Kids Dish

Udon noodles are thick, wheat based noodles popular in Japanese cooking. In Japan people eat udon hot in the winter and chilled in the summer. They’re eaten in hot soups, cold soups, and cold udon noodles can be eaten by dipping into different sauces or served with any number of different toppings. Your kids may think that the best part about eating udon is that custom says it’s okay to make slurping sounds while eating udon in Japan. I don’t know if that custom will extend to your kitchen, but if you have a picky eater it may be worth a try.

If you get them at an Asian grocery store you may find udon noodles dried, fresh or boiled so you’ll want to check the package directions before you prepare them. The regular supermarket will most likely have them in the Asian section, near the chili paste with garlic, mirin, and sesame oil the following recipe (from Gourmet, via Epicurious) calls for.

Chilled Udon with Sweet-and-Spicy Chicken and Spinach
serves 4, 45 minutes start to finish
2 to 3 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1 teaspoon Asian chile paste with garlic
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
12 oz dried or 16 oz fresh udon noodles
6 cups baby spinach, coarse stems discarded

garnish: julienne scallions and toasted sesame seeds (optional, but good for presentation)

Press or squeeze ginger using a fine sieve or cheesecloth until enough juice is extracted to measure 1 tablespoon. (Or, if you’re me, skip this step and just use the grated ginger as is)

Heat a well-seasoned large ridged grill pan over high heat until hot. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Mix together soy sauce, mirin, ginger juice, chile paste, and sesame oil. Set aside 1/2 cup of soy mixture and toss remainder with chicken.

Grill chicken until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes on each side. When cool enough to handle, tear into bite-size pieces.

If using dried noodles, cook in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, about 12 minutes. Stir in spinach during last minute of cooking. (If using fresh udon, add noodles and spinach simultaneously to boiling water and cook 10 to 20 seconds total.) Drain noodles and spinach and transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water. When cold, drain well in a colander.

Toss noodles and spinach with reserved soy mixture in a large bowl.

Serve noodles and spinach topped with chicken. Slurp loudly while enjoying.

Using leftover grilled chicken for this recipe cuts the preparation time by a good 30 minutes.

Udon noodles would be great in this Cold Sesame Noodle recipe I posted earlier in the summer.

udon noodles, Japanese cooking, cold noodle recipe