Made with only a handful of ingredients, this Tempura Udon comes together quickly and easily! A rich umami broth filled with thick bouncy udon noodles and topped with crispy shrimp tempura, you’ll want a big bowl of this tempura udon.
This tempura udon is like a hug in a bowl. It’s comforting, warm, and reminds me of my childhood. This recipe comes together pretty easily with a few kitchen staples and combines all of my favourite things: udon noodles, shrimp tempura, and soup!
Why You’ll Love This Udon Soup Recipe
- It’s easy to make. All you have to do is simmer the broth and cook the udon noodles. You can buy pre-made shrimp tempura as well to save time.
- It’s tasty. I could eat 10 bowls of these udon noodles! It’s beyond tasty!
- It uses a ton of kitchen staples so you can skip running out to the grocery store. Most of these ingredients are things I have in the kitchen to start with so it’s a great last minute meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- dried bonito — I use hondashi to make my broth soup base.
- anchovy soup stock packet — if you cannot find this, it’s ok. However, I highly recommend picking up a packet of these if you see them at the store. It adds a ton of unami flavour to the broth.
- light soy sauce — I prefer light soy sauce for the soup.
- mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey
- udon noodles — I use fresh udon noodles that are sold at the refrigerated section that takes less than 2 minutes to cook. Other options are frozen udon noodles and dried udon noodles.
- shrimp tempura — you can make homemade shrimp tempura or get precooked ones from the freezer aisle of most grocery stores.
- kamaboko — also known as Japanese fish cake, it is usually made with surimi, a white fish paste. You can usually find this in the frozen section of most Asian grocery stores.
- shichimi togarashi — it’s also called Japanese 7 spice. It contains dried chilies, sesame, orange peel, nori and more.
- green onions — I love green onions and will add them on top of everything.
How to Make Tempura Udon
- Add the dried bonito, anchovy soup packet, light soy sauce, and mirin to 4 cups of water in a small saucepot. Bring it up to a simmer and allow the broth to simmer for 10 minutes, with a lid on.
- Cook the udon noodles according to the package before draining and setting it aside.
- Slice to kamaboko and reheat the shrimp tempura.
- Divide the udon, soup, kamaboko, and shrimp tempura into two bowls. Top with shichimi togarashi and green onions before enjoying.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- If you have leftovers of this udon tempura soup, store each component separately so things don’t get soggy.
- Want to make this tempura udon noodle soup vegetarian friendly? Make vegetable tempura and use a vegetable stock base instead.
- Don’t have kamaboko? Use fish cakes instead! Fish cakes are a delicious alternative.
What Are Seafood Stock Packets?
Dried seafood stock packets are little baggies of flavour bombs. They look like a giant tea bag and they’re usually filled with dried anchovy, shrimp, crab, mushrooms, kelp, and other assortments of umami-rich ingredients. All you have to do is simmer a packet for 5 to 10 minutes, and you’ll have a flavourful broth base for all kinds of recipes! I get mine from a local Korean grocer but you can find them online as well.
Types of Udon
There are a lot of options when it comes to buying udon noodles for this udon with tempura. Here are the ones that I usually see 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 these! 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 favourites 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 favourite as they’re not as plump and chewy as fresh udon noodles.
All of these noodles are great options. Pick your favourite or most convenient one for this tempura udon soup. Tempura udon noodle soup is 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.
Tempura Udon
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 tbsp dried bonito
- 1 anchovy soup stock packet
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsps mirin
- 450 grams udon noodles
- 6 shrimp tempura, or vegetable tempura
- 6 slices kamaboko
- shichimi togarashi
- green onions
Instructions
- Add the dried bonito, anchovy soup packet, light soy sauce, and mirin to 4 cups of water in a small saucepot. Bring it up to a simmer and allow the broth to simmer for 10 minutes, with a lid on.
- Cook the udon noodles according to the package before draining and setting it aside.
- Slice to kamaboko and reheat the shrimp tempura.
- Divide the udon, soup (packet removed), kamaboko, and shrimp tempura into two bowls. Top with shichimi togarashi and green onions before enjoying.
Nutrition Per Serving
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