This one-pot udon noodle soup comes together in just 15 minutes on the stove using chewy udon noodles, meaty shiitake mushrooms, tender silken tofu, and chopped Napa cabbage.
Udon Soup Is Perfect When You’re Super Short on Time
Like so many Japanese food fans, I will happily slurp a good bowl of hearty, brothy ramen noodles any time of the day. But if you asked me to choose, udon noodles in their light broth are definitely my first love.
There’s something about udon’s thick, bouncy texture that works so perfectly in dishes like my udon stir fry. But this udon soup is where it’s at for an even quicker noodle fix.
Sure, you can make packaged udon noodles with the enclosed seasoning packet, but I find this super fast broth made with the powdered dashi soup base I keep in my pantry even more flavorful. I add shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, silken tofu, and green onion, but there are infinite ingredient combinations to customize this recipe
Enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
You should be able to find most if not all of these ingredients in the International aisle of your regular grocery store, but if not, any Asian market should carry them.
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Udon noodles —The star ingredient! These thick, chewy Japanese wheat noodles are fun to eat and so slurpable. If you’re an udon lover, be sure to make my yaki udon stir fry next.
- Soy sauce — For flavoring the soup and adding excellent umami flavor.
- Hondashi powder — This savory Japanese powdered dashi base is comprised of bonito flakes, sugar, MSG, and yeast extract and is the signature flavor of the soup broth.
- Mirin— A sweet Japanese rice wine. You could also use sake, dry sherry, or rice wine vinegar, mixed with just a pinch of sugar.
- Sugar — For a subtle touch of sweetness.
- Shiitake mushrooms — Add a nice meaty texture to the soup.
- Napa cabbage — For color, heft, and texture.
- Silken tofu — I love its smooth and creamy texture in this soup.
- Green onions — For flavor and color.
- Furikake rice seasoning — A Japanese seasoning mix consisting of toasted sesame seeds, dried seaweed, salt, and sugar.
- Togarashi seasoning — A Japanese spice blend usually made of chili peppers, sesame seeds, orange peel, ginger, and seaweed adds a little heat.
How to Make Japanese-Style Udon Soup
- Make the broth. Because we are adding several types of seasonings to this soup, I recommend using water instead of stock for the soup base (the Hondashi powder seasons the broth in the way that bouillon cubes do). To deepen the flavor, stir in some soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
- Cook the noodles in the broth. Once simmering, you can add in the fresh udon noodles. At this stage, you’re just cooking them for a few minutes to get the block of noodles to separate into individual strands.
- Cook the veggies in the broth. Add the mushrooms, cabbage, and half of the green onion. Simmer the broth for another 3 – 4 minutes until both the veggies and noodles have softened.
- Ladle, season, and serve. The silken tofu is safe to eat straight from the package, so I cube it and divide it between my bowls before ladling the hot noodles and broth over top to warm the tofu. Add more green onion, furikake rice seasoning, and togarashi seasoning, if desired.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Add fresh ginger, garlic, or a bit of sesame oil to the broth
- Add spicy heat with a spoon of chili crisp or a squirt of sriracha
- Swap the cabbage or mushrooms for different veggies, like frozen peas, sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrots, or spinach
- Instead of silken tofu, try adding fried tofu
- Add thinly sliced baked chicken, Asian pork tenderloin, or Japanese fish cake for extra protein
- Add pickled radishes
What to Serve With Udon Soup
This vegetable udon soup is excellent on its own, but here are some ideas of things you could serve with it:
- Edamame
- Add a fried or hard-boiled egg on top
- Crispy Chicken Katsu (for extra protein, on the side)
- Teriyaki Chicken (for extra protein, on the side)
- Chili Crisp Salmon (for extra protein, on the side)
- Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers
- Asian Broccolini with Sesame and Ginger
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Udon Noodles Soup
Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons Hondashi powder
- 3 teaspoon mirin
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 12 ounces udon noodles , or two packages refrigerated udon noodles
- 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms , about 4-6 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped napa cabbage
- 11 ounces silken tofu , drained
- 2 green onions , chopped
- furikake rice seasoning
- togarashi seasoning
Instructions
- Make the broth. Add water to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the soy sauce, Hondashi powder, mirin, and sugar until the powder and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
- Cook the noodles. Add the udon noodles to the broth, cover with a lid, and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the noodles soften and separate.
- Cook the veggies. Add the mushrooms, cabbage, and half of the green onion. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the vegetables soften.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and add a few spoonfuls of the silken tofu to each dish, topping with more broth to warm the tofu. Add more green onion, furikake rice seasoning, and togarashi seasoning, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
More Asian-Inspired Soup Recipes to Try
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