Udon Noodle Soup with Pork

I call this udon noodle soup the “I-cook-the-hotpot-for-you” dish. This simple one-dish meal is something I love making whenever I need a quick and satisfying dinner with leftover hotpot ingredients. This recipe uses paper-thin pork slices (shabu shabu or sukiyaki) which cooks in seconds, though you can easily substitute this recipe with chicken thigh cubes or thinly sliced beef.

Similar Recipe:
Chicken Udon Noodle Soup Recipe
See Also:

When cooked and served in a claypot (nabe) as shown, this dish is also known as nabeyaki udon (鍋焼きうどん), though you can use any casserole, pot and serving bowl.

Udon Noodle Soup Recipe

To get a springy udon (うどん) texture with a ‘bite’, do not overcook the udon noodles. I dish them out of the boiling water right after the noodles separates, drain them in a strainer and run tap water immediately over the noodles before serving.

Udon Noodle Soup with Pork Recipe

Udon Noodle Soup with Pork Recipe

This recipe is great for clearing any leftover vegetables and ingredients, so feel free to substitute the ingredients to your liking.

Ingredients:

  • 10 slices (100 grams) thinly sliced pork belly or collar shabu-shabu or sukiyaki cut
  • 2 servings (150-200 grams each) fresh udon noodles
  • 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms optional: make a cross cut on the cap
  • 8 slices Japanese “naruto” fish cakes
  • 1 tbsp sliced negi or Japanese scallion
  • 2 leaves napa cabbage cut to 1.5 cm  (3/5 inch) strips; separate the the white portion from the leaves

Serving Suggestions

  • 1 tbsp chopped spring onions
  • 1 tsp nanami togarashi aka Japanese 7 flavour chilli powder

(A) Marinade

  • 1 tsp light soy sauce (shoyu)
  • 1 tsp mirin

(B) Soup Base

  • 700 ml water
  • 1 tsp dashi powder
  • 1/2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce to taste

Directions:

  1. Slice pork to 2.5 cm (1 inch) sections. Marinade in (A) for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to boil. Cook udon until the noodles separates. Transfer cooked udon to a strainer and rinse in cold water. Drain and divide cooked udon into two serving bowls.
  3. Rinse the pot. Add soup base (B) and bring to simmer. Cook pork slices briefly (less than 10 seconds) and set aside. Add mushroom, fish cake, negi and napa cabbage. Simmer for 3 minutes.
  4. Top serving bowls with the cooked ingredients and ladle soup broth over. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with nanami togarashi at the side.