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. 

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…………

Have you tried eating brown beehoon (brown rice vermicelli) before? If this is the first time you come across it, don’t be taken aback with the word “brown” and associate it with brown rice or whole wheat noodles. The one that I tried is totally different in term of flavor and texture. It is a product of Thailand (Star Lion brand – see photo below) which I bought from my local supermarket. I stir-fried this beehoon by adapting and modifying recipes from my early post (no-frying noodles) and Hawker’s Fair – Best of all time favourites (Fried meehoon Singapore style). This one-meal noodle dish is not only healthy, it is also fantastically delicious! If you are craving for rice vermicelli next time, give this recipe a try.

Served: 4 – 5

Ingredients:
80g brown rice beehoon (rice vermicelli) – soaked with tap water until soft and drained
20g glass noodles (dong fen) – soaked with tap water until soft and drained
(The ratio for these 2 noodles is varied subject to personal preference.)
3 nos fresh mushrooms (about 50g) – julienne
(* For  fresh ones, blanch over hot water.)
(* For  dried ones, soaked with water, dash of sugar and oil; retain the water for stir-fry.)
30g carrots – julienne
80g cabbage – julienne
1 medium-sized red onion (60g) – sliced thinly
80g chicken breast meat – julienne
(* marinated with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour for at least half an hour.)
1 egg – beaten, fried and shredded
1 lime (for garnishing) – optional

Seasonings:
2 tbsp tomato sauce/ ketchup
3 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp chili sauce (Add more if you like spicy food)
½ tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
50ml water
Dash of pepper and sesame oil

Methods (AMC method):

1. Heat up wok with oil, sauté onion until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside.
2. Heat up wok with oil, stir-fry chicken until fragrant. Set aside.
3. Heat up wok with oil, fry egg and shred thinly. Set aside.
4. Put 1 tbsp oil (preferable fried shallot or garlic oil) on the AMC wok.
5. Spread evenly cabbages, carrots, mushrooms, onion and both types of noodles (beehoon & dong fen)
6. Pour over the seasonings on the ingredients.
7. Cover the lid and cook under medium heat until the AMC timer indicates 1 o’clock.
8. Open the lid and toss the ingredients until it is well-combined.
9. Cover the lid and let it cook until the timer shows 1 o’clock again.
10. Off the heat and wait until the timer returns to 12 o’clock.
11. Add in shredded eggs and squeeze some lime juice over it.

Methods (normal method)

1. Heat up 3 tbsp oil, add in soaked and drained beehoon and pan-fry it until golden brown and aromatic. Blanched (烫一烫) it in hot water for a short while (1-2 seconds). Dish and drain.
2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil,  sauté onion until fragrant and golden brown.
3. Add in all ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant. Add in beehoon, seasonings and stir-fry until it is well mixed. Dish up.
4. Add in shredded eggs and squeeze some lime juice over it.

*Note:  Alternative, beehoon may be soaked with water till soft but the pan-fried beehoon will yield more aromatic flavour.

I am submitting this dish to Presto Pasta Night,  founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, and hosted by Kitchenetta of  Got No Milk this week.

I prefer to use my AMC wok to cook “fried” noodle because it is so simple and easy. No stir-frying required and lesser oil. When it is cooked, the noodle is very moistured even after several hours later.

Ingredients:
110g meehoon/ rice vermicelli (soaked with tap water)
20g dong fen/ glass noodles/ winter noodles (soaked with tap water)
* The ratio for these 2 noodles can be varied ie 70%:30%, 50%:50% (subject to your personal preference)
70g vegetarian mocked chicken & char siew(barbecue pork) (shredded) (can be substituted with either pork or chicken)
280g cabbage (shredded) (the amount can be reduced and replaced by more noodles)
70g carrot(shredded)
6-8 medium mushrooms (fresh or dried, stem removed) (shredded)
* If fresh, blanch over hot water.
* If dried, soaked over tap water for 1-2 hours until soft.

Seasonings:
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
Dash of sesame oil and pepper
150ml water

Method:
1. Spread 2 tbsp oil evenly on the wok.
2 Spread cabbage evenly and follow by carrot (as per pic 1).
3. Spread mushroom, vegetarian mocked chicken and char siew evenly (as per pic 2).
4. Spread both the noodles (mee hoon & dong fen)evenly and pour over the seasoning on the ingredients.
5. Cover the lid and cook under medium heat.
6. When the AMC timer indicates 1 o’clock, open the lid and toss the ingredients until it is well-combined (as per pic 3).
7. Cover the lid again and let it cover until the timer shows 1 o’clock again.
8. Off the heat and wait for 10 mins to serve.