Learn how to make udon noodles from scratch (with optional pink color using beet juice!). It’s easy & fun and you will be rewarded with delicious homemade noodles that are far more superior than store-bought ones!
One of the easiest Japanese noodles that you can make at home is Udon Noodles (うどん). Today I’ll share with you how to make these popular Japanese noodles from scratch.
Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, we’ll make udon noodles pink (It’s optional, of course)! How do we do that? We use homemade natural food coloring – beet juice!
What are Udon Noodles?
Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle commonly used in Japanese cuisines. Enjoyed in many ways, the noodles come with a white, thick, chewy yet soft texture. With a neutral flavor, udon noodles can be served in hot dashi soup (made with kombu and bonito flakes), or eaten cold by dipping in a soy-sauce based sauce or stir-fried with meat and vegetables.
Some Popular Udon Noodle Recipes on JOC:
Why Making Udon Noodles?
- Tasty and great chewy texture. – The texture of udon noodles sold in Asian markets are usually not of good quality. Not only the noodles break too easily and have a rubbery texture, but they taste floury and doughy. Homemade noodles are smooth and chewy with an elastic toothsome bite. The freshness is simply unbeatable.
- Just 3 ingredients to make udon noodles. – Flour, water, and salt. The methods to make udon are very straightforward.
- No special kitchen gadget required. – Unlike making pasta noodles, which require a pasta machine, udon noodles require your hands, your feet (read on to find out why), and a sharp knife to make the noodles from scratch!
Sounds great, right? Just to be completely honest, here are two things you might want to know before we begin.
- It takes time. – To be exact, you need at least 4-5 hours including inactive time. Just like making bread, the dough needs to rest to relax the gluten.
- It requires your feet. – No, I’m not joking. Because the dough is pretty hard to knead with hands, traditionally, the Japanese use our feet to roll out the dough!
My family enjoys these homemade udon noodles every time I make them. The taste and texture are much better than any store-bought brands, including the best ones. And there are no preservatives used in homemade udon!
How To Make Homemade Udon Noodles
Making delicious udon noodles at home requires just water, salt, and flour. Nothing beats the flavor and texture of fresh homemade udon.
Measuring for Udon Noodle Recipe
The ingredients and methods for making udon noodles are very simple. I recommend the following measurements for one serving.
1 serving = 100 grams of all-purpose flour + 50 grams of salted water (5 grams of salt and 45 grams/ml of water)
So, for two and four servings, it is as simple as:
2 servings = 200 grams of all-purpose flour + 100 grams of salted water (10 grams of salt + 90 grams of water)
4 servings = 400 grams of all-purpose flour + 200 grams of salted water (20 grams of salt + 180 grams of water)
and so on…
For the best result, please use a kitchen scale. I purposely didn’t include a “cup” measurement (I’m sorry!) as 1 cup of flour varies depending on how you measure it because the flour is compressed while you scoop.
5 Tips and Tricks for Making Udon Noodles
- Do not skip “resting” time. I know, we are all busy but in order to achieve good chewy udon texture, just hang in there!
- Get a 5-gallon Ziploc bag if you are making more than 2 servings. No, those 1-gallon ones are way too small.
- Knead with your feet until the dough is as soft as your ear lobes. Otherwise, it’s going to be much harder to roll with your hands later if your dough is not soft enough.
- Roll out the dough to a square shape so that the noodles will be of equal length.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the noodles. The texture that makes udon unique is its clean edge. If it’s a dull knife, the sides of the noodles will not have a clean cut.
Coloring Udon Noodles Pink
For this recipe, I’m collaborating with other talented YouTubers for Tastemade‘s new “Hero Series“, and the ingredient for this month’s series is beets. At the end of my YouTube video, you will see the playlist of all the beet recipes, so please check them out!
If you are wondering about the taste of these pink udon noodles, you don’t really taste the beets. The shade of pink and the taste of beet really depend on how much beet juice you use.
