Dried udon noodles are usually easier to find, and
they have a much longer shelf life, so consider
using them if it’s your first time making an udon
dish. Cooking dried udon is pretty similar to making
other pasta, but there are a few extra steps to
follow. Drop your noodles into a pot of boiling
water and allow them to cook for about 10 minutes,
or until the noodles are just tender. Once they’re
cooked, drain them and rinse them under cold water
to remove the starch and halt the cooking process.
If you’re making a hot udon dish, reserve the
cooking water in the pot so you can reheat the
noodles later.
Once you’ve learned how to cook your noodles, you
can make any udon dish! Some of the most popular
udon dishes in Japan include yaki udon and
nabeyaki udon. Yaki udon is a type of
Japanese stir-fry that features udon noodles, meat,
vegetables, and a delicious soy-sauce based sauce.
Nabeyaki udon is a hot soup that’s traditionally
served in a clay pot, but whatever you have at home
is just fine! It features udon and chicken, fish
cakes, and vegetables.