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4.8 from 12 votes

Zaru Udon (Cold Udon with Homemade Dipping Sauce)

A simple and flavorful recipe that's sure to be a favorite.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Additional Time
10 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 2 portions
Course: Side Dish , Main Course , Lunch , Dinner
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

  • 100 ml dashi stock or make it plant-based with my shiitake and kombu dashi recipe
  • 20 ml soy sauce
  • 20 ml mirin
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 portions udon noodles
  • 1 tbsp shredded sushi nori seaweed "kizami nori" kizami nori, optional
Additions
  • 1 tsp Wasabi paste
  • 1 tsp ginger root grated
  • 2 tbsp tempura flakes (tenkasu) tenkasu
  • 2 tbsp green onion finely chopped

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Take a small pan and add 100 ml dashi stock, 20 ml soy sauce and 20 ml mirin. Boil for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol in the mirin and add 1 tsp sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved.
  2. Take the pan off the heat, pour the dipping sauce into a heatproof jug and leave to cool. Once cool to the touch, you can transfer it to the refrigerator. Tip: Mixing will help it cool faster.
  3. Cook 2 portions udon noodles according the the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, pour the udon into a strainer to drain and rinse with cold running water. Drain once more and place the sieve over a bowl, add a few ice cubes to make the udon extra cold.
  4. Take two small plates and to each one, add 1/2 tsp wasabi, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp tempura flakes and 1 tbsp chopped green onion (all extras are optional).
  5. Place each serving of udon on a "zaru" and sprinkle with kizami nori. (You can use a bamboo sushi mat on a plate if you don't have a zaru.)
  6. Serve each portion of udon with a cup of cold mentsuyu dipping sauce and the small plate of ingredients to flavor the sauce.

Notes

  • You can use this recipe to make zaru soba, just replace the udon noodles with soba noodles.
  • If you're doubling or tripling the recipe, keep in mind that the mentsuyu will take longer to cool.
  • You can keep left over mentsuyu in the fridge for about 2 weeks (or the freezer for up to 1 month) so I recommend making extra if you plan to make zaru udon or zaru soba often during the summer! (The noodles are best cooked fresh.)