Sara Udon is a Japanese take on the popular Chinese crispy noodles with saucy seafood and vegetables. Skip take-out and recreate this noodle dish at home!
Combine 1 ½ cup chicken broth, 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, ½ Tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp sugar. Mix all together well.
To Prepare Ingredients
Add 1 tsp sake to pork, shrimp, and squid to remove any unwanted odor.
Add 1 tsp soy sauce to the pork, combine well, and set aside.
Rehydrate the dried wood ear mushrooms and cut into smaller pieces.
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Take out the quail eggs from the refrigerator and carefully place in the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 3 minutes.
Once they are finished cooking, place the quail eggs in iced water. Once cool, remove the shell.
Score the squid in the crisscross pattern by making parallel diagonal lines. Make sure not to cut it all the way through. Thinly slice the kamaboko fish cake.
Cut the onion into wedges and then cut in half widthwise.
Thinly slice the carrot into slabs. Then cut them in half lengthwise.
Cut the napa cabbage into roughly 2 inch pieces widthwise and then cut them in half lengthwise.
Remove the stems of shiitake mushrooms and slice the caps.
Remove the strings from snow peas and cut in half.
To make the slurry, in a small bowl combine 6 Tbsp water (make sure it’s not warm/hot water) and 2 Tbsp potato/corn starch and whisk well together.
Carefully loosen the crispy noodles on the plates.
To Stir Fry
Heat the wok on medium-high. Once the wok is hot, add 1 Tbsp sesame oil and the pork.
Separate the pork and add the shrimp and squid. Stir to combine.
When the meat is no longer pink, add the onion. Stir well until coated with oil.
Add the hard bottom part of napa cabbage and wood ear mushrooms.
Add the carrot, leafy parts of napa cabbage, and bean sprouts.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko fish cakes, and snow peas.
Add the soup into the wok and mix well. Add the quail eggs.
Season with ⅛ tsp white pepper and 2 tsp kosher. Taste the soup to make sure the flavor is good.
Whisk the slurry one more time and add to the wok. Mix well.
Pour over the crispy noodles and serve with karashi mustard and rice vinegar on the side. You can a tiny dab the mustard on noodles (you don't have to mix it) if you like. When you feel a bit bored with the same flavor, drizzle some vinegar for a change (that's how the TV show shared how to eat this dish). Enjoy!
To Store
Unfortunately, the noodles will not stay crispy. Either you keep the toppings separate from the crispy noodles, or you enjoy the softened noodles as they are. You can keep in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.