Kake Udon Recipe: How to Make Kake Udon

Kake udon (かけうどん) is a traditional Japanese noodle dish made with fresh udon noodles and kakejiru, a simple soup stock made with a combination of dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and other flavorful ingredients. Udon are chewy Japanese noodles made from wheat flour, water, and salt, typically served in a simple dashi-based broth.

In contrast to other popular Japanese noodles like ramen or soba, udon noodles are very thick—typically about two to four millimeters in diameter. This classic recipe for kake udon (also known in some regions as Su-Udon) submerges the noodles in a delicate umami-rich broth and tops them with green onion for a fresh yet simple comfort food dish.

Dashi broth, which refers to a variety of Japanese soup stocks, is the base of this simple hot udon dish. The most common, awase dashi, involves steeping thick sheets of dried kelp (kombu) with katsuobushi—fermented, dried shavings of either skipjack tuna or bonito flakes (another kind of smoked, fermented, and dried fish flake)—in cold or hot water. Dashi becomes kakejiru, a sweet and savory broth for kake udon, when you combine it with soy sauce and mirin, a Japanese cooking wine.

Additional optional flavorings for kake udon broth include sake, sugar, garlic, ginger, and other traditional Japanese ingredients.

Thinly-sliced spring onion is the most traditional topping for Japanese udon soup, but there are many tasty potential toppings for kake udon. Here are some popular kake udon toppings:

1. 1. Kamaboko (cured fishcakes)
2. 2. Wakame (dried seaweed)
3. 3. Raw or soft-boiled eggs
4. 4. Fried tofu
5. 5. Cooked pork, beef, or chicken
6. 6. Bonito flakes
7. 7. Tenkasu (tempura scraps)
8. 8. Grated yamaimo or nagaimo yam
9. 9. Shichimi togarashi (a spicy Japanese spice mixture)
10. 10. Yuzu kosho (a fermented condiment made from chilis)

Kake udon is a tasty dish suitable for all skill levels, whether you’re well versed in Japanese food or exploring this rich type of Asian cuisine for the first time. Follow these tips to make the most of this udon noodle soup:

1. 1. Homemade vs. store-bought stock. You can make homemade dashi broth for this recipe if you have some extra time. To save time, you can buy a premade Japanese soup base like Mentsuyu.
2. 2. Use any type of udon. Fresh, homemade udon will produce the best tasting dish, but feel free to use store-bought fresh or dried udon noodles as a substitute.
3. 3. Experiment with additions. Incorporate additional cooked or fresh vegetables, like onions, broccoli, carrots, and leafy greens like bok choy. Top the soup with fishcakes, shredded nori seaweed, pickled ginger, thinly sliced hot peppers, or the toppings of your choice.