This chicken yaki udon recipe is a quick and easy stir-fry dish that your whole family will love. It’s full of flavor, packed with vegetables, and easy to whip up on a busy weeknight. Tender chicken, vegetables, and bouncy udon noodles coated in a savory sauce, you’ll have this yaki udon recipe on repeat.
I love my yaki udon recipe and have been making this variation of it to add a boost of protein to the dish. It’s a simple but delicious meal that you can whip up quickly on a busy weeknight.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s super easy to make. Just like my regular yaki udon recipe, it takes me next to no time to make this stir fried udon noodles with chicken recipe for dinner! The addition of seared chicken tenderloins doesn’t take much time either.
- It’s a flavor-packed recipe! The savory is so good and you’ll want to make it on repeat.
- It’s a full meal! You’ve got the chicken for protein, udon noodles for carbs, and a ton of added vegetables.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ingredients for the yaki udon noodle sauce
- soy sauce and dark soy sauce – dark soy sauce is saltier than light soy sauce, but it gives your noodles that beautiful dark glaze and has a stronger soy flavor. If you don’t have dark soy sauce, you can use regular soy sauce in its place.
- oyster sauce — don’t worry, while it’s made from oyster extract, it doesn’t taste like oysters! Not sure what it is? Check out my post on What Is Oyster Sauce.
- mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey. See my post on What is Mirin for more recipes using mirin!
- brown sugar — I use regular brown sugar, but you can use light or dark brown sugar.
Ingredients for the yaki udon
- chicken tenderloins — I like using chicken tenderloins, but you can also use chicken breasts and slice them thinly.
- oil — I use olive oil.
- seasoning — I season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- udon noodles — I use frozen udon noodles, but you can use any type! Udon noodles are a type of thick noodle made from wheat flour, commonly used in Japanese cuisine.
- vegetables — I add onions, mushrooms, carrots, and green onion.
How to Make Chicken Yaki Udon
- In a bowl, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. Mix well to combine.
- Pat dry the chicken tenderloins, drizzle a tablespoon of oil on top, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to evenly coat the chicken.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add half a tablespoon of oil and once hot, add the chicken.
- Sear the chicken until golden brown, around 3 minutes per side or until the internal temperature has reached 165F/73C. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Set the chicken aside and add the last half tablespoon of oil to the skillet and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the carrots and green onions to the skillet and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- As the vegetables cook, add the udon in the pot of boiling water and cook according to the package’s instructions. Mine takes 1 minute to cook.
- Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet along with the sauce. Toss well to combine everything.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and toss until combined with the yaki udon. Garnish with sesame seeds and more green onions if desired before serving.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- For a spicier yaki udon, you can add some spice! I like to use Shichimi Togarashi, a spicy Japanese seasoning blend with dried chile peppers, orange peel, sesame seeds, nori, and more. It makes for a great addition to the udon noodles. Sriracha and chili oil are great, too.
- Make sure not to overcook your noodles, or they’ll become mushy! Double-check the instructions on your package of udon noodles. I have bags that require 5 minutes of cook time and bags that require 1. There are also udon noodles that don’t require boiling.
- You can cut the chicken tenderloin in half if you want them to be more bite-sized.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken is cooked through. Or, you can cut a tenderloin in half to check if the middle is opaque.
My Recommendation
This is my go-to meat thermometer for making sure that the internal temperature of my meat is good to go. It’s also magnetic so I have it on my fridge door to save drawer space!
Get it Now!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store the chicken stir-fried udon noodles in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Ingredients: You can also prep the ingredients ahead of time so you can quickly throw everything together at dinner time. Sliced onions, shredded carrots, and sliced mushrooms can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days ahead of time!
- Reheat: reheat the chicken udon stir fry in a skillet or microwave until warm. You can add a splash of water to help loosen the noodles.
Types of Udon Noodles
There are a lot of options when it comes to buying udon noodles. Here are the ones that I see readily available in stores.
- Shelf Stable Udon Noodles: There are udon noodles that you find on the shelf at the store. It really depends on the brand when it comes to the shelf-stable ones, as I find some to have a really strong aftertaste to them. (The first one pictured)
- Fresh Udon Noodles: If you can find fresh udon noodles in the refrigerated section. I like using these noodles when possible, but they do expire relatively quickly, so I can’t stock up on them! I usually have to use them within the week of purchasing them. (The second one pictured)
- Frozen Udon Noodles: This one is one of my favorite options if you cannot find fresh udon noodles. As they’re frozen, they can essentially live forever in my freezer and satisfy my cravings whenever I get hit with them! (The third one pictured)
- Dried Udon Noodles: Not pictured above, but dried udon noodles look similar to dried spaghetti noodles. These are convenient as you store them like you would pasta. However, they’re not my favorite as they’re not as plump and chewy as fresh udon noodles.
All of these noodles are great options for chicken yaki udon or any udon recipe. Pick your favorite or most convenient one for this mushroom udon stir fry. It’s meant to be a quick and easy recipe that you can throw together quickly, so don’t stress out if you can get a specific type of udon noodles.
Chicken Yaki Udon
This chicken yaki udon recipe is a quick and easy stir-fry dish that your whole family will love. It's full of flavor, packed with vegetables, and easy to whip up on a busy weeknight. Tender chicken, vegetables, and bouncy udon noodles coated in a savory sauce, you'll have this yaki udon recipe on repeat.
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Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 to 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1½ tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
For the Rest
- 400 grams chicken tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 750 grams udon noodles, (3 packets of frozen udon noodles)
- ½ small onion, sliced
- 6 to 8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 5 green onions, roots removed and cut into thirds
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. Mix well to combine.
- Pat dry the chicken tenderloins, drizzle a tablespoon of oil on top, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add half a tablespoon of oil and once hot, add the chicken.
- Sear the chicken until golden brown, around 3 minutes per side or until the internal temperature has reached 165F/73C. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Set the chicken aside and add the last half tablespoon of oil to the skillet and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the carrots and green onions to the skillet and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- As the vegetables cook, add the udon in the pot of boiling water and cook according to the package’s instructions. Mine takes 1 minute to cook.
- Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet along with the sauce. Toss well to combine everything.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and toss until combined with the yaki udon. Garnish with sesame seeds and more green onions if desired before serving.
Notes
- This recipe is saucy enough to add an extra pack of udon noodles! You’ll have to add an extra serving of chicken.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 689kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 3228mg | Potassium: 950mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 7035IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
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