One of the many upsides to entering a relationship and getting to know the other person, is being introduced to their home-cooking. While I am the one often cooking (because I love it and always want to try something new) my husband has brought many delicious recipes into my life. They are his go-to meals when I am not in the mood for any of my recipes.
However, over the many years of him making these recipes, I have found myself slowly pushing myself into these meals. He can no longer make Artichoke Heart Chicken because I prefer my method. Now I have taken over his "noodle dish" as he refers to it. But I had my reasons! He worked hard installing new pot and pan drawers for me and I felt bad that he was going to cook dinner the following day so I jumped ahead and made the dish while he was at work. However, I could not leave it alone and had to put my own spin on it. I think I have him hooked on my version but he won't tell me outright 🙂
📖 Recipe
Fried Udon Noodles with Mushrooms and Cabbage
If you love thick noodles, this sweet dish is for you!
Ingredients
- 5-6 garlic cloves
- 1200 g Udon noodles
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce + 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. sugar + 1 tbsp. sugar
- ¼ cup hoison
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ½ tbsp. cornstarch
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger
- 1 tsp. red chili flakes + more if desired
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ of a green cabbage, diced
- 3-6 stalks of green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- In a wok, add 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high and add the mushrooms and fresh ginger. Saute until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add remaining olive oil to the wok and heat over medium. Add the cabbage and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Season with chili flakes, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, and 1 tbsp. sugar. Continue to cook until cabbage is tender-crisp (that is the consistency I enjoy, you can cook until soft if you like.) Pour the cabbage into the same bowl as the mushrooms and set aside.
- Heat the sesame oil in the wok over medium. Add the noodles, cooking for a couple of minutes, or until beginning to crisp. Add the remaining soy sauce and sugar. Cook until noodles develop a crispy layer to them.
- While the noodles are crisping, mix together the hoison sauce, rice wine vinegar, and cornstarch. Mix well.
- When the noodles are done, give the sauce one final mix to make sure the cornstarch hasn't settled, and pour into the wok. Stir. Add the mushrooms, green onions, and cabbage into the wok. Give a toss and add any additional seasoning (we tend to add more chili flakes here.) Stir the mixture until completely combined and heat through.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 900mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 5gSugar: 10gProtein: 11g
This has to be one of my most favorite recipes that he created. We usually make ours super spicy! He doesn't even measure out the red chili flakes; I just see him pour handfuls in! My version definitely could have been spicier, but for the non-spice lovers, this recipe will work perfectly. Girlie loves this dish so much, she grabs her fork and bowl before the meal is completed and hands the bowl to us. And then proceeds to eat 2-3 bowls... That is how amazing it is!
I recently saw a great idea online to add bok choy instead of cabbage. We love both, but I would love to try a bok choy variant. Whenever we go out for sushi, we always order their fried udon noodles and they include broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, and onions. So this dish could easily be beefed up however you wish.
Robin
Hi Kacey, You had asked on Pinterest how I made out with your recipe. I had made slight changes due to ingredients I had on hand, however it was delicious! Thank you , thank you, thank you for the recipe! It is very similar to what we used to order in the Szechwuan restaurant we would frequent after the bar closed. We never knew the real name for the dish was (most likely couldn't remember) so we called it 'spicy fat noodles' - they knew what we were talking about. It is one of the few dishes I crave after moving from a large city to a small city where the menus are dominated by Western Chinese Smorg dishes...enough said! The changes I made made it a bit sweeter than yours I am sure, so I am going to make sure I have the correct and a sufficient amount of ingredients on hand the next time I make it, which will be real soon! I admit though, I rarely leave a recipe alone, (especially after I have made it a time or two) so am already dreaming of a possible addition of kimchi or a dribble of chilli oil. Have you added anything similiar with success? Another bonus is that this is a great vegetarian recipe and even better...my husband liked it! Which is something because even though I can cook my *@&*9# off, stirfry type dishes have always been my Achilles heel!
Kacey Joanette
Hi Robin,
Thank you so much for the kind review! I was so happy to see on Pinterst that you had tried it. I actually read your comment to my husband because it was the meal he introduced to me (but like you, I cannot leave recipes alone!) We do like some sweetness to our sauce, but I know others do not. I find we really add a lot of spice to ours (I don't think it is normal!!) I cannot see why the kimchi or chili oil wouldn't work. I may have to try them myself!
Ja
I love, I mean LOVE udon noodles! Can't wait to try this version! I'm finding several other recipes on here that I'm anxious to try as well. So glad I came across your blog!
Kacey
I know what you mean, I LOVE them as well (same with my husband!) Let me know how it goes! It is hard to find vegetarian recipes that use udon noodles (at local restaurants.)
Jak King
I am making this tonight for the second time as it was such a populat success the first time around. Thanks for the recipe!
Kacey
Yay! I'll let my husband know since he was the one who came up with the recipe 😉