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Kitsune Udon

Recipe by user david

Classic Japanese udon noodle soup in dashi broth topped with seasoned fried tofu pouches, narutomaki, and scallions.

Prep: 10 min Cook: 10 min
½ x1 x2
or click any ingredient amount to scale
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Serves 2

Kitsune Udon is a comforting, classic Japanese noodle soup featuring thick udon noodles in a light, savory-sweet dashi broth, finished with seasoned inari age (fried tofu pouches), narutomaki fish cake, and sliced scallions. What makes it special is the clean, fragrant dashi base and the contrast of chewy noodles with sweet-savory tofu. Serve it as a quick weeknight meal or a soothing lunch; it comes together fast once your dashi is ready. For best flavor, use a high-quality, well-seasoned dashi (homemade if possible), and be sure to drain and shake the noodles well so excess water doesn’t dilute the broth.

Dashi (Awase Dashi / Kombu Dashi) 0.62x Makes 2.5 c.
  • 2 1⁄2 cups (590 g) water
  • 0.62 piece kombu (dried kelp) (1/3 oz, 10 g per piece; 4 x 4 inches or 10 x 10 cm)

Add water and kombu (dried kelp) to a medium saucepan. If you have time, soak the kombu in water for 30 minutes. NEVER wash kombu and do not remove the white substance—that’s umami! These days, it‘s pretty clean, so just make sure there are no dirt particles.

SLOWLY bring it to a boil (about 10 minutes) on medium-low heat so you can extract as much umami from the kombu as possible. Right before the stock boils, remove the kombu and set it aside for another use. (If you leave the kombu, it gets slimy and yields a bitter taste.) Now, what you have is Kombu Dashi. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, use this kombu dashi for your miso soup.

  • 1⁄2 cup, 1 Tbsp, 2 3⁄4 tsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), packed

If you‘re not vegetarian/vegan, add katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) to the kombu dashi and bring it back to a boil again. Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds.

Turn off the heat and let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Then, strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Now you have roughly 4 cups of Awase Dashi. You can store the dashi in the refrigerator for up to 3–5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Reserve the spent katsuobushi and repurpose it; see the suggested recipes that follow at the end of the instructions.

Before You Start...
  • 2 1⁄2 cups 2 1⁄2 cups (600 g) dashi (japanese soup stock)
  • 2 1⁄2 cups 2 1⁄2 cups (600 g) dashi (japanese soup stock)

Gather all the ingredients. It‘s really important to have good flavorful dashi for this recipe. Although you can take a shortcut by using dashi powder or a dashi packet, I encourage you to make dashi from scratch because the broth tastes so much better! It only takes less than 30 minutes to make.

To Make the Soup Broth
  • 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp (16 g) mirin
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp (4 g) sugar
  • 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce or soy sauce
  • 1⁄2 tsp 1⁄2 tsp (1 g) kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp (16 g) mirin
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp (4 g) sugar
  • 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce or soy sauce
  • 1⁄2 tsp 1⁄2 tsp (1 g) kosher salt

In a saucepan, add dashi, mirin, sugar, usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce, and Diamond Crystal kosher salt and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat or cover and keep on a low simmer. Tip: We use the light-colored usukichi type of soy sauce here so the color of the soup broth doesn‘t become too dark.

To Prepare the Toppings
  • 4 4 inari age (seasoned fried tofu pouch)
  • 1 1 green onion
  • 4 slices 4 slices narutomaki (fish cake) (optional)
  • 4 4 inari age (seasoned fried tofu pouch)
  • 1 1 green onion
  • 4 slices 4 slices narutomaki (fish cake) (optional)

Squeeze the excess liquid from the Inari age (or you can keep the liquid as is, if you prefer). Cut the green onion/scallion into thin slices. Cut the narutomaki (fish cakes) into ⅛-inch (3-mm) slices.

To Cook the Udon Noodles
  • 2 2 pack udon noodle
  • water, for boiling
  • 2 2 pack udon noodle
  • water, for boiling

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the udon noodles. My favorite udon is frozen Sanuki udon. Reheat the frozen udon noodles in boiling water for 1 minute (no need to defrost). If you use dry noodles, follow the package instructions.

Pick up the noodles in a strainer or drain the hot water. Make sure to shake off the excess water (which will end up diluting your soup).

Pick up the noodles in a strainer or drain the hot water. Make sure to shake off the excess water (which will end up diluting your soup).

To Serve
  • shichimi togarashi (optional)
  • shichimi togarashi (optional)

Divide the drained udon noodles into individual serving bowls. Pour the hot broth over the noodles to cover. Top with the Inari age, narutomaki, and green onions. Sprinkle shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on top (optional).

Sources:

Category:

Soups

Notes

We use the light-colored usukichi type of soy sauce here so the color of the soup broth doesn‘t become too dark.

My favorite udon is frozen Sanuki udon.

Reheat the frozen udon noodles in boiling water for 1 minute (no need to defrost). If you use dry noodles, follow the package instructions.

Make sure to shake off the excess water (which will end up diluting your soup).

Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) is optional; or a spicy kick.

Narutomaki (fish cakes) is optional; skip for vegetarian/vegan.

Nutrition Information

Nutrient Per Serving Total
Calories 0 0
Protein 0.0g 0.0g
Fat 0.0g 0.0g
Saturated Fat 0.0g 0.0g
Carbohydrates 0.0g 0.0g
Fiber 0.0g 0.0g
Sugar 0.0g 0.0g
Sodium 273mg 547mg
Cholesterol 0mg 0mg

Per serving values based on 2 servings.

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