Zaru Udon (Cold Udon with Homemade Dipping Sauce)
There's nothing more refreshing than Zaru Udon served with a delicious chilled Mentsuyu sauce to cool you down on a hot summer's day. This recipe is quick and easy to make, not to mention highly customizable! It also goes great with Tempura!
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 5 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 200 ml dashi stock
- 5 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 4 tsp mirin
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 2 portions udon noodles (fresh, frozen, or dried)
- kizami nori (shredded nori) (optional garnish)
- 1 tsp wasabi paste
- 1 tsp ginger root (grated)
- 2 tbsp tempura flakes (tenkasu) (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions
Instructions
- 1
Take a small pan and add 200 ml dashi stock, 5 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and 4 tsp mirin. Boil for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol in the mirin and add ½ tbsp sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved.
- 2
Take the pan off the heat, pour the dipping sauce into a heatproof jug and leave to cool. Once cool to the touch, you can transfer it to the refrigerator. Tip: Mixing will help it cool faster.
- 3
Cook 2 portions udon noodles according the the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, pour the udon into a strainer to drain and rinse with cold running water. Drain once more and place the sieve over a bowl, add a few ice cubes to make the udon extra cold.
- 4
Take two small plates and to each one, add 1/2 tsp wasabi, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp tempura flakes and 1 tbsp chopped green onion (all extras are optional).
- 5
Place each serving of udon on a "zaru" and sprinkle with kizami nori. (You can use a bamboo sushi mat on a plate if you don't have a zaru.)
- 6
Serve each portion of udon with a cup of cold mentsuyu dipping sauce and the small plate of ingredients to flavor the sauce.