Hiyashi Udon: Chilled Udon Noodles with Sauce

As you may have noticed, chilled noodles are a summertime favorite in Japan: an understandable reaction to the oppressive heat that falls over the country at this time of year. This version is not too different from Hiyashi somen, but you make it with thick Udon noodles instead of those thin Somen. The other difference is that the noodles, together with all the toppings, are put into each diner’s bowl from the start, rather than being taken little by little from common dishes at the table.

As toppings, you have some leeway to choose your favorite: a lot of people are fans of a Natto and Okra topping, others prefer roast pork, salad, grated daikon and so on. Me? I go for that soft-boiled egg…

Today, we made Hiyashi Udon because we were in a bit of a hurry and didn’t want to spend too long cooking. Another plus: here’s a dish you can make in 20 minutes flat. To save even more time, you could even use the same sauce you made for Somen on your Hiyashi Udon, but I prepared a slightly different sauce today.

Ingredients: (for two)

• Udon -200 g. (use dry udon, avoid the “fresh” pre-cooked kind you sometimes see in Asian stores)
• Topping: spring onions, a piece of ginger, two boiled egg (4 minutes), katsuobushi

For the sauce (You can use this sauce for Hiyashi Somen, too)

• Soy sauce – 3 tablespoons
• Mirin – 2 tablespoons
• Dashi –  a teaspoon
• Water – 250 cc

Preparation:

Make the sauce

1. Bring the water to a boil. Then add dashi, mirin and soy sauce.
2. Turn off the heat and cool it down.

Prepare the noodles

1. Slice the onions, grate the ginger, and make one soft boiled egg per portion.
   
2. Fill the large pot with water and bring to a boil.
3. Cook the noodles for two minutes less than the instructions in the package suggest. (about 12 minutes)
   Do not add salt to the cooking water, Udon is already salted.
4. When the Udon is finished cooking, drain it and rinse it with cold water.
   Use your hands to rub off the slimy residue (after this udon becomes “al dente”).
   
5. Put a portion of noodles in each bowl. Then add the toppings.
6. Pour the sauce and serve.