovers) since usually it is the fresher the better in this cuisine.
Jessica says
Wow! I really enjoyed the flavor of this one! It was so tasty 🙂 will be making again!
NW says
Really great dish. I am going to pass this along to my friends and family!
olespoort says
Holy moly! I'm not one for ramen noodles or any type of noodle, but damn! The seasoning is so cohesive, it's hard to pick out one component from the other. It feels as if the sauce just came that way. Tastes like takeout, but in a good way!
Shan says
Really good recipe. I made a small portion as a trial as often these types of recipes look aesthetically pleasing but don’t taste as great or authentic but I have to say I was kicking myself for only making one portion.
Matt says
This was the best Asian meal that I have ever made, by far. This is no-need-to-eat-out-anymore type good food! I was laughing when I was eating it because I was so excited that it turned out so good. Nice work! Delicious.
Stacy says
I made this recipe
and it was a big hit! I did add 1 tsp of goguchang to the sauce and it was really amazing!! Dark Soy and Oyster Sauce make all the difference!!
Stacy says
I made this recipe this evening and it was a big hit! I did add 1 tsp of goguchang to the sauce and it was really amazing!! Dark Soy and Ouster Sauce make all the difference!!
Caleb says
I used this recipe yesterday, and in the end it was delicious! It was the first time I had used udon noodles or so many sauces. In the end it was better than high class restaurant dishes. I really appreciate whoever created this recipe and took their time and effort to put this online. Thanks 🙂
Natalie says
I love this recipe, perfect flavours. Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Janet says
Loved this recipe! The flavors were so amazing. How did you get such a nice dark color on your noodles? Mine came out more light brown and I was afraid to fry them much longer in case they got too soft.
Joss says
it might be the type of soy sauce you used. The author said they prefer a dark soy sauce because it adds the color and doesn't add too much sauce
Angela says
I really like how your article is written straight to the point with minimal "story" telling. Thank you and I am gathering my Ingredients to make this...I hope it comes out as good as your pic...lol
Chili to Choc says
Haha I am sure it will! 🙂
Alex Kassaye says
Awesome meal just wondering if anyone knows the calories per serving! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Sneha says
If you want Japanese restaurant standard udon noodles look no further than this amazing full proof recipe. Toddler approved too. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Chili to Choc says
Thank you Sneha! So glad you liked it.