Easy and delicious Korean style stir fried udon noodles with chicken and vegetables.
From time to time I crave a particular texture of food. I’m not referring to any particular food but just the texture, like something crunchy or chewy or soft. Is this weird?
Anyway, the other day, I wanted to have something chewy and slurpy but not messy so that it’s easy to take to work for my husband. So, I bought a couple of packets of udon noodles and it seemed like it ticked all the boxes, but I had no idea what I was going to do with it.
While udon noodles are very versatile ingredients (it can be served hot or cold and stir fried or served in a soup), you can unwillingly end up with a quite bland taste depending on how you cook it. Do you agree?
So here is my ‘not bland but out of the blue recipe’ that I came up with. I named it out of the blue because I just added whatever ingredients seemed right at that time. 🙂
Still, I used my staple marinade mixture – soy sauce, garlic and honey and I decided to give some Korean twist to it, so it’s not totally out of the blue.
But, the result was real out of the blue! It was super delicious. I can proudly say that it was my best udon noodle dish I’ve ever made. 🙂 I was so glad that I wrote down the ingredients as I was cooking it, so I can share this with you now.
Even though I added a small dose of gochujang, it wasn’t spicy nor could you even tell that I added gochujang in the sauce. It was a well-balanced savory, sweet and juicy (the sauce), crunchy (from the vegetables), tender (from the chicken thigh) and chewy and slurpy (from the udon noodles) meal.
So, I hope you try this soon too!
P.S. If you love udon noodles, be sure to check out my kimchi udon stir fry and chicken and broccoli noodle stir fry.
Ingredients for 3 to 4 servings
Main
- 370 g / 13 ounces skinless chicken thigh, thinly sliced
- 270 g / 9.5 ounces fresh baby bok choy leaves, separated and rinsed in cold water
- 230 g / 8 ounces broccoli, stem trimmed and cut into small florets
- 210 g carrots, chopped into long strips
- 20 g / 0.7 ounces red capsicum/bell pepper, chopped into long strips
- 600 g / 1.3 pounds fresh udon noodles
- Some cooking oil (I used rice bran oil)
Chicken marinade sauce (mix these sauce well in a small bowl)
- 6 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 3 sprinkles of ground black pepper
* 1 Tbsp = 15 ml
**If you want to learn about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean ingredients list!
How to Make Stir Fried Udon Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
1. Prepare the ingredients as mentioned in the above ingredients section. (I used the baby bok choy without chopping it, but you could cut them if you wish.)
2. Marinate the chicken in the marinade sauce for 30 mins.
3. Heat the wok on the stove for 10 seconds on high heat. Add some cooking oil and spread the oil with the spatula. Then add the marinated chicken (with all sauce) and cook it for 3 to 5 mins on high heat. Stir it occasionally.
4. Reduce the heat to medium high and add all the vegetables. Stir them well. Cook it for 3 to 5 mins.
5. While you are cooking the chicken from step 3, boil some water in a saucepan (it takes 5 to 8 mins). Then add the udon noodles and boil them per manufacturer’s instructions. Drain the water. Set the noodles aside.
6. Add the udon noodles into the wok and mix them well with the rest of ingredients in the wok for 1 to 2 mins.
7. Serve them on a plate and enjoy!
Korean Style Stir fried Udon Noodles with Chicken and Veggies
Ingredients
Main
- 370 g skinless chicken thigh (13 ounces), thinly sliced
- 270 g fresh baby bok choy (9.5 ounces), separated and rinsed in cold water
- 230 g broccoli (8 ounces), stem trimmed and cut into small florets
- 210 g carrots , chopped into long strips
- 20 g red capsicum / bell pepper (0.7 ounces), chopped into long strips
- 600 g fresh udon noodles (1.3 pounds)
- Some cooking oil - I used rice bran oil
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients as mentioned in the above ingredients section. (I used the baby bok choy without chopping it, but you could cut them if you wish.)
- Marinate the chicken in the marinade sauce for 30 mins.
- Heat the wok on the stove for 10 seconds on high heat. Add some cooking oil and spread the oil with the spatula. Then add the marinated chicken (with all sauce) and cook it for 3 to 5 mins on high heat. Stir it occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to medium high and add all the vegetables. Stir them well. Cook it for 3 to 5 mins.
- While you are cooking the chicken from step 3, boil some water in a saucepan (it takes 5 to 8 mins). Then add the udon noodles and boil them per manufacturer’s instructions. Drain the water. Set the noodles aside.
- Add the udon noodles into the wok and mix them well with the rest of ingredients in the wok for 1 to 2 mins.
- Serve them on a plate and enjoy!
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This was really good and easy to make. I added a little sambal and chili oil because I like it hot. I also substituted broccoli and bok choy with kale. It was done in 10 mins and everyone enjoyed it. Thanks!