My daughter LOVED these pink udon noodles. Maybe these pink noodles are fun for some special occasions, like Valentine’s Day or Japanese Gir’s Day.
Last but not least, if you enjoy making food from scratch, don’t forget to try Homemade Gyoza Wrappers, too! Have fun!
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Udon Noodles
Video
Ingredients
For Regular White Udon
- 7 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour) (1 ½ cup + 3 Tbsp; I encourage you to use the kitchen scale; If you use a measuring cup, follow this method: fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Otherwise, 1 cup of flour ends up with more than 120 g.)
- 6 Tbsp water
- 2 ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- potato starch/cornstarch (or flour for rolling and dusting; if you're going to freeze udon noodles, you may want to use potato starch/cornstarch as flour tends to be absorbed by udon noodles and stick to each other.)
For Pink Udon
- 7 oz all-purpose flour (plain flour) (1 ½ cup + 3 Tbsp)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tsp beet juice
- 2 ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- potato starch/cornstarch (or flour for rolling and dusting)
For Beet Juice
- 1 beet
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make Regular Udon Noodles
- Combine 90 ml water and 2 ¼ tsp salt and mix until it’s completely dissolved. If you are making white udon, skip to Step 5.
To Make Pink Udon Noodles
- Peel and slice the beet root into ½” (1.3 cm) thickness.
- Put sliced beets and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and cook for about 20 minutes until the beet juice is reduced to about 2 Tbsp.
- Save the beet juice in a small bowl. Combine 80 g (80 ml) water and 2 tsp of beet juice. Add the 2 ¼ tsp salt and mix until it’s completely dissolved.
To Make the Udon Dough
- Place the flour in a large bowl and gradually add the salted water (for regular udon) or salted beet juice (for pink udon) while mixing with hands.
- Combine the dough until there is no dry flour left and form into a ball. If there is some flour left, add a tiny bit of water. Then place the dough in the large durable plastic bag (such as a 5-gallon Ziploc bag). Close the bag leaving a small air gap and leave it for 20-30 minutes to relax the gluten.
- Just in case the plastic bag breaks, place the bag between 2 kitchen cloths on the floor. Step on the dough with your feet (heels) using your weight. Turn around and press from the inward to outward. You can do this step with your hands, but it will take more effort and time. Stepping udon dough with your feet is a common practice in Japan! Step on the dough until the dough is completely flattened.
- Take out the dough and fold it into a ball again. Place it in the bag and close the bag leaving a small air gap.
- Step again until the dough is stretched and flattened. Take out the dough and fold it into a ball again. Repeat this process one more time (total 3 times), or until the dough is soft just like the ear lobe (that’s how we say in Japan).
- After the 3rd round of stepping the dough, fold it into a ball and place it in the plastic bag. Seal tight and rest the dough for 2 hours (3 hours or overnight in winter).
- Dust the working surface with potato/corn starch and take out the dough. Form a nice round ball and then flattern with your hand.
- Using a rolling pin, stretch the dough into a rectangular shape. Dust the dough with potato starch or cornstarch in between to make sure the dough is not sticky. Turn the dough 180 degree and stretch it evenly.
- Once it’s a nice rectangular shape, turn 90 degrees and stretch to make it into a square. If the dough is square, all the noodles will have the same length when you cut them.
- When the dough is a square shape, roll the dough into a rolling pin and stretch to let the rounded corner into a more pointed tip. Make the dough into 3 mm (⅛”) thickness.
- Dust the potato/corn starch on top of the dough and fold the dough like an accordion.
- Put more potato/corn starch on top and then cut noodles into 3 mm (⅛”) thickness. Pick up some noodles and fluff the noodles to make sure the noodles are covered with the potato/corn starch to prevent sticking to each other.
To Cook Udon Noodles Immediately
- Boil a big pot of water (do not add salt) and cook for 10-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your noodles). Stir the noodles so they don’t stick to each other. Drain and rinse well with cold water to remove the starch. Drain and they are ready to use for your favorite udon recipe.
