What we love about shrimp yaki udon
- This dish is so complex tasting, without too much effort. It’s sweet and savory with plenty of umami. The variety of textures this recipe incorporates are outstanding.
- The cabbage and snow peas don’t even need to be chopped, so this recipe requires much less prep than other stir fry recipes, but you can always skip the veggies and shrimp for the lazy version.
- Keep some udon noodles in your freezer and this can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Shrimp – Peeled and deveined. We used tail on shrimp but you can choose tails removed if you prefer.
- Udon noodles – We used Wei-Chuan Inaniwa Style Udon from the freezer section at our grocery store
- Oyster sauce
- Mirin
- Soy sauce – We used reduced sodium soy sauce because that’s what we normally have in the fridge.
- Sesame oil
- Snow peas
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this shrimp yaki udon noodles
Make the sauce. Combine sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Sear the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry and and season them with salt & pepper. Sear in a cast iron skillet with cooking oil over high heat. Make sure not to crowd the shrimp in the skillet, cook in batches if necessary.
Cook the shrimp until they are no longer translucent and have turned pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside while cooking the veggies.
Sauté the veggies. Add sesame oil, garlic and veggies to the hot skillet. Sauté until the cabbage is tender. This usually takes about 3 – 4 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
Stir fry everything. Add the sauce and return the shrimp to the pan with the vegetables, stirring to coat everything evenly with the sauce.
Add the udon noodles and gently stir to coat with sauce, frying for a few minutes to allow sauce to absorb into noodles and brown slightly.
Garnished and serve. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls and garnish with sliced green onions before serving.
Everything you need to know about yaki udon
What is the difference between Yaki Udon and soba?
Udon noodles are thick pillow like noodles made with wheat flour, salt and water. Soba noodles are made with buckwheat, giving them a grainier texture than udon noodles which have a smoother, silkier texture. Soba noodles are more dense than an udon noodle and thus are typically slimmer or skinnier.
What is the difference between udon and Yaki Udon?
Yaki udon refers to this noodle dish as a whole, with the noodles stir fried in a soy based sauce. When referring to udon without the prefix of yaki, one would be referring to the udon noodle itself.
Is udon thicker than ramen?
Udon noodles are thicker than ramen. They are plump and tender. They are made with different ingredients and when cooked have very different taste and texture.
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Shrimp Yaki Udon
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 ½ cup coleslaw mix
- 1 ½ cups snow peas
- 1 pound udon noodles (500 g)
- Green onions (garnish)
Instructions
- In large pot of boiling water, cook udon noodles according to package directions. Drain when cooked.
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt & pepper.
- Heat a skillet over high and sear shrimp with 1 tablespoon cooking oil until no longer pink, cooking in batches if needed. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add sesame oil and sauté vegetables with garlic until tender – about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir cooked noodles and sauce into the skillet. Stir to coat everything in sauce.
- Return shrimp to the pan and cook until heated through.
- Garnish with green onion before serving.
Nutrition
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