Yaki Udon

Name: Yaki Udon
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 250g Udon Noodles; 2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil; 1 sliced Onion; 0.25 Cabbage; 10 Shiitake Mushrooms; 4 Spring Onions; 4 tbsp Mirin; 2 tbs Soy Sauce; 1 tblsp Caster Sugar; 1 tblsp Worcestershire Sauce

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Japanese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 63 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 32 min total

250g Udon Noodles
2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil
1 sliced Onion
0.25 Cabbage
10 Shiitake Mushrooms
4 Spring Onions
4 tbsp Mirin
2 tbs Soy Sauce
1 tblsp Caster Sugar
1 tblsp Worcestershire Sauce

Step-by-step instructions

Boil some water in a large saucepan.
Add 250ml cold water and the udon noodles. (As they are so thick, adding cold water helps them to cook a little bit slower so the middle cooks through).
If using frozen or fresh noodles, cook for 2 mins or until al dente; dried will take longer, about 5-6 mins.
Drain and leave in the colander.
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil, add the onion and cabbage and sauté for 5 mins until softened.
Add the mushrooms and some spring onions, and sauté for 1 more min.
Pour in the remaining sesame oil and the noodles.
If using cold noodles, let them heat through before adding the ingredients for the sauce – otherwise tip in straight away and keep stir-frying until sticky and piping hot.
Sprinkle with the remaining spring onions.

Why this works on a weeknight

Yaki Udon lands at about 32 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Yaki Udon actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Vegetarian Japanese LowCalorie