Yaki udon with ground beef recipe
This is the perfect protein-packed lunch or dinner recipe for noodle fans. What makes it so great is that anyone can cook it (yes, it’s that easy), and it’s a one-pan recipe. Well, you cook the noodles separately but then cook everything else in one pan and mix with noodles. I’m using pre-cooked frozen vacuumed udon noodles you can buy at Asian grocery stores. I’ll explain why below the recipe.
Servings 2
Cost $8
Ingredients
- 14 oz udon noodles 2 packs
- ½ lb ground beef
- 1.5 cups shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 carrot julienne cut long strips
- 4 small bok choy (or 2 large) quartered
- ½ white onion chopped
- 2 spring onions or scallions
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the sauce:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce preferably dark
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar or 1 tsp maple syrup
Instructions
- In a pot, add water and bring to a boil. Add the udon noodles and cook according to packaging instructions. Frozen udon noodles are pre-cooked and only require a couple of minutes of boiling.
- Chop all the vegetables and set them aside.
- To make the sauce, grab a bowl and mix the soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
- Rinse the noodles under cold water to separate them and then drain.
- In a large wok or saucepan, heat up the oil.
- Add the ground beef and cook for 2 minutes, constantly stirring and mixing the meat to avoid clumps.
- Add the onion, carrots, mushrooms, and bok choy to the pan and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
- Now add the noodles and drizzle the sauce. Keep stir-frying for 3-4 minutes.
- The dish is ready to serve. Garnish with chopped spring onion.
Notes
Note: I mentioned that I prefer dark soy sauce, and that’s because, contrary to popular belief, dark soy sauce is less salty than the regular stuff. It has a thicker texture and darker black color. It adds lots of flavor, but it works just the same if you add regular or light soy sauce.