Made this recipe for wife and I. One large chicken thigh. Generally followed the recipe as is, but admit I don’t measure closely. It was excellent, with a nice level of heat and good flavor. In my keeper file.
Thank you! I’m pleased to hear your family enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this tonight. Used frozen broccoli, used matchstick carrots you can find at the grocery store, added 1/2 of a Chinese eggplant and a Korean green pepper (semi-spicy this time of year) and only used 400 g of noodles (to offset all the extra veggies). It was delicious! Totally addicting. Best stir fry I’ve ever made. I think it’s the gochujang that adds a special funk that is completely yummy.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe! Extra veggies are always welcomed. 🙂
I made this tonight for my husband and my self….we loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
I tried to give it five stars and the site would not let me! Five stars from me!
Thanks Lesia, Happy to hear that! I just tried the star system to see whether it’s working properly and it seems working fine. 🙂 Never mind!
Great recipe, thank you for sharing 🙂 Although I didn’t have gochujang I used red thai curry and some sesame oil and it turned out delicious!
Glad to hear it turned out well, Carol. Though you should also try it with Gochujang. I’m sure the taste would be quite different. 🙂
this recipe came out really well!! loved it
Great! So pleased to hear that! 🙂 Thank you for trying it out, Taneesha!
If I don’t have udon noodles on hand, what other noodle would you recommend?
That’s a tough question Katie, udon noodles have quite unique bouncy and chewy texture. I can’t think of anything that would be a suitable substitute. Though, one source from the internet recommends Linguine (takes longer to cook) or Whole wheat spaghetti (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Dictionary/U/Udon-noodles-6216.aspx). Perhaps you could also try it with Chinese egg noodles or flat, wide rice noodles.
I was out of udon and substituted thick spaghetti for the noodles. It was great but the noodles were not the texture I was looking for. Next time I will make it with udon
Sue, I just wanted to tell you I found this recipe a few months ago when I’d purchased udon noodles on a whim and had no idea what to do with them — and your recipe has become a staple at my house!!! This is my favorite meal for just about any day. Thank you!
Hey Jacquie, Thanks so much! I’m so happy to hear that you loved this recipe! 😀
Hi Sue, I know I’ve read this post already and commented on it when I read it the first time but I guess not. Must be that I didn’t push the button well enough on the screen hihi.
Udon is something I love. I love the texture as you slurp it glides between your lips. I remember so vividly the first time I had udon in Japan and I fell in love with it. Your stir fried udon will make me crave for an UDON tonight hihi!
Malou
Hi Malou, Thanks for re-typing your comment. As far as I know I didn’t see your comment previously on this post. Sorry for the inconvenience. 🙂 I love that slurpy gliding feeling too! lol
Oh I can eat this all day long. I love everything and anything noodles 🙂 but forgive my ignorance- I am still learning from you- what I Udon noodles? Is it a special kind of noodles?
Hi Amira, I think this link will explain better about udon noodles than me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udon Simply put, it’s wheat based noodles commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is very versatile so you can make a stir-fry dish with it or make a soup etc. It’s also very cheap! I hope you get to like this noodles.
My daughter is a crazy udon lover. The rest of us do too, but what I mean is that she’s exceptionally in love with udon… I often make udon lunch for us two because the rest of my family will complain if we eat udon as much as she likes. 😀 Your stir fried udon noodles look something she’d crave for. Looks so yummy!
Thanks Nami! Your daughter must be a “serious” udon lover. 🙂 It’s so cute! As long as I can have some rice in between udon noodle meal, I think I will be fine. lol
Looks delicious. I have made something similar before but never thought to add gojuchang…. I will try this recipe next time! The kids like udon noodles so they are handy to have around.
Hi Leslie, Yes! you should definitely give it a try with gochujang. It boosts savoury flavour! I’m sure your kids will love it too.
It looks absolutely perfect to me, Sue! I do have those cravings even after all my pregnancies. I am more on a savory side but when cravings for sweet kick in I have to eat it 😀 Yummy pics! Have a great day and take care!
Thanks Sandra! I think you and I both have similar food preference. 🙂 Hope you are having a great weekend!
I am crazy for udon because of its particular chewy texture, so when I was reading about your texture cravings, I felt as if you were speaking for me. I think I only became conscious of the importance of textures when I already cooked Asian cuisine for some time (in Europe we don’t pay as much attention to textures). It was a huge discovery!
Of course no “Korean-style” dish can end up bland, so even before reading the ingredients I was sure this udon bowl bursts with flavours. The soft chicken and crunchy vegetables sound like and excellent company. Now I want to have udon for dinner!
Thanks Sissi! It’s always fascinating to learn about other cuisine culture. I think you will love this dish as you love both the flavour of Korean & Japanese!