Udon Stir Fry

loracepetic
Mar 1, 2017
3 min read

Ain't nothing like a good stir fry on a busy day!

Just chop up whatever veggies you have laying in the fridge, mix up a quick sauce,

add the noodles, and you're done! I threw in some chicken as well, and made the sauce from various ingredients that I found in my cupboard. Udon is my favourite type of noodle so I opted for those, but use whichever type you like best! The main effort for this recipe is basically just chopping and prepping everything in advance - since the actual stir fry process by itself has to be done quickly, over a high temperature.

So, grab some stuff from the fridge and your cupboards, and let's make a Stir Fry!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

200g chicken breast or any other meat you prefer, cut up into cubes (optional) *
1/2 onion, sliced finely
1/2 chilli, sliced diagonally, or minced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut up into chunks
1 carrot, chopped into thin matchsticks
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
150g mushrooms of your choice, sliced (I used chestnut, but Shiitake would work best in my opinion!)
400g Udon noodles
1 teaspoon Miso paste
1 teaspoon Gochu-jang paste (Korean fermented spicy red chilli paste, completely optional!)
4 tablespoons soy sauce, approx.
3 + 2 tablespoons water (3 for the sauce, 2 for the slurry)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, or the juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon starch/flour
2 - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
handful of parsley, topping
pinch of sesame seeds, topping
salt & pepper to taste

This is everything that I used for this one, although I have to mention that this list changes really frequently. The main ingredients that are fixed, or that I buy specifically for this dish are the following; onion, garlic, chilli, carrot, mushrooms, bell pepper, soy sauce, and the noodles of course! Sometimes I'll throw in some ginger, broccoli, cauliflower, celeriac, even zucchini - honestly whatever veg I have in the fridge ends up on the plate!

Main premise - work with what you got, I'm sure it will taste great :)

So!

Chop up everything that you chose in advance, so that you can just throw it in the pan quickly. I started with the spring onion and the garlic. and I placed those two in a little bowl (garlic was on the top). I wanted to add those in a little bit later then the main ingredients, so that they don't burn.

I followed up with the onion, carrot, chilli, red bell pepper, and the mushrooms,

then added them all on the same plate, since they can all go in the pan at the same time.

The last thing that I prepped was the chicken, so that I don't cross contaminate the veggies. Also, the meat has to go in first, making it easiest to cut up last.

For the sauce, in a small bowl, add your miso, sugar, and whichever type of condiment/paste you want, then follow up with the soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Incorporate them so that they produce an even mixture, then add in your water and stir to combine. If you can't find any of these, just pour in some soy sauce, sugar, and lemon juice, those make up for a lovely sauce as well!

Next, mix up the starch/flour with the water, and combine until you get a lump free slurry.

This will thicken your sauce, making it easier to coat all the veggies and noodles.

Now that we've prepared everything, you can start to heat up your pan on high heat.

This is the most important step in this dish - to keep the temperature of the pan really high, while constantly moving the meat/vegetables.

Use a wok, or a large pan, it all works - just that's it's big enough.

Set up a pot of water to boil, so your noodles are done by the time you're finished with

the stir fry.

I started out with my chicken - stir fried it with some vegetable oil for approximately 5 minutes until it was cooked, then transferred it on a plate so I could throw in my veggies.

You could also leave the chicken in, but I didn't wanna risk overcooking it.

I added more oil to the pan, and followed up with the onion, carrots, chilli, red bell pepper, and the mushrooms. They took around 2 - 3 minutes, and I returned them on a plate so I could finish the sauce.

Lower the heat to medium, then add in your sauce. Mix vigorously, and add in the starch/flour slurry. You'll notice it will start to thicken immediately, but just keep on mixing. Add some water to adjust the consistency, and DO NOT stop mixing. When you're sauce has thickened to your liking, add your meat, veg, and noodles. Toss to combine, top with sesame seeds + a bunch of herbs, and you're done!