Udon Noodles (うどん) – Handmade Wheat Noodles in Broth

Udon need only wheat flour, water and salt. The dough is so firm that in Japan it is traditionally kneaded with the feet: you pack it in a sturdy freezer bag, lay a towel over it and tread it flat. Then you fold it and tread again, until it is smooth and the noodles will have bite later.

By Laura Chen· November 4, 2026

1 Stdtotal

3servings

380kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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Dissolve the salt completely in the water before you pour it over the flour. After kneading, the dough rests for two hours, and only then can it be rolled thin without springing back. Roll it out 3 mm thick, fold it loosely and cut strips 3 to 4 mm wide. Starch instead of flour for dusting keeps the cooking water from turning cloudy. Fresh udon cook for 10 to 12 minutes, after which you rinse them cold and warm them briefly in the broth.

The broth here is a simple kake broth of awase dashi, soy sauce and mirin. With fried tofu it becomes kitsune udon, and without broth you stir-fry the noodles as yaki udon.

Image: AI-generated.

Udon Noodles (うどん) – Handmade Wheat Noodles in Broth

Name: Udon Noodles (うどん) – Handmade Wheat Noodles in Broth
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300 g all-purpose flour (type 405 or 550); 140 ml cold water; 15 g salt; 50 g potato starch for dusting; 900 ml dashi (Japanese fish and seaweed stock); 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 2 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine); 1 tsp sugar; 2 scallions, in fine rings; 1 pinch shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili blend), optional

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

2 hours 40 minutes

Cook time

20 minutes

Calories

380

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

For the noodles:

300 g all-purpose flour (type 405 or 550)
140 ml cold water
15 g salt
50 g potato starch for dusting

For the broth:

900 ml dashi (Japanese fish and seaweed stock)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tsp sugar

To serve:

2 scallions, in fine rings
1 pinch shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili blend), optional

Instructions

Stir the salt into the cold water until it dissolves completely. Pour the salt water bit by bit over the flour and rub everything with your fingers into coarse crumbs.
Press the crumbs together into a ball and knead for 2 minutes. The dough is firm and cracked, which is how it should be.
Put the dough in a sturdy freezer bag, cover it with a towel and tread it flat with your heels. Fold it into a ball and repeat three to four times, until it is smooth.
Let the dough rest in the bag for 2 hours at room temperature.
Dust the work surface with starch and roll the dough into a rectangle 3 mm thick. Dust it, fold it loosely in three layers and cut strips 3 to 4 mm wide with a large knife. Loosen the noodles and shake off the excess starch.
Bring the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to a boil in a pot and keep the broth hot.
Cook the udon in plenty of unsalted water for 10 to 12 minutes, until cooked through but still with bite. Rinse them cold in a sieve until the surface is no longer sticky.
Dip the noodles in the hot broth for 1 minute, divide them with the broth among bowls and sprinkle with scallions and shichimi if you like.

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Udon Noodles (うどん) – Handmade Wheat Noodles in Broth

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