To Save Fresh Udon Noodles for Later
- Divide the uncooked noodles into small portions (150 grams per person) and freeze in an airtight container/bag for up to a month. You can refrigerate for a few days but it tastes better when you freeze the fresh udon right away. To cook frozen udon, boil the frozen udon in a large pot of water for 12-13 minutes without defrosting.
Loved seeing you in your video, Nami. As always, you make everything seem easy. But I missed hearing your kids at the end!
Thank you so much Phil! This is easy, BUT you need some strength to work with the dough. The kids voice will be back! Thank you for watching till the end, you’re so sweet! xo 🙂
This is simply amazing! When I was in Italy, I loved to make by myself pasta and pizza.. And now that I am in Japan I’m going to shift to udon! I will surely try to make them! 😀
Thank you so much Michele! Wow that’s so cool. You must know good udon noodles in Japan. Hope you try making these noodles at home! 🙂
Fantastic job on your first video appearance Nami, you were great. As some of the other readers have said, this looks like a great recipe for the kids to participate in!
Thanks so much Todd! Do I look like myself?! =P You are so sweet! We should do a udon making party and let the kids make udon for us. 😀
You look good, Nami! Love to watch your tutorial videos.
First time see pink udon! Very creative.
Look forward to seeing you more in near future.
Thank you so much Liliana! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my videos! Yeah it was my first time making them too (although I made a lot while testing this recipe). Thanks for your sweet words! 🙂
You were great in your video Nami!! Well done 🙂
Thank you so much, Naseera! 🙂
Loved seeing you in your video Nami. Seems easy enough to make so will definitely make this at home now instead of buying them from store, just hope they will be as good as yours! thanks again, keep up with the appearance please : )
Thank you so much Joy! I practiced sometime to make udon, but it’s really simple and easy process. It’s just a little time consuming (because of inactive cooking time) and you need lots of energy to knead the dough! 🙂 Thanks again for your sweet words!
Nami, you did a TERRIFIC job on your first video appearance! After all these years following your blog, it’s like finally getting to meet you 🙂 Just this afternoon I was thinking that I needed to stop by Nijiya to purchase more frozen udon noodles and wouldn’t have thought that I could make my own! I’ll give it try soon. Thank you!
Hi Janice! Thank you so much! Your kind words mean so much to me and I am glad I did it hearing what you said! Hope you enjoy making udon at home! 🙂
Have to try and some udon noodles can you use wheat flour also
Hi Linda! Do you mean whole wheat flour? I haven’t tried it but I think you need some adjustment as the dough tend to be harder with whole wheat flour and texture will not be the same. I wish I know the substitution amount but I’m not sure… Sorry I couldn’t help..
Hi Nancy! So sorry for my late response! You can freeze them BEFORE cooking. 🙂
I’d love to try making these but unfortunately, I’m gluten free. Do you think this recipe would work with gluten free all purpose or just rice flour?
Hi Fayona! Unfortunately, I have not tried making udon with gluten free flour or rice flour but I found this recipe. I hope this helps!
http://vegetarianandhealth.blogspot.com/2008/11/udon-noodles-from-scratch.html
Can you just refrigerate the noodles overnight if you are going to cook it the day?
Sorry, I meant the *next day.
Hi Sky! I tried boiling and eating the noodles the next day, but somehow it’s not as good. I researched in Japanese and I learned that you can reduce the amount of water (but it’ll be even harder to knead and roll out) for better texture the following day. But most of udon shops let it rest overnight too, so I’d recommend finish until step 9 and continue the following day (roll out and cut). Hope that helps! 🙂
Dear Nami
Thank you for your lovely recipe. I have made Udon 4 times follow your instructions. It tastes great except too salty. Is that correct to put 10 g salt into 80ml water for 200g flour?
