We love Japanese noodles. Unfortunately our favorite Japanese restaurant stopped serving stir-fried beef noodles and I really miss that tasty dish! So I came up with my own version after seeing that Udon noodles were sold in the supermarket near our garden.

My daughter actively helped making it but being a picky eater as she is, she didn’t really want to try something new (we are still working on that!). She did like the noodles at the restaurant and kept saying mine look different!

However, it was a hit with my husband and our friends whom we had for lunch yesterday!

What you need:

Udon noodles (4 small packages)

Bean spourts (200 gr)

Chicken or beef (about 150-200 gr)

1 Carrot

Onions

Vegetable oil

A spoonful of sesame oil

Few tablespoons of soy sauce

9% vinegar  – to taste (I diluted it in water based on how sour I wanted to the taste to be)

Water

Salt

Desired herbs

How to make it:

Warm up some vegetable oil mixed with sesame oil in a wok or in a deep sauce pan. Throw in sliced onions, slightly fry, add meat strips. Fry till golden color, then add shredded carrot and stir-fry for a couple minutes more. Add soy sauce and vinegar and water (about half a cup), bean sprouts, salt and herbs. Mix well, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Add water if needed. When done, put on water for udon. When it starts boiling, throw the noodles in, wait till they start boiling, let them boil for 1 minute, drain them and add to the mix. Stir everything well – they are ready to be served!

If you go for a vegetarian/vegan udon option simply don’t add meat, substitute with tofu or cabbage.

This recipe is so easy to play with – try different meats and vegetables! It will taste great with zucchini too but you have to add it 5-7 minutes before the mix is ready (so it doesn’t turn into mush).