Stir-Fried Spicy Garlic Udon Noodles

5 from 31 votes

An umami and flavour-packed Stir-Fried Spicy Garlic Udon Noodles with minced tofu ‘meat’, mushrooms, lots of garlic, and scallions, coated in a spicy savoury sauce with a hint of sweetness. This noodle recipe is perfect for this days when you want something quick, satisfying, and super tasty.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean

Servings

Calories 486 kcal

Ingredients

Noodles

14 oz instant fresh udon noodles (I used 2 packets, see notes)

Sauce

1 tbsp gochugaru or other chili powder (see notes)
1 tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce or stir-fry sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water

Minced Tofu

2 tbsp neutral oil
1/2 lb extra firm tofu 1/2 lb, mashed or crumbled (see notes)
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Stir-Frying

1 tbsp neutral oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 green onions or scallions thinly sliced and divided
3.5 oz shiitake mushrooms or other mushrooms of choice sliced
2-4 tbsp water to cook down noodles (see notes)

To Serve

Chopped green onion or scallions for garnishing

Instructions

Noodles

If you’re using instant fresh udon noodles or 'cakes' in packets, you can simply soak them in hot water for a few minutes or run them through hot water to carefully separate them. These noodles can also easily break apart so don't force it when they're clumped together.

Sauce

Prepare the sauce by mixing everything together. You can see the notes below and adjust the spice level according to your reference. Set the sauce aside.

Minced Tofu

Heat a large wok or non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil.
One hot, add in the tofu. You can continue to crumble this as needed, especially if there are big chunks.
Leave the tofu untouched over medium heat for 3-4 minutes for it to lightly crisp and brown at the bottom. It’ll also start to dry up and resemble minced ‘meat’ as it cooks and the water evaporates.
Season the tofu with the dark soy sauce. Mix well.
Leave the tofu to cook for another 3-4 minutes until it completely dries up and resembles minced meat. Afterwards, move the tofu to the side of the pan.

Stir-Frying

Add 1 tbsp oil into the pan. Over medium heat, sauté the minced garlic.
Afterwards, add in half of of the chopped scallions or green onions. Cook for 1 minute.
Add in the shiitake mushrooms and then stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Once the mushrooms are cooked to your liking, add in the noodles.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix well.
Leave the noodles to cook over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add in some water to cook down the noodles, if needed. You can start with 1-2 tbsp and mix well. You can see the notes below.
Taste the noodles and feel free to season with some salt and upper, if desired. Once the noodles are cooked to your liking, turn off the heat.
Top the noodles with more chopped scallions or green onions. Serve and enjoy while hot!

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Notes

Noodles

For the noodles, I use these instant fresh udon noodles that I get in vacuum-sealed pouches. I store mine in the fridge but these can also be stores at room-temp if room temp where you live is below 25C. I'd really recommend storing them in the fridge for a longer shelf life.

If you’re using instant fresh udon noodles or 'cakes' in packets, you can simply soak them in hot water for a few minutes or run them through hot water to carefully separate them. These noodles can also easily break apart so don't force it when they're clumped together.

These noodles are also technically already cooked so when stir-fried later on, you can just add some more water to cook them down a bite more.

If using dried udon or other noodles, cook them according to package instructions. I would suggest cooking them 1-2 minutes less than the package instructions so they’ll still be chewy after stir-frying.

Chili powder

For the chili powder, I used gochugaru or Korean chili powder/or flakes. Gochugaru is bright red in colour but has a mild spice with a hint if sweetness. If you’re using other chili powder that’s much hotter, you can opt to start with 1/2 tbsp and adjust from there.

You can also of course add more or less chili powder and adjust to your desired spice.

Pressing the Tofu

For the tofu, you can opt not to press it and just mash it since the water will evaporate during cooking.

But if you prefer to press the tofu, you can simply wrap your block of tofu in a towel and place a weighted surface on top. You can also use a tofu press if you have one. This is to help drain out some of the moisture. You can leave the tofu to press for 5-10 minutes.

Water to cook down the noodles

I added 4 tbsp total of water to cook down my udon noodles since I just simply ran my noodles through cold water to separate them so they were still very chewy when I added them to the pan.

If you’re using freshly cooked udon or other noodles, you can opt to skip the water if they’re already cooked down to your liking.

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