Easy Udon

Truth be told, I cook a lot of Italian food. When I have a little extra free time and have exhausted my brain, I can usually be found trying out new pasta recipes or recreating the Sundays of my great-grandmothers- hand rolling homemade ravioli in our tiny kitchen. All of this to say, I love a good pasta dish, however no one should subsist on just pasta, no matter how good. And I love exploring different flavor profiles and cuisines from around the world. So after watching the Netflix documentary, Street Food, I decided to embark on my own Japanese inspired-pasta filled journey. And the result? These super easy and guaranteed delicious Udon noodle stir fry. I hope you enjoy eating as much as I did!

Serves: 3-4 Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

·      1 package of udon noodles

·      1 large head of broccoli (rough chop, stems included)

·      4-5 garlic cloves (chopped)

·      2 tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil (I love using avocado oil for this recipe- it is light enough so not to make the noodles too greasy and allows the sesame oil to come through

·      3 tablespoons of sesame oil

·      2 inch knuckle of ginger (grated)

·      Soy Sauce (I prefer to use the low sodium versions as soy sauce can have a lot of salt!)

·      a dash of Chili oil Optional

·       Flax seeds for garnish (and health!) Optional

·      Salt

Recipe

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Once boiling, add in udon noodles- cook until soft all the way through, but not mushy. As you wait for the water to boil begin the next few steps.

2. In a large pan or wok, add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Begin simmering on medium heat

3. Chop garlic and add to oil.

4. Once garlic is fragrant and more translucent add broccoli to the oil. I like to use as much of the broccoli as possible so I discard the very end of the stems but use the rest. Giving the broccoli a rough chop and including the stems gives a variety of textures to the dish and allows the broccoli to hold the sauces without becoming mushy.

5. Cook broccoli and garlic stirring frequently. As needed, add spoonfuls of water from the udon noodles to the pan to speed up cook time and ensure the broccoli and garlic does not burn.

6. Grate about half of your fresh ginger over the broccoli and stir well

7. When the broccoli is almost cooked, turn to low heat.

8. Once the udon noodles are cooked through, drain the water and add the noodles to the garlic/broccoli pan.

9. With the heat on low, begin tossing together (I use salad tongs here). Use that last tablespoon of sesame oil here to help coat the udon noodles.

10. Grate the last of the ginger over the noodles, mixing well to ensure you get the flavor throughout without clumps of ginger.

11. Finally, add in soil sauce while continuing to stir the noodles. Add soy sauce until lightly coating the noodles (or until you are happy with the flavor)

12. I like a little (ok a lot) of heat in my dishes, so I add a dash of chili oil to give the dish a kick. I also like to sub in sesame seeds here for flax seeds for added texture and all the health benefits that come along!

13. Slurp up and enjoy!

Tips

• The dish pictured here is as described, but topped with asparagus noodles (Shredded asparagus) and shaved ginger. To add in the asparagus noodle:

  • Trim the bottom of the asparagus

  • Take a straight edge peeler (like you use to peel potatoes) and slowly run down the length of the asparagus.

  • Repeat this over multiple stalks until you have the amount desired.

  • You can add this to the pasta at the end to cook it a bit and coat it in some of the seasonings or add on top like seen here

• You can also use zoodles or other noodles for this dish)

• I like to bring extras for lunch the next day and eat cold!