Yes! You can be enjoying this Spicy Udon Stir Fry in just 15 minutes! Endlessly customizable. Add any vegetables or protein you like. Proving that delicious doesn’t need to be time consuming!
Reading: how to cook udon noodles for stir fry
I have always been a fan of udon noodles, especially the fresh ones. They’re like fat spaghetti, so they’re fun to eat and they also grab a great sauce like nothing else. I always have them in my pantry for nights when a quick and easy dinner is needed (or when the fridge needs to be cleaned out of odds and ends 🙂 This udon noodle recipe is made in record time – just 15 minutes from start to finish.
This stir fry is a great base recipe, featuring just a basic collection of ingredients. Feel free to add in a protein like chicken, shrimp or pork, if you’d like a meatier meal. Extra vegetables, such as mushrooms, bell peppers, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage or just about anything else you have around would also be a great addition.
Jump to:
- Different Types of Udon Noodles
- Step-by-Step Photos
- Cook’s Notes
- Recipe
- More udon recipes you might also like …
- Comments, Questions and Reviews
Different Types of Udon Noodles
Soft, vacuum-packed udon noodles – do not require any pre-cooking. You can simply add to your dish and heat through. You can pre-soak in a large bowl of warm water to loosen and separate the noodles before adding to your dish, if you like.
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Frozen Udon Noodles – frozen udon noodles are always my first choice for udon. They are always ready to go and I find they have better flavour and texture than the shelf-stable version. Ideally, they should be cooked in a large pot of boiling water for about 1 minute, but I rising under cold water first, then soaking in very hot water for 10 minutes or so works just as well, without the need to boil water and dirty another pot.
Shelf-Stable Udon Noodles – these are the udon noodles usually sold in smaller, vacuum-packed packages and found on the shelf, usually in the Asian section of the grocery story. They are wonderfully convenient. I like to soak these in hot water to loosen them up a bit, before adding to the stir fry, though it’s not absolutely necessary, as they can go right from the package to the pot.
Semi-dried udon noodles – should be cooked in a large pot of boiling water for about 8 minutes.
Dried udon noodles – need to cook in a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Test for doneness by removing noodle from pot, running it under cold water, then biting. Udon shouldn’t be hard in the middle.
Step-by-Step Photos
1. Gather your ingredients and mix up your sauce.
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2. Heat oil in your wok over medium-high heat and set your noodles to soak, if you like. Then add the carrots and onions and stir in the hot wok until softened.
3. Add the noodles and stir fry a bit to remove any water on them. Add the sauce and toss to coat. Finally, add the spinach and stir fry until the spinach is wilted. Spoon into bowls, garnish and serve!
Love stir fries? Check out my 40 Basic Stir Fry Sauce Recipes. This ultimate stir fry sauce recipe cheatsheet is a perfect starting point for dozens of creative stir fries.
Cook’s Notes
- For the sauce, the Sambal Oelek is responsible for the spicy part of this stir-fry. If you’re not familiar with it, look for it in the Asian sauce section of your grocery. It’s fairly easy to find these days. Any spicy Asian-style sauce (Asian Chili Garlic Sauce/Sriracha etc.) will work though. If you’re not wanting it too spicy, start with 1 tsp. of the Sambal Oelek and work your way up, as needed. Sambal Oelek packs a punch, so a little goes a long way.
- This recipe uses fresh (soft) udon noodles, that usually come packaged in individual, vacuum-packed packets. My brand (President’s Choice) is sold with 4 individual packets that are 200g (7 oz.) each. I love them because they don’t need pre-cooking. That said, I do like to soak them in hot water a bit ahead, so I can separate them before adding them to the wok. It’s not necessary, but it does make it easier to stir fry them without breaking them. Alternately, you can add soft udon noodles directly from the package to the wok.
- If you want to try this using dried udon, you’ll obviously need to cook them before adding to the wok. You may also need to increase the sauce ingredients, as I suspect dried noodles might soak up a bit more that the fresh ones. Truth be told though, I am not a fan of dried udon and don’t think they’re nearly worth the extra work of having to boil them.
- For the carrots, I suggest spiralized carrots, as they cook up quickly in a stir fry. You can either use store-bought spiralized carrots or spiralized your own at home (I have one of these simple handheld spiralizers (affiliate link) that works great!). Simply chop the spiralized carrots into bite-sized pieces to prepare. Store-bought, spiralized carrots tend to be a little thicker, so allow a bit more cooking time at the start to get them tender, before adding the onions. Alternately, I would suggest just grating some carrot on a box grater to add to the stir fry. Match-sticking them is an option, but it’s time consuming. Bottom line, just keep the carrots small and thin or they won’t cook up well in a quick stir fry.
- I’ve used carrots and spinach here, but you can use whatever vegetables you like. Just consider cooking time in the wok and add the longer-to-cook ones first (and cut in small pieces). Greens would usually go in last and cooked until wilted.
- Add a protein! Chicken is a great addition to this dish, either cooked chicken or cook a bit of chicken in the wok before starting the stir fry (remove to a plate, then add back in towards the end, to warm).
- This recipe will serve 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish. To serve more, simply double the recipe!
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