Cheers
Ling
Hi Ling! You missed the 10 ml (10 g) of water. I had to add 10 ml of beet juice to make the udon pink, but I mentioned in the recipe that to make regular udon, you need to add 10 ml of water to 80 ml of water (total 90 ml). Typical udon recipe is very simple: for 2 servings, 200 g flour + 100 g salted water (90 g water and 10 g salt). I wrote a little bit more detail in the post. Hope that helps! 🙂
Before freezing for later use, do I boil or leave uncooked?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Rekha! Uncooked. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami,
We made the Udon noodles over the weekend and it was AMAZING! My husband kneed it with his hands and he thought it was totally worth the work.
No more over priced Udon from the store! Thank you!
Hi Lu! Yay! I’m so happy to hear you and your husband made this recipe! Awesome! Homemade udon is so good! I’m glad you tried it! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Can I use kitchen aid for mixing?
Hi Maya! I actually have never tried. The dough is REALLY tough (especially if you want the chewy good texture for udon – we use less water)… and I’m a bit concerned about the mixer. I’ve seen some people make it, but not with this particular recipe, so… it’s up to you. Let us know if it works. 😀
Hi Nami,
Happy Valentine days, yesterday i go to the japanese restaurant. I have eat a calamari udon and the taste is so yummy, and my husband ask me to cook it at home.
Would you please share the recipe to me ? they only add some mushroom on the udon (no beef, chicken, seafood)
Await for your good news
Hi Kenken! Happy belated Valentine’s Day! Udon with calamari (squid) is not very common unless it was tempura squid (Ika Ten) on top. Was it? The udon broth should be similar to this broth.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/beef-udon/
I’ve tried this twice now and the dough ends up soft?
I got it the third time, I used a lot less water, mabey it’s the flour I have, thanks for the recipe, it looks good 🙂
Hi Jim! It’s highly possible that your weather is more humid than dry California where I live. The amount I gave in the recipe is just a guidance as the amount of moisture in the air really matters.
Hello, if I freeze the noodles, when it comes to cooking them, do I thaw them or not? Is the cooking time the same?
Hi Kessia! Thank you for asking! I updated the recipe with the information! You do not need to thaw. Add the frozen udon and cook for 12-13 minutes, just a minute more than fresh one (depending on thickness too). Hope this helps!
Hi Jester! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! Right? It’s easy (but time consuming, I know) and homemade is so delicious! I still buy frozen Sanuki udon for my quick lunch option, but when I have time, I try to make homemade udon. Yeah, the ramen noodles have been on my list for a long time, along with making ramen broth from scratch (like from bone….). I just don’t have enough time to get through my list. 🙂 Thank you for your kind compliments!
I tried this recipe. It is PERFECT! Never made or had fresh udon noodles before. Man oh man! You have created a monster now haha. I wonder if I’ll get fat off these?? Lol. Thanks so much for the recipe. I posted a pic on the Facebook page so you ccan see. I do have to work on the cutting of the noodles, but overall I was so happy. Thanks again.
Hi Janice! HAHAHAHA! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Okay, let me check the facebook. Thank you for your kind feedback! xo 🙂
Hi I like your home-recipe Japanese noodles etc. I wish to start a udon noodle cafe – i have been cooking black pepper chicken udon – stir fried for my children and they just love it. We are running short in finance and my kids encourage me to take my cooking public and make a living of it.
How do you store udon noodles for say a few days. Do you boil them and freeze them. Can you advise me? I like your website because your recipes are home recipes, the best from a Japanese mother and besides yours is like a one stop shopping centre. Thank you in advance.
Penang, Malaysia
Hi Ezekiel! Thank you for your kind words. I love the idea of udon noodle cafe. In Japan, we have udon noodle specialized shops, but I don’t see them outside of Japan (we have many ramen shops outside of Japan though). I recommend freezing them, and cook right before serving. Good luck with your business! 🙂
can I use a gf ap flour for this recipe…? seems simple enough… or is the gluten a necessary element…
I’ve had GF noodles before but they are all made with rice flour (but it tastes like regular udon).
