Udon Stir Fry

I love noodles. I can eat noodles everyday (different kinds, of course.) So with the leftover udon noodles I had from udon soup, I made a quick stir fry, using up many vegetables I had in the refrigerator. Stir frys are one of my favorite dishes to make during the week. It's fast, easy, healthy and there are endless possibilities for flavoring. I made this in about 10 minutes.

 Udon with red bell peppers, chinese broccoli, red onions, scallions and bean sprouts.

My go to seasoning ingredients for many many dishes. Nanami Togarashi is a Japanese chili pepper blend with sesame seeds and orange essence. It's just the right amount of spice. I have yet to find something it doesn't work well with yet. I love the sweet tanginess of Aji-Mirin, a sweet cooking rice seasoning. It's less acidic than vinegar and helps round out the flavor for spicy dishes. 

Here's my quick recipe. As you can see, I opted not to add amounts of anything. Cooking is less about measuring and more about understanding technique and learning to taste the food. Add seasoning slowly until it's where you want it. Make mistakes--that's the fun part.

Recipe
fresh udon noodles
vegetables, roughly diced
vegetable oil
nanami togarashi
aji-mirin
salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add udon noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes. Strain and set aside.

2. Heat a saute pan or wok to medium-high heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Saute vegetables for 3 minutes until softened and fragrant. Vegetables should still be crunchy. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan.

3. Add more oil to the pan and saute udon noodles for 1-2 minutes until heated thoroughly. Noodles are already cooked you just want to saute it until hot and build more flavor. Add vegetables back to the pan and combine well. Season with the nanami togarashi, aji-mirin and more salt and pepper if needed. 

4. Serve immediately.