Tempura Udon Noodle Soup Recipe
Hello everyone!
I couldn’t wait to share this tempura udon recipe with you all, because it is one of the best tasting noodle soups I made recently! It’s hearty & satisfying in both flavor and texture.
To make tempura udon (Twigim Udong in Korean), there are 2 elements we need to make first. Tsuyu and vegetable tempura (Yachae Twigim in Korean).
Tsuyu is a Japanese soup base sauce that is made with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and dashi broth. You can find tsuyu easily at Asian/Japanese grocery stores. I haven’t seen vegan tsuyu from a store yet so I make it at home- which is as delicious as I remember!
The style of vegetable tempura (yachae twigim) for this recipe is different than what you order from a restaurant. It’s julienned vegetables gathered together with tempura batter and fried. SO GOOD!!
Describing tempura udon makes me drooling right now, so let’s get started!
First, let’s make vegan tsuyu! Ingredients for vegan tsuyu are…
- 1/2 cup sake or water
- 1 cup mirin
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 5×5” dasima, dried kelp
- 2 green onion, charred over an open flame
- 5 dried shiitake, charred over an open flame
- 2 tap mushroom seasoning or umami mushroom powder
Bring sake (you can use water) to a boil then add the rest of all the ingredients. Bring the sauce back to boil then remove the kelp and reduce heat to low. Wimmer for 15 minutes. Strain or not strain is up to you, I usually just leave the rest of the ingredients in the sauce because it makes the sauce more flavorful day by day. This vegan tsuyu will last 30 days in the fridge. You can use this sauce to season any hot or cold soup or stir fry.
Now, let’s fix vegetable tempura, yachae twigim! This is so delicious, it is worth making only the tempura to enjoy as a snack! What you need for vegetable tempura is…
- 1 medium-size Korean sweet potato or regular sweet potato, peeled & julienne
- 1 medium-size onion, sliced
- Handful kkaetnip or basil, sliced
- 2 cups tempura flour (you can use all-purpose flour, but won’t be as crispy), I recommend Korean frying mix, much more crispy than regular tempura flour.
- 1 1/2 cup water
Preheat frying oil 350°F.
Combine the vegetables and tempura flour toss everything together until all the vegetable pieces are evenly coated with the flour. Then pour the water, mix everything together. Carefully add 1 chopstick/tong full of the vegetable mixture (it should make about your palm size or smaller yachae twigim) and fry. Add a couple more if your pot is big enough. They will be gathered together as one piece when the batter is cooked. You can flip it over after a couple of minutes. Fry until golden brown and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and place on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining vegetable mixture.
Alright, you worked really hard to be at this point. Now we have vegan tsuyu and vegetable tempura ready to go, it’s time to make Tempura Udon, Twigim Udong! The ingredients for 2 bowls of tempura udon are…
- 4 cups water
- 6 tbsp vegan tsuyu
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
- Some rehydrated small pieces of miyeok (wakame), optional
- 2 portions of frozen udon (you can use whatever udon available)
- 2 green onion, chopped
- vegetable tempura (yachae twigim)
Bring the water, tsuyu, salt to a boil over high heat. Add rehydrated seaweed if you are using udon noodles directly into the soup. If you want more clear broth, cook the noodles separately but it’s up to you. Cook the noodles by following the directions of the package you’re using. If you are using dried ones, cook them in separated boiling water instead of cooking in the broth. When the noodles are done, turn off the heat and add green onions. Transfer to 2 serving bowls and top it with 2 pieces of vegetable tempura. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tempura Udon Noodle Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
Vegan Tsuyu
- 1/2 cup sake or water
- 1 cup mirin
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 5x5” dasima, dried kelp
- 2 green onion, charred over an open flame
- 5 dried shiitake, charred over an open flame
- 2 tap mushroom seasoning or umami mushroom powder
Yachae Twigim (fried veggies)
- 1 medium-size sweet potato, peeled & julienne
- 1 medium-size onion, sliced
- Handful kkaetnip or basil, sliced
- 2 cups tempura flour (you can use all-purpose flour, but won’t be as crispy), I recommend Korean frying mix, much more crispy than regular tempura flour.
- 1 1/2 cup water
Twigim Udong (Makes 2)
- 4 cups water
- 6 tbsp vegan tsuyu
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
- 1 oz rehydrated cut miyeok (wakame), optional
- 2 portions of frozen udon (you can use whatever udon available, follow the directions of the package you’re using. If you are using dried one, cook them separated boiling water instead of cooking in the broth)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 4 vegetable tempura (Yachae twigim)
Instructions
- Bring sake (you can use water) to a boil then add the rest of all the ingredients. Bring the sauce back to boil then remove the kelp and reduce heat to low. Wimmer for 15 minutes. Strain or not strain is up to you, I usually just leave the rest of the ingredients in the sauce because it makes the sauce more flavorful day by day. This vegan tsuyu will last 30 days in the fridge. You can use this sauce to season any hot or cold soup or stir fry.
- Preheat frying oil 350°F.
Combine the vegetables and tempura flour toss everything together until all the vegetable pieces are evenly coated with the flour. Then pour the water, mix everything together. Carefully add 1 chopstick/tong full of the vegetable mixture (it should make about your palm size or smaller yachae twigim) and fry. Add a couple more if your pot is big enough. They will be gathered together as one piece when the batter is cooked. You can flip it over after a couple of minutes. Fry until golden brown and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and place on a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining vegetable mixture. - Bring the water, tsuyu, salt to a boil over high heat. Add rehydrated seaweed if you are using udon noodles directly into the soup. If you want more clear broth, cook the noodles separately but it’s up to you. Cook the noodles by following the directions of the package you’re using. If you are using dried ones, cook them in separated boiling water instead of cooking in the broth. When the noodles are done, turn off the heat and add green onions. Transfer to 2 serving bowls and top it with 2 pieces of vegetable tempura. Serve immediately and enjoy!
- Cook Time: 40 minutes