I mentioned to another commenter above, but found this GF udon recipe onine.
http://vegetarianandhealth.blogspot.jp/2008/11/udon-noodles-from-scratch.html
As I have never worked with GF all purpose flour to make this recipe, I can’t tell how much water is necessary etc… that will affect texture of the noodles. If you try it, let us know!
Hi Nami – thanks for the udon recipe! I’m actually about to try this recipe next week for my family with the left over カレー sauce I have from your recipe 🙂 one quick question – this seems like a lot of salt. Is it possible to reduce the amount, or does a lot of it escape while boiling the udon? Thanks!
Hi Charlotte! I hope my answer is not too late. The salt is necessary amount. When I was studying the recipe, I looked around, and it’s pretty standard. I wouldn’t play with salt too much. Hope this helps.
I think it should be noted that the water should be unsalted so the noodles can release some salt during cooking, and IMO a lower protein flour (cake vs bread, for example) works better.
Hi Jędrek! Thank you for pointing that out. I edited my recipe mentioning that no salt necessary. I didn’t think about that as we don’t use salt for boiling udon and soba. Thank you for sharing your tip also!
Just posted a question about this before reading the other comments, thank you!
So do you freeze the noodles before coming or after if you aren’t going to use them all right away?
Hi Hollie! You can freeze the uncooked udon noodles that you don’t need to cook.
Thanks for the recipe 🙂 . I couldn’t believe it was so easy to make this. I made them today (not pink) and they were delicious 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you for this fine recipe. I just made these and they look great. Also kudos for using the metric system! It makes it so much easier for us people from outside of the Anglosphere.
Cheers
Hi Marco! I’m so happy to hear your udon noodles came out well. Thank you for your kind feedback. Yes, I agree, it’s easier to use metric system for dry ingredients for me too. 🙂
is ‘all purpose flour’ the same thing with ‘wheat flour’?
Hi Sun! Yes, it’s wheat flour. BUT depending on the amount of gluten in the flour, we have Bread Flour (most gluten), All-Purpose Flour (medium), and Cake Flour (less gluten). We use bread flour to make bread and bread related food, and cake flour to make sponge cakes etc, and everything else is All Purpose Flour. 🙂
Hi! I’m planning to make udon with my preschooler soon, she’ll love the idea of kneading with your feet. I have 2 questions.
1. Why not salt the pasta water? It doesn’t sound like there is so much salt in the noodles that they would come out overly salty unless you go crazy with the salted water. I mean, we put salt in regular noodles, but I have always been taught to still salt the pasta water. What am I missing? 🙂
2. Is it possible to make udon with a pasta maker, instead of cutting with a knife? Or is it not flat enough to go through a pasta maker (or too hard and gets stuck or?)? The knife sounds easy, but my kiddo adores using the pasta maker, haha.
Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! Hope your children will enjoy making homemade udon noodles!
1) We dip noodles in soy sauce base dipping sauce (for cold noodles) and place noodles in soy sauce base soup. So it’s pretty salty sauce that we don’t really want to season the noodles itself. 🙂
2) Sure!
Hope your family will have fun making noodles!
Lovely!!! I’m from SF, but living in Osaka. My wife and I have loved sanuki style udon, but it’s so difficult to find them from the store in Osaka. We just made this (for the third time) for friends, “kama-tama” style! We all had fun making it together, and fell in love with handmade noodles. Thanks for the simple and delicious instruction (and for noting the importance of using your feet.. much easier and more fun). You rock.
Hi Patrick! Aww thank you for your kind comment! We were in Osaka early August too! Really happy to know that you and your friends enjoyed this recipe! And your work is very interesting!!
Made the regular udon noodles (not pink) and they were amazing!
Hi Haley! I’m so happy to hear your (white) udon came out well! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
These were so easy to make and turned out delicious! I can’t believe it’s such a simple recipe!
Hi Vivi! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for trying this recipe! 🙂
thank you so much for this receipe. I’ve made this on this evening for a chinese fondue and it was delicious.
