Served in an individual donabe clay pot, Nabeyaki Udon is a wintertime staple in Japan. In this recipe, thick chewy udon noodles are cooked in a flavorful dashi broth along with kamaboko fish cake, deep-fried tofu pouch, scallions, and an egg. Top it up with crispy shrimp tempura to make it extra fancy or keep it simple with what you have in the fridge.
When you need a warm-up in cold weather—be it rain, snow, or blustery days, a steaming pot of Nabeyaki Udon (鍋焼きうどん) is going to bring you the ultimate comfort. This one-pot wonder with soothing soup and chewy noodles is one of my family favorites when we are staying in.
Here, I’ll show you how to make a simple version of nabeyaki udon at home. There’s plenty of room for improvisation so you can always make it your way.
What is Nabeyaki Udon?
Nabeyaki udon (鍋焼きうどん) is a hot udon noodle soup traditionally served in individual donabe, or Japanese clay pot. Here in the U.S., I see many Japanese restaurants serve nabeyaki udon in a small individual cast iron pot.
The udon noodles are cooked in dashi soup broth, typically along with kamaboko (a type of fish cake), mushrooms, scallions, and green leafy vegetables. In addition, an egg and a large shrimp tempura are placed on top and served hot.
How to Make Nabeyaki Udon
This nabeyaki udon recipe is easy and doesn’t take that much effort to make. The key is to start with a good soup broth and that is dashi (Japanese soup stock). Once you have that ready, you just need to add udon and other ingredients in a pot to cook!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Udon soup: dashi (Japanese soup stock; regular or vegan), mirin, soy sauce, and salt
- Udon noodles
- Kamaboko fish cake
- Aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch)
- Shiitake mushrooms (or any mushrooms)
- Tokyo negi (or scallions)
- Komatsuna (or green leafy vegetable like bok choy or spinach)
- Eggs
- Shrimp tempura
All the ingredients I included for this nabeyaki udon are ones that are commonly used in Japan. If you cannot find the same ingredients such as kamaboko (fish cake), it’s okay to skip and use ingredients that are available to you.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Make the udon soup by combining the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and salt.
- Cut all the ingredients and cook the udon noodles according to the package instructions.
- In individual donabe clay pots, add the udon soup, udon noodles, and all the ingredients except for the egg, leafy green, and tempura. Cook until the ingredients are warm and cooked through.
- Add an egg and cook until the egg is done to your liking.
- Place the shrimp tempura and leafy green on top. Serve immediately.
Use Store-Bought Shrimp Tempura for Short Cut
You can put together nabeyaki udon very quickly, so the only time-consuming component is the crunchy shrimp tempura if you wish to add on. While you can certainly attempt homemade shrimp tempura, you can speed things up by using frozen ones.
These days you can find frozen shrimp tempura at Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and regular American grocery stores. All you need to do is to bake the frozen shrimp tempura according to the package instructions.
It’s okay to take a shortcut, especially for weeknight dinners!
Other Ingredients You Can Add to Your Nabeyaki Udon
I love this hot pot noodle soup for weeknight dinners because I can easily throw in whatever I have in the fridge. Here are some suggestions:
- Meat - You can add bite-size chicken thigh or breast or thinly-sliced pork or beef in the broth and cook covered until no longer pink. Keep the portion small and cut them into bite-size pieces so they cook fast.
- Seafood - You can add a small amount of seafood such as shrimp or clams if you like.
- Vegetables - Thinly sliced root vegetables like carrots and daikon are great. Leafy vegetables should be added toward the end of cooking so you won’t overcook them.
- Mushrooms - Any kind of mushrooms will work.
- Tofu - Fried or non-fried tofu. Add toward the end as they just need to warm up.
- Fish cakes - They are usually precooked, so add them at the end.
- Eggs - You can crack an egg to cook in the broth, or you can add onsen tamago after being cooked.
How to Serve Nabeyaki Udon
I mentioned earlier that nabeyaki udon is cooked and served in an individual pot (donabe or cast iron pot). However, you can serve this dish differently. Here are two other options:
- Cook nabeyaki udon in a regular big pot and serve it in noodle soup bowls.
- Cook nabeyaki udon in a large donabe and serve at the table. Each person can serve it in individual bowls as they eat, like a hot pot style.
It’s an incredible experience about having your own donabe or cast iron pot and eating super hot food out of the pot. The pot retains heat very well and the satisfaction is unbeatable when you get to enjoy the hot food all the way till the end. If you are looking for a nice donabe or cast iron pot, check out the next section. I love both pots I showed in this post.
- Ivory Donabe Earthenware Pot (2-3 persons)* - This donabe is by Ginpo and I love their products!
- Cast Iron Pot
*Note: These sizes (see above) are for individual serving. Do not get a small size or one person’s size as they are way too small to put all the ingredients.
More Delicious Noodle Soup Recipes
- Hoto - Noodle Soup from Yamanashi
- Beef Udon (Niku Udon)
- Oxtail Udon
- Miso Nikomi Udon
- Udon Noodle Soup with Toasted Mochi (Chikara Udon)
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 2, 2014. It’s been republished on February 15, 2023, with a revised recipe and new images, content, and video.
