Besides the fact that these easy udon noodles are absolutely delicious, they’re also a fun, leisurely afternoon activity. The udon dough is traditionally kneaded with the feet instead of the hands because of its dense texture, so get ready to do a little dance. And be sure friends and family can see the dough beneath your feet, or they may ask you if you need to pee. You could, I suppose, knead the dough in a stand mixer… but where’s the fun in that?? Where a machine does come in handy is with the rolling– use a pasta roller if you’ve got one!
Easy Homemade Udon Noodles Recipe
Homemade Udon Noodles
Pre-cooked udon noodles can be divided into portions and frozen for up to a month. To cook, boil from frozen, and add a minute or so to cooking time.
Servings: 6 -8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water plus more if needed
- 4 tsp salt
- 3.5 cup all purpose flour
- cornstarch for dusting
Instructions
Make The Dough:
- In a large bowl, combine the warm water and salt and stir until completely dissolved. Add the flour to the bowl and use your hands to mix into a shaggy dough and form into a ball. The dough will be dry and rough. (If you cannot form the dough into a ball, or if there is flour left in the bowl, sprinkle in a little more warm water 1 tsp at a time.)
- Transfer the dough to a gallon sized zip top bag and press out all of the air before sealing. Place the bag between two kitchen towels, place on the floor, and knead with your feet for 2-3 minutes. Remove the dough from the bag and fold into a ball. Place the dough back into the bag, and repeat the kneading process two more times (for a total of three times.)
- After the final round of kneading, fold the dough into a ball one more time, return to the bag, and press out all of the air before sealing so it doesn’t dry out. Leave the dough to rest at room temperature for 3 hours, or rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Roll + Cut The Dough:
- Remove the dough from the bag and dust with cornstarch. Divide the dough ball into sections: cut the dough once down the center, then twice the intersecting direction to create 6 rectangular pieces. Dust each section of dough with cornstarch. Return 5 of the pieces back to the bag and seal, working with one piece of dough at a time for rolling.
- The dough can be rolled out with a rolling pin, but a pasta roller makes the process much easier. To use a pasta roller, begin by pressing one section of dough flat with the heel of your hand until it is thin enough to fit into the roller on the widest setting. Roll the dough through the widest setting twice. Adjust the roller to the next widest setting, and roll through twice more. The dough should be a little less than ⅛ inch thick.
- If needed, dust the dough with more cornstarch. Fold the dough into thirds crossways (like folding a letter for an envelope.) Use a very sharp knife to slice the dough into noodles a little less than ¼ inch wide. Fluff the noodles apart with your finger tips and dust with more cornstarch, then move the completed noodles back into the bag while you work. (You may also use a cutting attachment on your pasta roller to cut the noodles if you have one!)
Cook The Noodles:
- Cook the noodles in boiling, unsalted water for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking. Drain the noodles and immediately rinse well with cold water to remove any excess starch. (Unlike pasta, udon noodles need to be rinsed.) Use right away in your favorite recipe!
Tell me what you think in the comments below!
If you ask me, the dried kind is no comparison. This recipe makes a big batch, so you can always freeze half before cooking and save them for another day!