Hi Claire! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Nami! I made this recipe a while ago and completely forgot to comment how wonderful it was! I just wanted to ask about leaving the Udon to rest over night – if you put the dough into the fridge in the evening on day 1, is it then fine to roll out and cut in the evening on day 2, or will that be too long in the fridge? 🙂
Hi Charlotte! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I researched a bit in Japanese, and it looks like you “can” rest in the fridge overnight. Let me know how it goes!
Can you make udon from rice flour?
Hi Gloria! To be honest, I’ve never made udon with rice flour before so I am not too sure. It will be simply rice noodles… but not sure if you can simply swap the ingredients. 🙂
Thanks for the awesome recipe, Nami! These udon noodles came out great XD. I plan to use them in your Miso Nikomi Udon recipe!
The only thing I’d like to mention is that I had to add almost double the water that was called for so that the dough would actually stick to itself.
Other than that, no complaints! I loved stepping on the dough with my feet XD
Alex S
Hi Alexandra! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! It’s a dry dough compared to… like bread dough. I’m surprised you had to use double water – maybe your area is drier? Not too sure, but the water amount should be adjusted based on the situation, so I’m glad you figured it out! 🙂
Can I use self rising floor instead? My wife almost never grabs all purpose so we’re always dreaming in it, and I forget to grab all purpose myself.
Hi Mark! I never owned a self-rising flour so I looked it up.
The ratio is: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Just be sure to not add any more baking powder to the recipe when using self-rising flour.
So it includes baking powder. Since we do not need it in udon (as we don’t bake and don’t need to rise), I’m afraid I have to say you don’t want to use it. I’m sorry! 🙁
Is it good for you after beet juice has been boiled ? Or is it just for the nice colour?
Can I use plain flour as I’m not sure what all purpose flour is? If so, how many cups as not sure 200g is?
So this is good, so no need to knead as my hands are sore!
Hi El! It’s just for the color for this collaboration work for the video. You do not need to use it unless you want the pink udon noodles. 🙂 I think plain flour is all-purpose flour here in the US (I’ll add that in my recipe). Please use a kitchen scale for this recipe to be precise (or if you google, it says 1 5/8 cup, but I don’t recommend). 🙂
Thank you SO MUCH for this wonderful recipe!
I love cooking but I am notorious for not following recipes and therefore don’t try out too many new things that require specific technique – at least until I found your blog!
I made this recipe today and it was sooo much fun, your instructions were very clear and easy to follow and the outcome looks absolutely stunning and tastes amazing.
I will definitely try out many more of your recipes, thank you so much again!
All the best!
Hi Matti! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Hello, I made these udon yesterday and was very happy with the result! I was also wondering if the udon can be prepared and cut in advanced and save the cooking for later. Can they be prepared the day before or in the morning? And if so, where should I keep them? Many thanks!
Hi Gene! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you so much! You can save for later if it’s the next day, but if it’s more than 2 days, I recommend freezing the udon as I instructed in the recipe. 🙂 It stays fresh that way.
Hello!
I’m making Udon noodles for my dinnner tomorrow. I do not have time to make all the steps tomorrow, so I’m prepping today. I have just passed the step where I stepped on the doucgh 3 times.
Do you think it is possible to leave the dough to rest for approximately 24h until I cut the noodles, or should I prepare everything tonight and leave the noodles in the freezer until I start cooking them?
Hi Mårten! I apologize it took me a while to get back to you. I know it’s probably too late, but I recommend making udon ahead of time and then keeping it in the fridge/freezer till you’re ready to eat. 🙂
I was wondering why you use corn starch rather than flour to coat the dough and keep from sticking? Would flour work too?
Hi Tal! You can use flour if you’re eating it right away. If you keep it for a long time, the udon noodles absorb the flour and noodles stick to each other. So potato starch/cornstarch is a better choice. When you boil, make sure you shake off any excess starch so the water won’t be starchy. 🙂
Hi Nami!
