What is it?

These thick Japanese noodles are made from white wheat flour, salt, and water, and are usually served in a soup or with a dipping sauce. Udon are available both fresh and dried; dried udon are flatter than their fresh counterpart and closer in texture to linguine. Fresh udon noodles are fat and bouncy in texture, and tend to be more delicate than dried.

How to prep:

Cook both fresh and dried udon in well-salted boiling water until just tender (about 3 minutes for fresh, 8 minutes for dried). Drain the noodles and rinse them briefly under cold water before using in soup or another dish; this stops the cooking and also removes some of the surface starch, preventing them from sticking together.

How to store:

Keep fresh udon refrigerated and use by their expiration date. Dried udon will keep nearly indefinitely on the pantry shelf.

Click here to purchase

Recipes

• 
  Recipe

  Maitake Noodle Bowls

  This satisfying bowl is brimming with umami flavors, warm udon noodles, and vibrant, crisp vegetables.

• 
  Recipe

  Spicy Udon Noodles with Wilted Watercress

  Watercress curls and twirls along with the noodles in this full-flavored dish. The cooling cucumbers balance the hot sambal oelek in the sauce for a pleasant tingle.

• 
  Recipe

  Spicy Pan-Fried Noodles with Tofu

  Seared tofu is the perfect vehicle to carry the sweet, sour, and savory flavors of this dish. Buying cooked noodles (look for them next to the tofu) saves a step;…

• 
  Recipe

  Red-Cooked Pork Shoulder and Chestnuts

  Red-cooking is a traditional Chinese braising technique, so named because high-quality soy sauce is said to develop a red tint after long-cooking. Here, that technique helps pork shoulder morph into…

• 
  Recipe

  Udon with Tofu and Stir-Fried Vegetables

  These wheat-based Japanese noodles are available both dried (used in this recipe) and fresh. Dried udon are flatter than their fresh counterparts and closer in texture to linguine.

• 
  Recipe

  Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass

  In this cross between Vietnamese pho and Japanese udon noodle soup, fresh udon noodles are the star. Fat and bouncy in texture, they cook faster and tend to be more…

• 
  Recipe

  Cinnamon Beef Noodle Soup

  Packaged stewing beef is often made up of irregularly shaped pieces from different cuts, so I cut my own stew meat using a boneless chuck roast or two 3/4-inch-thick chuck…