Yaki Udon

When I was in college, I used to frequent a Japanese restaurant for their delicious noodles. I didn't know the name of the noodles because it was in Japanese, but I thought they were delicious! Years later, I discovered that Udon noodles are traditional Japanese wheat based noodles! They are typically served in soups or stir-fried with vegetables. I love Soba noodles, but Udon noodles are thicker and chewier in their texture. This recipe is a stir-fry of Udon noodles, onions, ginger, mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, and green onions which are enveloped in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce. The noodles are incredibly tender and chewy. This dish hits the palate in such a pleasing way with sweet, salty, a bit sour – it is umami. This is a challenging dish because of the time commitment and effort in making the noodles, but one bite of this dish makes all the effort worth it! Note:this recipe is not gluten-free and sadly, the gluten is what gives these noodles their distinct, chewy texture. I make this dish for family and friends who are not gluten-free!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon sweetener
To prepare the sauce, in a bowl, whisk together the tamari, worcestershire, sesame oil, mirin, red curry paste and sweetener and set aside.
1/3 cup onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup bell pepper, julienne thin
1/3 cup carrot, julienne thin
1/4 cup green onion, julienne thin
1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, fine julienne
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups Fresh Udon Noodles, cooked (recipe follows)
Cut all the vegetables and cook the Udon noodles.
2 1/2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
In a hot wok, add the oil and onions and stir–fry until golden. Add the rest of the vegetables, ginger and the cooked noodles and stir–fry for 1 minute. Add sauce around the edge of the wok and stir–fry for 3 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Udon Noodles
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/3 cup corn or tapioca starch
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

To prepare the dough, in a bowl, dissolve the sea salt in warm water. In a separate mixing bowl, sift the flour and starch.

Next, make a well in the flour bowl and pour about 1/2 of the water into the well. Mix with both hands and all fingers, scraping the bottom of the bowl as you mix until the water is incorporated.

At this point, add about 1/2 of the remaining water and continue to mix until the dough begins to separate into strands. Finally, add the rest of the water and mix and squeeze the dough together until it binds into a ball. The dough will not be smooth at this point but will begin to show elasticity. Let the dough rest in the bowl for 30 minutes.

To knead the dough, on the countertop, sprinkle on a bit of corn or tapioca starch, just enough to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on the lightly–dusted counter. Knead until very smooth and shiny, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, form the dough into a tight ball and rub with a bit of oil. Place the dough ball into a clean bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rest for 3 to 4 hours before rolling.

To roll out the dough, sprinkle some corn or tapioca starch on the counter and roll out until the dough is very thin (about 1/4 - 1/8 –inch thickness).

Before cutting the noodles, sprinkle the dough lightly again with corn or tapioca starch and spread over the entire dough surface. Grasp the far edge of the dough and fold it in half toward you to meet the close edge. Sprinkle and spread some more corn starch and bring the far edge toward you again, folding in half a second time. Spread some more corn or tapioca starch on the top and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes.

Once the dough has rested, apply a slightly heavier amount of corn or tapioca starch on top and some additional starch on the counter. This will help make sure the noodles do not stick together when cutting.
With a sharp chef’s or similar knife, begin cutting the dough crosswise into noodles about 1/4–inch wide. After cutting the noodles, separate to prevent them sticking together, using a bit more starch if needed. Set the noodles aside on a dusted counter or tray until ready to cook.

Cook the noodles in boiling salted water, stirring occasionally until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes, continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes once floating at the top, but careful not to overcook since they will get slightly rubbery. Test for fineness before removing from water. Lift them out with a spider and place them immediately into ice cold water until it is time to serve. (Recipe Source: Rouxbe)