food 4 tots

Stir-fry udon with prawns

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My first experience in tasting stir-fry udon was at a Chinese restaurant many years ago. After trying it out, I got hooked on udon, especially this stir-fry version even until now. But I never expect my son to also enjoy eating this fat and chewy noodle as much as I do. In fact, udon is his first choice among all Japanese noodles (such as somen, soba and ramen) on the menu at a Japanese restaurant when ordering. As part of my “cost-saving’ project, I started to make udon noodle soup (kitsune udon) and stir-fry udon (yaki udon) to please our cravings.

 

The first stir-fry udon I experimented making was adapted from an udon recipe in Cooking for Kids by Pansy Seng. (This cookbook is very useful guide to me as it provides many creative ideas and methods for mothers to prepare interesting dishes suitable for their toddlers ranging from main dishes to desserts.). After several “trial and error” attempts, I finally came up with this simple, nutritious yet tasty recipe (using my own concoction) to share with you.

 

The method I used in this recipe is slightly different than the usual stir-frying. As udon is quite bland in taste, I blanched it lightly first and then used the braising method to let the udon absorb the seasonings. This makes the noodles more flavourful.

 

It is a versatile recipe when it comes to the selection of ingredients. As colour is important in our diet (as mentioned in my previous post, I select my vegetables from different colour groups so that it will give this dish more nutritional value. For example, capsicum (red), carrots (orange), baby sweet corns (yellow) and snow peas (green). You can replace these vegetables with any other combinations of your choice. Other suggested alternatives are french beans, fine french beans, lettuce, mushrooms (enoki, shitake or button) and bean sprouts. As for prawns, you can either substitute it with or add in other types of seafood such as crabsticks, slices of fish or squids. Since you can have so many combinations, remember to go through all the stuffs in your fridge first before rushing out to buy any ingredients. I like to do this kind of “spring-cleaning” exercise from time to time as it can be real fun and challenging. Sometimes I also get to discover new recipes too.

 

I hope you will enjoy preparing and savour this one-dish meal!

 

Note: You can learn more about udon from: here and here.

 

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I am submitting this dish to Presto Pasta Night, founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, and hosted by Girlichef  this week.

>>Click on page 2 below for stir-fry udon with prawns recipe…………

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82 Comments

  1. Little Inbox says:

    Wow, you have great combination of colors for the stir fry udon. I love this type of stir fry udon too.

  2. Wow this looks great. It’s almost dinner time here in Kyoto and I may just have to go find a Yakiudon shop because your pic has me craving stir fried udon something fierce.

  3. Ellena says:

    Wow… i love this dish!!!! It looks great with the colour combination.

  4. Christine says:

    Great looking noodles! I use udon as a substitute for when I cook Hokkien mee, we can’t get any egg noodle that thick so udon is the next best thing! Thanks for sharing your recipe, always good to have more noodle recipes to try!

  5. Alice says:

    Wow! Look at the prawns and all the ingredients on the Udon, definitely mouth-watering! Can I have some please? 😀

  6. girlichef says:

    Wowza! That is absolutely gorgeous. So colorful and packed with color…thanks for submitting to PPN this week 🙂

  7. anncoo says:

    My family love fried udon a lot but I think yours look better.

  8. Amy says:

    I’m all over this. LOVE shrimp. And with noodles. Love, love, love.

  9. felicia says:

    looks good! its like a cross between japanese and chinese cuisine!
    like hokkien mee & udon 🙂 yummy!

  10. homeladychef says:

    Every time when i read your post, i am enlightened! What a tasty & nutritional dish! 🙂

  11. That photo is beautiful, and I can never say no to any prawn stir-fry!

  12. mmmm this is gorgeous and looks like a dish my mum whips up for dinner now and again 🙂

  13. Ching says:

    Love it! I like stir-fry udon anything.

  14. peanutts says:

    Hi!, love the colours, although havent tried udon noodles 🙂 , tried soba. looks yumm 🙂

  15. foodbin says:

    i think Udon goes better with black pepper and minced meat-but with prawns it looks mouthwatering, too.

    • food-4tots says:

      Foodbin: Tks for dropping by. Stir-fry black pepper udon is my all-time favourite but my lil tot can’t take spicy food. So this version is done to cater to his need and I just add lots of black pepper on my own plate. LOL! 😉

  16. tigerfish says:

    The first time I tried stir fried udon was in Crystal Jade Kitchen and they did theirs with black pepper. Lots of it.

