Here's everything worth knowing about udon noodles and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 11 recipes to cook tonight.

What are udon noodles?

Udon are thick, chewy Japanese wheat noodles, the fattest of the common Asian noodles. Made from nothing more than wheat flour and salted water, they have a soft, bouncy bite and a neutral flavor that soaks up whatever broth or sauce they sit in.

They are usually round or square in cross-section and noticeably wider than spaghetti. That heft is the point: udon is a noodle you feel.

How to Use Udon

Cook udon in plenty of boiling water until tender but still springy. Dried udon takes the longest, around 8 to 12 minutes; fresh runs 1 to 2 minutes; and frozen, the best-textured kind, needs only a minute or so to loosen and heat through.

After cooking, rinse the noodles briefly under cold water to wash off surface starch, then add them back to hot broth or the pan. This keeps them from gluing together.

Served hot, udon goes into a simple dashi-soy broth, as in this bowl of Noodles in Broth. Served cold, the chilled noodles get tossed with a punchy dressing like the sesame and chili in these Cold & Spicy Udon Noodles.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Udon pairs with dashi, soy sauce, mirin, scallion, and tempura, and it stands up to bolder treatments too: a thick peanut or curry sauce clings to its broad surface. It works equally well in a hot soup or a cold salad like this Udon Noodle Salad with Asian Peanut Sauce.

The most common mistake is overcooking. Udon should be tender with a springy core, not slack, so pull it the moment the center loses its raw firmness.

The second mistake is skipping the cold rinse. Without it the noodles carry a starchy film that thickens the broth and makes them stick.

Substitutes

There is no exact stand-in for udon's chew, but a few come close. Thick wheat noodles like Korean kalguksu are the nearest match. Soba gives a similar size with a very different buckwheat flavor.

In a Western pantry, the best swap is bucatini or thick spaghetti, cooked a touch past al dente so the bite turns soft rather than firm. Rice noodles miss the wheat chew but work if you need gluten-free.

Buying and Storing

Udon sells frozen, fresh in vacuum packs, or dried. Frozen has the best texture by far and is worth seeking out in the freezer case of an Asian market; it holds for a couple of months.

Fresh and vacuum-packed udon keeps a week or two refrigerated, so check the date and use it promptly.

Dried udon keeps for a year or more in the pantry. Once cooked, eat udon the same day, since it turns gummy after a night in the fridge.

Quick facts

In Chinese

乌冬面

British (UK) term

Udon noodles

en français

nouilles udon

en español

fideos udon

Recipes using udon noodles

There are 11 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 11 recipes