Kitsune Udon Recipe

Make kombu dashi

Place 6 cups water and 4 g kombu in a medium pot and soak for 20–30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight). Heat over medium until just before boiling and remove kombu right before bubbles form.

Add 15 g katsuobushi to the pot, bring to a gentle simmer for 30 seconds, then turn off heat and let flakes sink for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pot — this is your basic dashi (about 5–5.5 cups).

Return strained dashi to the pot and add 2 tbs light soy sauce, 1 tbs mirin, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tbs sake (optional). Warm gently over low heat; keep hot but do not boil hard. Taste and adjust seasoning — broth should be balanced, slightly sweet-salty and delicate.

Prepare aburaage by slicing each pocket in half horizontally (you want 12 pockets total). To remove excess oil and open them up, bring 4 cups water to a simmer in a saucepan, add the aburaage pieces and simmer 1–2 minutes. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water, then pat dry with paper towel.

In a small saucepan combine 1 cup of reserved dashi (or water if you prefer a lighter base) with 2 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs mirin and 1 tbs sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer to dissolve the sugar.

Add the drained aburaage pockets to the simmering sauce, turn heat to low and simmer gently, spooning sauce over pockets, for 8–10 minutes until pockets have absorbed color and flavor. Remove from heat and let them cool in the liquid for 10 minutes to deepen flavor. Keep warm until serving.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add udon noodles and cook according to package directions until tender (fresh: 1–2 minutes; frozen: 2–4 minutes; dried: 8–10 minutes). Stir gently to prevent sticking.

When noodles are cooked, drain and briefly rinse under hot running water to remove surface starch (optional). Divide noodles between 4 bowls (about 100 g noodles per serving).

Reheat the dashi broth to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Pour approximately 1.25 cups (300 ml) hot broth over the noodles in each bowl.

Place one or two seasoned aburaage pockets on top of the noodles in each bowl (depending on size; aim for 1.5 pockets per serving). Sprinkle sliced green onions and optional kamaboko slices over the soup. Finish with a light dusting of shichimi togarashi and sesame seeds if using.

Serve immediately while hot. Encourage diners to open the aburaage with chopsticks and let some broth soak into the pocket as they eat.