Sara udon

Sara udon

By Chef Cannon

Cuisine: Japanese

Region: 長崎県

Servings: 2人分

Sara udon, in this recipe the thin-noodle style of Nagasaki sara udon, is a Nagasaki specialty in which store-bought fried thin noodles are set on a flat plate and topped with a thickened sauce of pork, cabbage, shrimp, and squid.

At a glance

About 30 minutes · 2 servings · moderate difficulty · about 690 kcal per serving (estimate)

Sara udon, in this recipe the thin-noodle style of Nagasaki sara udon, is a Nagasaki specialty in which store-bought fried thin noodles are set on a flat plate and topped with a thickened sauce of pork, cabbage, shrimp, and squid. It is not the same dish as soupy champon, nor as thick-noodle sara udon, in which thick noodles are stir-fried until the liquid is driven off.

Ingredients

  • Pork 100 g
  • Carrot 30 g
  • Cabbage 120 g
  • Kamaboko 30 g
  • Bean sprouts 100 g
  • Shiitake 2 to 3 caps
  • Peeled shrimp 100 g
  • Squid 100 g
  • Store-bought fried noodles for Nagasaki sara udon 2 packs (2 servings)
  • Salt a pinch
  • Pepper a pinch
  • Vegetable oil as needed
  • [Sauce] Soy sauce 2 teaspoons
  • [Sauce] Chicken stock powder 2 1/2 teaspoons
  • [Sauce] Water 400 ml
  • [Sauce] Potato starch 2 tablespoons

Steps

  1. Cut the pork into bite-size thin slices, the carrot into short matchsticks, and the cabbage into rough chunks. Slice the kamaboko thinly, and trim the stems from the shiitake and slice them thin. Cut the squid into easy-to-eat pieces, and pinch off the roots of the bean sprouts and drain them well.
  2. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Check that the shrimp and squid are already prepared, and pat them dry so they will sear more cleanly.
  3. In a bowl, combine 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 1/2 teaspoons chicken stock powder, 400 ml water, and 2 tablespoons potato starch, stirring well so no lumps of starch remain, to make the sauce. Stir once more just before you pour it in, to lift any starch that has settled on the bottom.
  4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and spread out the pork to stir-fry. When the color changes, add the carrot, cabbage, peeled shrimp, and squid, and stir-fry about 2 to 3 minutes more until they are cooked through.
  5. Add the kamaboko, bean sprouts, and shiitake and toss briefly. Move on before the vegetables give off too much water.
  6. Pour in the mixed sauce and bring it to a boil over medium heat. When the whole mixture has thickened, taste and adjust with salt and pepper. The sauce clings to the noodles best when it is thick enough that chopsticks leave a slow trail.
  7. Break 1 pack of store-bought fried noodles for Nagasaki sara udon into each shallow plate. While the sauce is still hot, ladle it on from the center. Pour it just before serving so the crisp surface of the noodles remains.
  8. If you like, set Worcestershire sauce or vinegar on the table for a few drops each. If there is leftover sauce, serve it in a separate dish so the noodles are not soaked.

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Notes

In Nagasaki, thick-noodle sara udon (close to fried champon), in which thick noodles are stir-fried until the liquid is driven off, and thin-noodle sara udon, in which a thickened sauce is poured over fried thin noodles, are clearly distinguished by name. This recipe is the latter.

Champon, which spread from the same founding shop, is a soup noodle made with thick noodles. It differs from thin-noodle sara udon in both the noodles and the way it is served, so do not cook it as you would a soup noodle dish.

Pour the sauce on just before eating. If you pour it too early, the fried noodles soften at once. Even if you want them to take up a little sauce, delay only the moment of pouring, after the noodles are already in the plate.

Quail eggs are not in the ingredient list, but you may add boiled eggs cut in half as a finishing garnish.

Shrimp and squid turn tough if they are overcooked, so stir-fry them only briefly after the pork. Add the bean sprouts toward the end so they stay crisp and give a contrast in texture.

Use store-bought fried noodles made for Nagasaki sara udon. Ordinary Chinese wheat noodles or champon noodles will not give the initial crunch that is special to the thin-noodle style.

Time and temperature

Prep 10–15 min · stir-fry pork 1–2 min over medium heat · carrot, cabbage, shrimp, squid 2–3 min more · kamaboko, sprouts, shiitake about 1 min · sauce boil and thicken 2–3 min · pour on after plating

Nutrition

690 kcal · Protein 34 g · Fat 31 g · Carbs 64 g

1 of 2 servings (1 pack of fried noodles plus sauce), estimate

Substitutes

  • 100 g pork → the same weight of thin-sliced chicken thigh or minced pork
  • 100 g each shrimp and squid → 200 g of either, or squid only
  • 120 g cabbage → the same weight of napa cabbage
  • 2 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder + 400 ml water → 400 ml chicken stock
  • Quail eggs are optional: boil, halve, and add as a garnish

Storage

The sauce alone keeps, sealed and refrigerated, from the same day into the next; reheat it just before eating. Do not let the fried noodles go soggy in advance; open the pack at the last moment. Freezing a seafood-and-vegetable sauce is not recommended, as the texture suffers. Do not store the dish once the sauce has already been poured over the noodles.

FAQ

Why is the sauce watery or lumpy?
The starch often settled at the bottom of the bowl, or the heat was turned down before a true boil. Stir the sauce again just before pouring, and let it come to a full boil over medium heat so it thickens evenly.
Why do the noodles go soft so quickly?
The sauce was poured on too early and steamed the fried noodles soft. Plate the noodles first and pour the sauce just before eating, so the first crunch remains.
Can I make the sauce ahead of time?
Yes. After stir-frying and thickening, cool it, seal it, and refrigerate, then use it by the next day. Reheat to a boil, and plate the noodles only at the last moment.
How is this different from champon or thick sara udon?
Champon is a soup noodle with thick noodles. Thick-noodle sara udon stir-fries those same thick noodles until the liquid is gone. Thin-noodle sara udon pours a thickened sauce over fried thin noodles.
Do I have to add quail eggs?
No, they are not required in this recipe. If you want more color, add halved boiled quail eggs at the end; do not stir-fry them with the main ingredients.

Origin and history

Sara udon is one of Nagasaki's signature noodle dishes. It is said to have begun in 1899 (Meiji 32), when Chin Heijun (Chen Pingshun), owner of the Chinese restaurant Shikairo that also created champon, started serving a drier version of champon. Noodles were then usually served in deep bowls, and the story goes that plating them on a flat dish gave the dish its name. The original style used stir-fried thick noodles and is a different line from the thin, crisp fried noodles with thickened sauce that are widely known today. Locals draw a clear line between the two: the toppings may be similar, but the cooking methods are not. This recipe is the thin-noodle style for 2, made with 2 packs of store-bought fried noodles and a sauce of pork, cabbage, shrimp, squid, and other ingredients. From stir-frying to thickening the sauce, it takes about 30 minutes.