3 Types of homecooked Korean Udon recipes you'll want to try

In my recent quest for perfecting a bowl of udon, I found that it is relatively difficult to make portions just for one person. The udon noodles typically came in packets of three. It is also common, if not compulsory, for Japanese udon recipes to include dashi stock. Being a fan of Korean culture, I improvised a lot from existing Korean udon recipes, taking elements of different ingredients from both Japan and Korea I'm so glad to be bold and adventurous with the ingredients because the flavours came out quite nicely. If you've got some free time over the weekends, why not try some of the following recipes?

Best udon recipes in the world

1. Korean Style Stir-fried Juicy Chicken Dry Udon 

The first dish was inspired by a Korean udon recipe— where gochujang was used. Gochujang adds a lot of depth to the dish, because of the red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt that goes into the sauce. I've added light soya sauce to give it colour and additional saltiness— but my mum said it really looked like KL-style hokkein mee instead *gasps*.

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1. Udon noodles ( I used packet udon from SAKURA. It's almost impossible to make from scratch unless you've been through culinary training) 

2. 2 Tbsp light soya sauce (reduced salt)

3. 1 Tbsp honey

4. 1 Tbsp Gochujang sauce

5. 5 pcs Chinese mushrooms

6. 1/4 sliced green pepper

7. 1/4 chopped garlic

8. 150 grams Chicken fillet

9. 300 ml of water

KL-styled dry udon

Instructions

1. Soak chinese mushrooms for 30 minutes.
2. Marinate the chicken fillet in the light soya sauce, honey, gochujang and chopped garlics for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, pan fry the chicken fillet with sufficient oil using medium heat.
4. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir-fry the chicken, together with the mushrooms.
5. Meanwhile, bring 300ml of water to a boil and add in the udon noodles. Use a pair of tongs to separate the udon. If you don't have any, you can try using chopsticks. There is no need to flavour the broth as the sauce from the chicken will do the trick later on.
6. Add in the green peppers and continue stir-frying.
7. Once the noodle is separated, take out the udon and put them in ice water to prevent them from further cooking.
8. Place the udon on serving plate. Carefully pour the chicken, together with the sauce, chinese mushroom and green pepper on top of the udon.

Preparation: 10 minutes
Total duration: 55 minutes

---

2. Truffle spicy chicken with korean miso dry udon

The udon is really simple to make— but what requires a little bit of technique is the truffle spicy chicken. I wanted to combine simple udon flavours (not much flavouring) with crispy, fragrant chicken fillet.

Truffle spicy chicken with korean miso dry udon

Ingredients

1. 0.5 Tbsp Korean Miso Paste

2. 1 fresh egg (placed in a ramkin)

3. 1 Tbsp of Japanese seaweed

4. 1 Tbsp of Gochuchang sauce

5. 1.5 Tbsp of Light Soya Sauce

6. 1 Tbsp of honey

7. 1 Packet of udon

8. 5 Tbsp of soft bread crumb

9. Egg whites (remove egg yolk)

10. Two spoons of truffle oil

12. 150 grams chicken fillet

Pan-frying Korean fried chicken

Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken fillet in the light soya sauce, honey, gochujang for 15 minutes.
2. Dip both sides of the marinated chicken into the egg white, then dip into another bowl of bread crumbs. Make sure the bread crumbs cover the chicken entirely.
3. Pour oil into a pan that is about 2cm high. Heat the oil until it starts to smoke
4. Carefully place the chicken fillet into the pan. Be careful not to burn yourself. Place the fire on medium heat.
5. After about 1.5 minutes, flip the chicken fillet to the other side. Add two tbsp of truffle oil. You may wish to cover the pan with a lid to prevent the kitchen from getting too oily. Or better still, use Tefal's Spherical Rice Bowl.
6. Boil the water with the Korean Miso Paste. Continue stirring until the miso paste dissolves, and add in the packet of udon.
7. When the udon is separated, drain off the water and put it on a serving bowl.
8. Pour 250ml of water and bring it to a simmer. Then, turn off the heat and quickly stir the water with a whisk.
9. Gently pour the raw egg from the ramkin into the center of the water. Cover the pot and wait for 3 minutes.
10. The chicken should be cooked by now. Remove it and place it on a separate serving plate.
11. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and place it on top of the udon. Add in some seaweed according to your preference.

Truffle spicy chicken with korean miso dry udon

Truffle spicy chicken with korean miso dry udon

---

3. Sweet and spicy chicken udon with poached egg and bonito flakes

My favourite of the three: tender chicken chunks with sweet and spicy soup

The greatest secret to this recipe is Tefal Spherical Rice Bowl. I ABSOLUTELY loved how it does not leave my floor oily at all (the deepfrying process left my floor oily in recipe #2). The hot steamed produce by the ceramic bowl made each strand of udon consistently cooked— and the taste was much better than the earlier two recipes.

Ingredients

1. One packet of udon

2. 100 grams chicken fillet

3. One large egg

4. 1 Tbsp of Japanese seaweed

5. 1 Tbsp of Gochuchang sauce

6. 1.5 Tbsp of Light Soya Sauce

7. 1 Tbsp of honey

8. 1/4 green pepper

9. Freshly cut spring onions

The Tefal Spherical Rice Bowl

 Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken fillet in the light soya sauce, honey, gochujang for 15 minutes.
2. Pour about 5 tbsp of oil into the spherical rice bowl. Add the chicken.
3. Turn on the 'steam' function and close the lid.
4. After 3 minutes, open the lid and stir fry the chicken. Close the lid again.
5. After 1.5 minutes, add 300 ml water. Then add the packet of udon.
6. Cook until the udon is soft and separated.
7. Pour 250ml of water into a pot and bring it to a simmer. Then, turn off the heat and quickly stir the water with a whisk.
8. Gently pour the raw egg from the ramkin into the center of the water. Cover the pot and wait for 3 minutes.
9. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon.
10. Transfer the udon chicken with soup into serving bowl.
11. Add bonito flakes, the poached eggs and freshly cut onions.

Sweet and spicy chicken udon with poached egg and bonito flakes

Sweet and spicy chicken udon with poached egg and bonito flakes

Sweet and spicy chicken udon with poached egg and bonito flakes