Publised on 27/05/2024. Last Updated on 21/06/2024 by Richard
Deliciously glossy vegan yaki udon noodles with stir-fried veggies and edamame beans. Easy to make and ready in less than 15 minutes!
For me, vegan yaki udon is the pinnacle of comfort food. I've tried my fair share of vegan dishes (obvs), but nothing quite hits the spot like a steaming bowl of flavour-packed udon noodles, loaded with crispy veggies and drenched in a savoury sauce. It’s the kind of dish that’ll have you doing a happy dance around the kitchen.
Vegan yaki udon is one of my husband's fave meals, so it's on heavy rotation in this house, and I think it should be in yours too!
Jump to:
What is Vegan Yaki Udon?
So, what exactly is this Vegan Yaki Udon business, anyway? Yaki Udon is a Japanese stir-fried noodle dish that's bursting with umami goodness. Traditionally made with thick, chewy udon noodles, crisp veggies, and a savoury sauce, it's the ultimate glossy, slurpy comfort food with a kick.
Some people will take issue with me calling it "vegan yaki udon" because yaki udon is usually vegan anyway. But from a cursory google search, I've found that although most yaki udon recipes don't contain meat, they do often contain oyster sauce and other products including animal-based ingredients. But don't worry - I've made sure this recipe is totally plant-based!
Ingredients You'll Need
Alrighty, let's talk ingredients! Here's what you'll need to whip up a batch of Vegan Yaki Udon goodness. Remember, the full recipe is just a scroll away if you're in a hurry! As usual, the full recipe is listed at the bottom of the page in the recipe card.
- Udon noodles (I used straight-to-wok type)
- Dark soy sauce
- Mirin
- Vegan fish sauce (or substitute with vegan mushroom stir-fry sauce)
- Light brown sugar
- Mushroom seasoning (optional. This stuff is amazingly tasty and useful in so many recipes)
- Vegetable oil
- Spring onions, finely chopped, plus extra for topping
- Ginger, peeled and julienned
- White cabbage, finely shredded
- Carrot, peeled and julienned
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- Edamame beans, shelled and frozen
- Toasted white sesame seeds, for topping
Ingredient Substitutions
Now, I get it – sometimes you ain't got all the bits and bobs you need. No worries, my friend! Here are some handy ingredient swaps you can make:
- Don’t have vegan fish sauce? No problemo! Just swap it out for some mushroom stir-fry sauce – it’ll still taste banging! In a pinch, more soy sauce will do, but use the light variety or you'll end up with an overly salty sauce.
- Can’t find udon noodles? Fear not! You can use any other type of noodle you’ve got kicking around – spaghetti, soba, even ramen noodles will do the trick!
- As for the veggies, feel free to mix and match to your heart’s content! Got some bell peppers lurking in the fridge? Chuck ‘em in! Wanna add some greens? Go for it! The world is your oyster, my friend.
How To Make Vegan Yaki Udon
Now onto the main event: making this mouth-watering Vegan Yaki Udon! The full recipe is waiting for you below, but here's a quick rundown of how to whip up this tasty dish:
Step 1. Soak the Udon noodles. They tend to come in vacuum packs which makes them stick together. This process helps them to stay separated.
Step 2. Sauté the ginger and spring onions in vegetable oil until fragrant, then add the shredded cabbage, julienned carrot, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and edamame beans, and stir-fry until tender.
Step 3. Add the soaked and drained udon noodles to the pan with the veggies. Toss to combine and heat through, ensuring the noodles are fully separated.
Step 4. Pour the prepared sauce over the noodles and vegetables in the pan. Stir everything together so that the sauce coats the noodles and veggies evenly. Allow the mixture to simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced slightly and everything is well coated. And that's it! You're ready to serve!
Some FAQs
A: Yaki Udon hails from Japan, where it’s a popular street food dish. It’s been satisfying hungry bellies for generations, and it’s not hard to see why – it’s darn tasty!
A: While I wouldn’t recommend freezing cooked Vegan Yaki Udon (the noodles might get a bit mushy), you can freeze the individual components – like the sauce and veggies – for future use. Just thaw and reheat when you’re ready to chow down!
A: To reheat leftover Vegan Yaki Udon, simply pop it in the microwave or heat it up on the stove until warmed through. Easy peasy!
Other Recipes You Might Like
And there we have it, folks – Vegan Yaki Udon goodness at its finest! I can’t wait for you to give this recipe a try and see for yourself just how tasty it is. Don’t forget to snap a pic and tag @schoolnightvegan on social media!
Looking for more delicious vegan recipes to try? Why not check out my Vegan Spring Rolls, Vegan Carbonara, or my Vegan Bibimbap? Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Vegan Yaki Udon
Equipment
- Medium Bowl
- Whisk or fork
- Large pan or wok
- colander
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 400 g udon noodles 2 regular-sized packets or “straight-to-wok” type
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce or substitute with vegan mushroom stir-fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mushroom seasoning optional
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 3 spring onions finely chopped, plus extra for topping
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and julienned
- 150 g white cabbage finely shredded
- 1 carrot peeled and julienned
- 70 g fresh shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 50 g edamame beans shelled and frozen
- Toasted white sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, soak the noodles in hot water until they are easy to separate with your fingers, then drain and set aside.400 g udon noodles
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dark soy sauce, mirin, vegan fish sauce, light brown sugar and mushroom seasoning (if using) until well combined. Set the sauce aside.2 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon mushroom seasoning
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or wok over high heat. Add the ginger and spring onions, sautéing for about a minute until fragrant.1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 spring onions, 1 inch piece of ginger
- Add the shredded cabbage, julienned carrot, sliced shiitake mushrooms and edamame beans to the pan. Stir-fry the vegetables for about 3-4 minutes until they are just tender but still have some crunch.150 g white cabbage, 1 carrot, 70 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, 50 g edamame beans
- Add the soaked and drained udon noodles to the pan with the vegetables. Toss to combine and heat through, ensuring the noodles are fully separated.
- Pour the prepared sauce over the noodles and vegetables in the pan. Stir everything together so that the sauce coats the noodles and veggies evenly. Allow the mixture to simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced slightly and everything is well coated.
- Serve the yaki udon hot, garnished with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and additional chopped spring onions.Toasted white sesame seeds
Emz88
Absolutely DELICIOUS & simple to make 🙂 Thank you thank you thank you!
Hazel Goodier
Salty tasty umami af
Mathis
Made this last night and it was so delicious ! It’ll definitely become a regular for me <3
I was just wondering how do you get the noodles to have this brown glossy look ? I put 3x the amount of sauce because the amount in the recipe didn’t seem like a lot but I still couldn’t get this beautiful look !
Thanks for your work as always 🫶
Em
This is soooo good! It satisfied my cravings, especially since it's hard to find authentic and delicious (vegan) Asian food in my city. I made my own mushroom seasoning by blending dried shiitake mushrooms with a bit of nutritional yeast, which drastically elevated the dish! This is now my go-to recipe for Asian dishes.