🍜 Cozy Homemade Temptation: Crispy Udon Recipe
Easy Tentsuyu Udon Broth Recipe: The Ultimate Crispy Udon for Beginners!
While various ingredients can enhance the flavor, buying many items just for udon can be costly. This recipe lets you recreate the exact taste of the udon served as a complimentary dish at street food stalls, without needing a lot of ingredients. Enjoy the delightful combination of savory broth and chewy noodles!
Core Ingredients
- 1 serving Udon noodles
- 1 Anchovy broth cube
- 2 sprigs of Garland chrysanthemum (Shungiku)
- A little bit of white part of Leek
- A pinch of Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 0.5 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce (Anchovy sauce)
- 4 Tbsp Tsuyu (Japanese dipping sauce)
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 350ml water
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, pour 350ml of water into a pot or a earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) and add 1 anchovy broth cube. Bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. This is the first step to creating a rich broth base.
Step 2
While the broth is boiling, prepare a small amount of the white part of a leek and slice it thinly. The leek’s subtle sweetness will further enrich the broth’s flavor.
Step 3
Rinse the 2 sprigs of garland chrysanthemum (shungiku) thoroughly under running water, shake off excess moisture, and cut them in half for easy eating. The aromatic shungiku helps to cut through any richness.
Step 4
Gently thaw the frozen udon noodles under running cold water. You can lightly blanch them in boiling water beforehand, or as I do, thaw them with water and immediately add them to the broth to cook.
Step 5
Since earthenware pots have lower heat conductivity and take longer to boil, adding 0.5 Tbsp of minced garlic beforehand helps the broth boil faster and allows the garlic flavor to infuse deeply.
Step 6
Once the broth begins to boil vigorously, add 1 Tbsp of fish sauce for umami and 4 Tbsp of Tsuyu for a deep flavor to season the broth. Tsuyu is the key to achieving that authentic Japanese udon broth taste!
Step 7
Now, carefully add the thawed udon noodles to the pot. Gently stir to separate the noodles as they cook. If you feel the seasoning is insufficient, delicately adjust the taste with a pinch of salt.
Step 8
Boil until the udon noodles are tender. Once the noodles are cooked, artfully arrange the thinly sliced leek and garland chrysanthemum on top. Sprinkle with gochugaru and pepper to taste, and your delicious crispy udon is complete!
Step 9
Adding toppings like fried shrimp or fish cakes would make it a more substantial and luxurious udon, similar to traditional crispy udon. However, even without them, you can still enjoy a taste very close to what you’d get at a street food stall. Enjoy it without the hassle of many ingredients.
Step 10
Special Tip! Add one fried dumpling (mandu) to the udon and cut it in half. The rich juices from the dumpling filling will seep into the udon broth, creating a flavor incredibly similar to that of authentic crispy udon broth. Definitely give this a try!
