Homemade Udon Noodles

|Updated Jan 30, 2020
Mairi Rivers

It turns out that they are really easy to make and you don’t need any special ingredients. Traditionally they are kneaded with the feet. Yes, you read that right! Don’t worry though, your feet won’t get dirty and your dough won’t smell of feet either. They are kneaded through a plastic bag. I had great fun with my 5 year old who was delighted to help me with the kneading! You can, of course, do it by hand or with a mixer, but give the foot kneading a go at least once. By: @gingervegan

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g white bread flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 230-280ml water
  • A selection of thinly sliced vegetables such as carrot, sugar snap peas, mini sweetcorn, mushrooms.
  • Spring onions, sliced
  • 2cm piece of fresh ginger, minced
  • 400ml Equinox Ginger Kombucha 
  • 400ml water or dashi stock
  • 4 tsp soy sauce
  • 4 tsp mirin

INSTRUCTIONS: 

  1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour the water into the middle and mix vigorously with your hand in a circular motion until the mixture is just about clinging together. Don’t add too much water. It will be quite a dry dough.
  2. Take out of the bowl and knead by hand to a smooth ball, or use the dough hook in a mixer to do the hard work.
  3. If you are kneading by hand place the ball into a ziplock bag, squash most of the air out and seal.
  4. Place on a tea towel or blanket on the floor and place another tea towel over the top. Knead the dough with your feet until it fills the bag. If you are having fun remove from the bag, fold the dough over and do it again.
  5. Take the dough out of the bag, place on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 4mm thick with a rolling pin. Fold the dough into thirds and cut into thin strips with a sharp knife.
  6. To cook, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Boil the noodles for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.
  7. Drain and then shock in a large bowl of cold water in the sink, mixing them around with your hand. If possible run the cold tap into the bowl so the noodles cool quickly and the water stays cold. This step rinses off any excess starch and gives the noodles their bounce and chewiness. You will be able to see how they change as they cool.
  8. You can either cook the vegetables in the stock briefly before serving, but if you don’t mind them crunchy then simply skip that step.
  9. Divide the noodles between 4 large bowls and add a selection of vegetables. Pour over 100ml just-boiled water or stock and let sit for a minute to warm the noodles. 
  10. Next, add 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp mirin to each bowl and then pour over 100ml Ginger Kombucha. Garnish with slices of spring onion and minced ginger. Serve right away.

Nutritional Info: per serving (⅓ of recipe)

377 calories, 28g protein, 15g carbs, 3g fiber, 26g fat