  17. mycookinghut says:

    Woww.. that looks really appetizing! I love the big juicy prawns!! yum..when I worked in KL last time, I used to go to a chinese restaurant for its seafood udon.. that’s how I started to like Udon 😉

  18. anggie says:

    THIS is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD ….. must try out for my boy . thanks

  19. Yum…Can I have one bowl for lunch, LOL.

  20. allie says:

    I love udon! No matter is stir fried or soup. Yummy!

  21. awww…I wish I can have some right NOW!

  22. Joanne says:

    there are so many reasons why I love this dish. (a) fat chewy noodles. (b) the rainbow of color (c) the great flavor and beautiful presentation.

  23. krisietong says:

    i think can subsitute udon with mee tai bak!! I have a packet at home.. heehehe.. later can try 😛

  24. wonderful dish…i love udon!!!

  25. peachkins says:

    I believe its my first time here. These look great!

  26. gattina says:

    E, superb!!! the photos and the recipe should be published in a book too!!! Me and my dd would be the first ones in line outside the bookstore!

    • food-4tots says:

      Gattina: Tks for your wonderful compliment! I am blushed now. Your blog is great too with stunning photos and marvellous recipes. Much better than many published cookbooks. I’m so inspired when I visit your blog. 😉

  27. noobcook says:

    Yummy! I love the assortment of vegetables and the vibrant colours.

  28. beachlover says:

    wowo!! your big prawns is calling my name!!hahaha!! love your scrumptious udon dish!!

  29. Dora says:

    Luckily i have my dinner. Looks so yummy. I wana have some now.

  30. wei says:

    Thank you for posting this. This dish is super delish!!! I made it and shared it with a friend and she said is this a take away (restaurant quality) or you cooked it yourself? Haha, what a nice music to the ear.

    Thanks!!!

  31. buttercarp says:

    My son who in the past will not try udon, ate a strand of udon from your recipe and loved it. He had 3 helpings after that!

  32. I’ve never made my own stir-fried udon, but I want to now! This looks fantastic.

  33. OMG. This looks sooooo good I really wish I had a plate in front of me now. I can imagine chewing on the fat strands of udon, and then bite into the juicy fresh prawns. Wow. You’re really amazing!

  34. NKOTB says:

    do you taste the flour taste when you bite?
    cuz, I had a very bad experience before… so, don’t quite fancy udon.

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  36. Wow, the picture looks so good, it makes me want to go get the ingredients and cook it for the kids! 🙂 getting hungry

    • food-4tots says:

      Christine: Hahaha!! Tks for your wonderful comment. 😉

      • hi LK, was inspired by the picture, so I did get the ingredients on the same afternoon and tried out the recipe – did a slight variation, added a dash of Tomato ketchup. The older kids added black pepper to their bowls for more spiciness. Besides the prawns, just a little mince meat as well. Turned out well…wanted to take a photo but the kids couldnt wait and none left afterwards! 🙂

        • food-4tots says:

          Christine: Wow! That’s a great! Thanks for the feedback. I’m really glad that they enjoyed this dish so much. Well done to mommy for being such creative! 😉

  37. Myf says:

    i love udon! looks very delicious 🙂

  38. Angela says:

    made stir fry udon just now but become soggy.how u make it ? it’s looks so nice in pic..

    • food-4tots says:

      Angela: There are 2 factors that may cause your udon to be soggy. First, blanch lightly and then cook until al-dente (chewy but not soft). Second, it depends on the brand you use. Hope it helps. Maybe give it another attempt. Happy trying! 😉

  39. […] followed the recipe from this site, Food-4Tots. I really like this site! The instructions/recipe are really easy to follow! And I’m so glad […]

  40. I love Udon too esp stir fry ones. Like to season it with some freshly ground pepper and lots of dark soya sauce.

  41. JC says:

    Thanks for sharing this great recipe. Ihave made it a total of three times In a span of two weeks! 🙂

  42. Ling says:

    I just made this dish and I must say that it was delicious! My 2-year old and myself ate the same thing for dinner and nothing was left 😀 This is definitely as keeper. Thanks for sharing your concoction 🙂

  43. Gerri says:

    Tried this today and my fussy 2.5yo tot went for second serving
    *so happy*
    At bedtime he asked for udon tomorrow 😀
    Thanks for sharing!
    Gerri

  44. Libby Lim says:

    Hi

    May i know what is the brand for the udon you used ?

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