Japanese recipes are often a favourite amongst many clients due to the ease of making, low amount of carbs, and the health benefits they provide. Among them, the yaki udon recipe seems to be a popular main dish recipe that many frequently request. Udon noodles are a chewy, thick noodle typology usually made from wheat flour. But if you’re trying to avoid gluten, then you can also get udon noddles made from ground brown rice.
Udon can be used to make a dry noodle recipe, boiled in broth or stir-fried – basically, there’s a type of udon dish for every mood. And udon soup is also great to eat in winter! Low in calories and fat, yaki udon is an easy main dish recipe that can be made quickly within 15-20 minutes. You can also freeze them and have them again the next day!
Among the popular main dish recipes for udon, I’ve presented a healthy vegetable yaki udon recipe that makes use of peas, garlic, a healthy brine mix, soy source and more – all of which contain complex carbohydrates that inspire weightloss, are easy to digest and have been proven to help reduce the risk of colon cancer.
However, you can also add boiled and salted chicken pieces into it if you’re comfortable with non-vegetarian food. Additionally, udon made from brown rice has lower carbohydrates than the one made from wheat flour. And if you’re asking for my opinion – I would certainly suggest going for the brown rice udon!
How to Make Vegetable Udon?
So, if you’re new to using udon, then here are a few tips on how to properly handle it. One of my secret tips if to freeze the fresh udon right away once you get it from the store! Udon turns soggy when stored at room temperature because it absorbs atmospheric water.
By freezing the udon for one or two days, the water content in it remains constant and makes it chewier and delicious. So let’s get right into it. Here’s a simple vegetable yaki udon recipe for you.
- Once you’re ready to eat it, remove and defrost it naturally. You can now begin cooking. Remember than udon only lasts for a maximum of 7 days, even while being frozen.
- Use a non-stick frying pan or wok. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in it and spread it all around. Heat it on the high-heat setting for 3 to 5 minutes.
- While it heats, you can prepare the vegetables you want to add. You can get experimental at this stage. The ones I usually prepare are – corn pieces, chopped spring onion, chopped carrot, bell pepper (if available), broccoli, mangetout (edible pea pod) and kale.
- Now, turn down the heat a little. If you want to add onions, add them immediately after the oil is heated and allow them to get fried until they achieve a nice colour.
- Once the onions are fried, add in all the other vegetables you would like to add. Turn them around so that all sides are coated evenly and wait for five more minutes.
- Now, add garlic and soy sauce (or oyster sauce, if you want) and allow it to warm for another minute.
- Finally, separate the udon and drop them in gently. Add two to three tablespoons of water to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Remember to continuously stir the udon to prevent sticking.
- Once it achieves a nice golden-brown colour, add some more soy sauce and salt as per your taste.
- Serve it as the main dish, piping hot!
Voila! In 20 minutes, the main dish is complete. With this simple yaki udon recipe, you won’t ever feel like skipping lunch again. You can also boil chicken pieces separately and add it as a topping with pepper, but I’d highly recommend it as a vegetable main dish recipe.
You check my others best recipes: Baked Sweet Potato Recipe | Best Healthy Recipes
How Long Can You Store Vegetable Udon?
Fresh, store-bought udon can be stored and refrigerated for up to 7 days. As I said before, it’s best to eat udon after freezing it for 1 or 2 days.
Can You Freeze Vegetable Udon?
While we all know that raw materials can last in a refrigerator for a long time, the case with cooked food may not always be so.
Once udon has been cooked with the yaki udon recipe, you can still refrigerate it and store them for up to 3 days. When stored for longer, the cooked vegetables will go bad. Make sure to put it in a dry and air-tight container.
How To Reheat Vegetable Udon?
To eat the frozen yaki udon, reheat the disk again in the microwave. However, if you’re using pieces of chicken, I would suggest cooking and storing them separately and then adding them in the udon mix right before eating.
You might notice that after storing them for some time, the recipe tastes saltier. This is due to the loss of water from the dish. To correct this, what you can do is to add 1 teaspoon of oil in a frying pan, heat it and add the udon mix in it again. Now add a one or two tablespoons of water in it and mix it well for three to five minutes.
This will add some water to the mix, make it a bit easier to east and reduce the salt content as well.
What Are The Health Benefits of Vegetable Udon?
Now, udon itself has many types of benefits. But the added vegetables transform the bowl into one full of antioxidants, potassium and iron. By adding chicken, you can add your daily protein quota into it as well.
Udon itself contains many nutrients like zinc, copper, magnesium and folate. The presence of folate makes it ideal for pregnant women. Folic acid is an essential element for the proper growth of the fetus, especially during the early stages of development.
Additionally, udon is available in a variety of wheat types. When made from high-quality wheat flour, they are rich in complex carbohydrates which makes them ideal for those trying to steer clear of starch-rich meals.
Complex carbohydrates can help in weight loss and are suggested for those suffering from Type 2 Diabetes. Easily digestible and rich in fibre, udon is also known to reduce the potential risks of colon and rectal cancer. Both carrots and udon are some of the few cancer-fighting food items.
Depending on the type of vegetables used, a yaki udon recipe can have as little as 300 calories and is guaranteed to help your weight-loss journey. Made in just 15 minutes, do try out this recipe and let me know how you liked it!
Quick Vegetable Yaki Udon for Main Dish
Vegetable yaki udon made from brown rice, mixed with the richness of vegetables is filled with antioxidants and high-fibre that can help with digestion.
Course: Main Dish
Keyword: Popular main dish recipe, yaki udon recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Yield: 1 serving of yaki udon
Calories: 367
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 50g corn pieces
- 2 chopped spring onions
- ½ chopped carrot
- 150g edible pea pod
- ½ bell pepper
- 1 full garlic clove, chopped
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2-3 tablespoon water
- Oyster sauce (alternative to soy sauce)
- Broccoli (additive)
- Kale (additive)
- 300g udon noddles
Instructions:
- Chop the vegetables and keep them aside.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of cooking oil onto a wok and let it heat for 5 minutes.
- Add onions and let it sit for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables slowly while lowering heat.
- Add 1 clove ground garlic and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix it thoroughly.
- Add udon noodles along with 2 tablespoons of water.
- Once it becomes golden brown, add salt, some more sauce as per taste and serve hot!