Yaki udon

Stir-frying at home can be challenging. This cooking technique relies on the kind of fierce heat that domestic gas or electricity supplies struggle to deliver - if you try to wok-cook too much food at a time, it often ends up stewing, not frying. For that reason, this recipe is designed to serve 2. If you want to feed 4, just double the amounts and cook a second batch.

• serves

  2

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 400 g pre-cooked udon noodles
• 2 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
• 400 g chicken breast fillets (about 2), roughly diced to 2-3cm pieces
• 1 large carrot, cut into fine matchsticks
• 3 baby bok choy, leaves removed and washed
• 2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 4 cm pieces
• toasted sesame seeds, to serve
• bonito flakes, to serve

Sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 ½ tbsp yakisoba sauce (see Note)
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Set aside.

Place the udon noodles in a bowl, add enough boiling water to cover generously then stand for 3 minutes or until softened, using chopsticks to carefully separate them. Drain well and set aside.

Heat half the oil in a wok over high then add the chicken and stir fry for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken to a bowl, reserving the wok. Add the remaining oil to the wok with the carrot and bok choy and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until the vegetables are just cooked  but still a little crisp. Add the noodles to the wok with the chicken, green onion and sauce mixture and cooking, tossing the wok often, for 3 minutes or until the noodles are coated well and everything is heated through. Divide the yaki udon among bowls and serve sprinkled with sesame seeds, to taste.

Note

• Yakisoba sauce is a combination of Worcestershire, soy and oyster sauces, ketchup and sugar. You can buy commercially made Japanese yakisoba sauce from Asian, or Japanese, food stores. 

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Tiffany Page.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.