I love cold udon as much as cold somen especially in the summertime. It would depend on the type of udon, but cold udon usually has the nice bouncy texture and it’s also smooth when it goes through the throat. Serving cold udon in a donabe with some ice cubes not only makes a beautiful presentation, but with the porous donabe body gets insulated, it can keep the noodle very cold for extended time.
For this dish, I served the same rich sesame sauce which I introduced in the cold somen recipe. This is a versatile sauce and has nice nutty flavor with natural sweetness coming from the combination of the Golden Sesame Paste and Saikyo Miso.
Enjoy with your choice of toppings. I also like it with canned saba (Japanese mackerel). I usually bring back a very nice kind from Japan.
Vegan option
Substitute the kombu & bonito dashi with kombu & shiitake dashi for the brothEquipment
Classic-style DonabeServings
2Ingredients
Golden Sesame Dipping Sauce
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) kombu and bonito dashi or your choice of dashi
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) usukuchi shoyu (light-colored soy sauce) or soy sauce
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoons (100 ml) golden sesame paste
- 3 tablespoons Saikyo miso or other white sweet miso (can substitute with 1 tablespoon of regular miso)
- 3 tablespoons roasted golden sesame seeds, ground
Suggested Toppings/ Condiments (You don’t have to have them all…any combination can work)
- Green onion, thinly-sliced crosswise
- Finely grated ginger
- Shichimi togarashi
- Thinly-sliced shiso leaves
- Roasted and ground sesame seeds
- Mix seaweed
- Thinly-sliced blanched okra
- Fresh yuzu juice
- 2 servings (7 oz/ 200 g) dry udon noodles
Procedure
- To make the dipping sauce, combine the dashi, mirin, and soy sauce in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and remove from the heat immediately. Let it cool down. Whisk together the sesame paste and Saikyo miso in a bowl. Gradually add the dashi mixture as you whisk. Stir in the ground sesame seeds at the end. Chill the sauce in refrigerator.
- Get the toppings/ condiments ready and set aside.
- Cook the udon noodles according the package’s cooking instructions. Rinse under cold running water and drain well.
- Arrange the udon in a donabe or a bamboo strainer (with a plate in the bottom) with some ice cubes.
- Pour some of the dipping sauce into individual bowls and enjoy dipping noodles with condiments.
Get the condiments ready.
Ginger is grated right before serving.
Sesame seeds are roasted and ground.
Pour the sauce into individual bowls.
I love the yuzu juice for adding a nice refreshing nuance to the sauce.
Udon served in a donabe.
Served in a bamboo strainer.
Here’s happy cold udon meal.
Tips
- By wetting the donabe once before putting the ice cubes, it can stay cold for a longer time.
- Yuzu juice is a nice addition to the dipping sauce. By adding a splash of the yuzu juice into the sauce, you can enjoy a variation with a refreshing taste.