I tried this recipe and it tasted so delicious! The only problem I had was that after I kneaded the dough with my feet, it stuck to the plastic bag when I tried to take it out. Any tips? 🙂
Thank you!
Kelsey
Hi Kelsey! Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂 Hmm… is it possible that you didn’t leave the air out when you seal? The air carries moisture and maybe that made it sticky (my guess). 🙂
Loved it
Thank you Silvana! 🙂
If I want to use them in a warm broth, do I still boil them 12 minutes before putting them in the hot broth? Won’t they be too soft ?
Thanks
Hi Thomas! That’s correct. It is coated with potato starch/cornstarch (or flour if you used that), so you don’t want to cook your noodles in your delicious broth (it will also thicken from the starch!). As soon as you finish cooking the noodles, take out and place in a bowl, pour the soup over, add toppings and serve!
Enjoy!
Thank you for your fast answer 🙂
I will try that tomorrow.
Just made a regular one and it’s really good! We did everything as the instruction told, although we flattened it too much so it wasn’t really thick. But the texture and everything is perfect! Next time we would make make it thicker. But other than that, this is my to go recipe for fresh udon. Now the store bought would never taste the same. Thanks, Nami! <3
Hi Deannisa! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Can you use a dough hook and mixer to do the kneading?
Hi Deborah! The reason why we don’t use a stand mixer is that udon dough is pretty tough, way harder than bread dough… I would avoid using it just in case it breaks.
Noodles literally turned to mush when I put them into the water. Ruined the entire meal.
Hi Alyssa! First of all, thank you for trying this recipe! And now I want to know what happened to the noodles as this is something new I heard from readers or I’ve never experienced making this noodle recipe. Were the noodles lightly dusted and separated when you add to the boiling water? Any fresh noodles require dusting, and they should not stick to each other. Or was it over dusted that the flour turned the water to a thick liquid? If the noodles were made right before boiling, I don’t know how they transform to mush. I’m happy to help solve this issue if you plan to try again. Let me know!
Hi Nami, thanks for all the great recipes you shared. I made these lovely udon as per your recipe. Turned out great. And it was fun making them too.
Hi Clariss! Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami!
To save the noodles for another time, are you supposed to cook the noodles first before freezing them or freeze immediately after cutting? I did the latter and the udon was still undercooked straight from the freezer after half an hour. Makes me think the first one 😕 Just wanted to double check!
Hi Elaine,
To save the noodles, you can divide the uncooked noodles into small portions (150 grams per person) and freeze them in an airtight container/bag for up to a month. You can also refrigerate for a few days, but it tastes better when you freeze the fresh udon right away.
To cook frozen udon, boil the frozen udon in a large pot of water for 12-13 minutes without defrosting and shouldn’t take half an hour.
We hope this helps!
Fantastic recipe, thank you.
There is small a glitch on the “print recipe” feature of the site, though: the default recipe, for two servings, is just right. If you change the number of servings (e.g. to 3), the recipe adapts the ingredients weight but not the volumes. For two servings, 90g water are 90ml (right) but for two servings 135g water .. remain 90g (wrong).
Hi Daniele,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and your feedback.
Currently, we are updating the ingredients measurement plugin, and it should solve the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Hi, Nami. I love your Udon Noodle recipe. I want to store them in the freezer, but I want to know, how long does the Udon Noodle stays good in the freezer? Are there any indications that we should know if the Udon Noodle have gone bad? Thanks before
Hi Leif,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
To Save Fresh Udon Noodles for Later:
Please divide the uncooked noodles into small portions (150 grams per person) and freeze in an airtight container/bag for up to a month. You can refrigerate for a few days, but it tastes better when you freeze the fresh udon right away. To cook frozen udon, boil the frozen udon in a large pot of water for 12-13 minutes without defrosting.
We hope this helps!
Does anyone know more about the serving size? Wondering how big of a batch I should be making
Hi Ricky, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! As noted on the recipe card, 7 oz all-purpose flour will make 2 servings of Udon. We hope this helps!🙂