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–+ servings

Easy Chicken Yaki Udon Stir-Fry

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients 
 

  • 250 g boneless chicken thigh cut into bitesize pieces
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 50 g onion
  • 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms
  • ½ bell pepper seeds and pith removed
  • ½ carrot
  • 150 g green cabbage
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp lard or neutral oil with high-smoke point
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp ginger root
  • 1 tsp dashi granules
  • 1 tsp mirin
  • ½ tsp oyster sauce
  • ¼ tsp sugar
  • 2 portions udon noodles par-cooked, frozen or refrigerated type recommended

Finishing

Instructions 

  • Cut 250 g boneless chicken thigh into bitesize pieces, then sprinkle with ⅛ tsp salt and ½ tbsp all-purpose flour. Toss until evenly covered, then cover and refrigerate while you prepare the other ingredients.
    coating chicken pieces with flour in a steel mixing bowl on a white background
  • Thinly slice 50 g onion and 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, and julienne ½ carrot and ½ bell pepper. Chop 150 g green cabbage into rough bitesize pieces and set by the stove.
    thinly sliced onion, julienned carrot, thinly sliced mushroom and julienned green bell pepper on a wooden cutting board on a white background
  • Heat a wok on medium low and melt 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp lard. Grate 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp ginger root straight into the wok, add the onion and fry for 3 minutes or until fragrant and the onion has slightly softened.
    grating ginger into a oiled wok on the stove top
  • Push the onions and aromatics to one side and increase the heat to medium. Place the chicken pieces in the wok in a single layer with the skin side facing down and fry undisturbed. Once golden and slightly crispy, flip and sear on the other side.
    browned chicken pieces in a wok with softened onions
  • Once the chicken is seared all over, add the cabbage, carrot, bell pepper and mushrooms. Immediately pour in 1 tsp dashi granules, 1 tsp mirin, ½ tsp oyster sauce and ¼ tsp sugar. Stir fry everything together until the condiments are evenly distributed and the vegetables are tender-crisp.
    green bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and cabbage in a wok with a hand holding a small glass bowl of dashi granules above
  • Increase the heat to high and add 2 portions udon noodles. Mix and toss until the ingredients are evenly distributed, then pour ½ tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) around the edge of the pan.
    pouring soy sauce over yaki udon in a wok on the stove top
  • Turn off the heat and add ½ tbsp butter and ¼ tsp balsamic vinegar. Toss a few times to distribute.
    a cube of butter on top of yaki udon in a wok on the stove
  • Plate up and garnish with ground black pepper, toasted white sesame seeds, kizami nori (shredded nori) and optionally, a drizzle of chili oil (rayu). Enjoy!
    chicken butter and shoyu yaki udon with vegetables topped with kizami nori and sesame seeds on a white plate with blue stripes side view

Notes

Loosen Udon Before the Pan. Microwave frozen or refrigerated noodles for about 3 minutes, or drop them in boiling water. Adding them straight from the package floods the pan with ice water and you end up steaming instead of searing.
Soy Sauce Hits Metal, Not Food. Pour the soy sauce around the pan edge so it contacts bare hot metal. A sharp hiss and a roasted, almost sweet smell mean the pan is hot enough.
Finish Off the Heat. Turn the burner off before adding the cold butter and balsamic vinegar. Cold butter melts into a glossy coating at residual heat.
Fry the chicken undisturbed. The flour coating needs uninterrupted contact with hot metal to form a golden crust. If you lift a piece and the coating stays stuck to the pan, it is not ready.
One to Two Portions Per Batch. A crowded pan drops temperature fast enough that nothing sears. The noodles steam instead of frying and the whole dish turns soggy.