Kimchi Udon

 

K is for kimchi in our alphabet baking challenge. Now that I know I can get good, fresh udon at the local grocers, I can whip up these noodle dinners more often. They come together very quickly and are wonderfully flexible on ingredients. Choose your protein and veg, tweak the sauce to taste, udon is just delicious. Hubby is fairly picky about kimchi, having served in South Korea for a year, but I found out from my Korean friend that even after kimchi has fermented to the point where it is no longer tasty for eating plain and fresh, that is when it is best for stews and soups and noodles! "Never let kimchi go to waste!" she said.

We love udon with ground beef and mushrooms, but this time tried it with bacon. Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) is my new favorite sprinkle seasoning. Even though it is called red chili flakes, there is no comparison with the typically available "red pepper flakes" like you put on pizza. Don't try a 1:1 substitute or in my opinion, it would make the dish inedible. Gochugaru is wonderfully nuanced, tangy, a little sweet, and just mildly hot. I would say a few pinches of red pepper flakes and a good portion of sweet paprika might come closer to filling in, but if you've never tried it, I think it is worth getting a jar! Likewise, gochujang is another wonderful condiment. I made sure to bookmark the specific brand I found that has fantastic flavor and color because I noticed a different bottle in my pantry that I think had been gifted to me from a friend's pantry clean out. It was in no way, shape, or form the same thing, being more like barbecue sauce; way too sweet, dark, and no spice. Uh-uh, no thank you. I was able to find the good one locally at a standard grocery store and I recommend trying that first for better prices than ordering from amazon!

This dish comes together very fast so it's important to have everything set out and prepped before starting to cook.

Kimchi Udon Stir Fry
adapted from My Korean Kitchen
serves 4

1½ lb fresh udon noodles (~ 680g)  (a little less than a full package.)
8 slices lean or center cut (short cut) bacon, chopped ~240g (ground beef is also good)
2 cups aged (fermented) Kimchi, chopped
100 g yellow onion thinly sliced (one medium onion)
one bunch green onions, thinly sliced (save some of the green tops for garnish)
oil for cooking

Sauce:
1½ tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
1 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
½ tbsp Vadouvan curry powder (optional but recommended!)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar (optional for more tang or if using a fresher kimchi)

Optional garnish:
jammy (soft boiled) eggs
fresh ground black pepper
toasted sesame seeds
green onion (thinly sliced)
roasted seasoned seaweed

Bring a pot of water to boil and slightly separate the udon noodles on a plate or in a bowl. 

Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl or glass measure and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add a couple tsp of oil and spread thinly. Add the chopped bacon and cook for 2 to 3 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the yellow onion and kimchi and saute until they are wilted (about 1 to 2 mins). 

While the onions are cooking, add the noodles to the boiling water.  (Fresh udon only takes a few minutes to cook.)

Drain and add the cooked noodles, green onions, and sauce to the bacon mixture and stir and toss to combine.

Serve the noodles in a bowl and garnish as desired with soft boiled egg, more green onions, sesame seeds, or seaweed strips.  (I thought furikake might work quite well as a garnish!)

 Here are some more letter K recipes:

• Sneha’s Recipe: Khoya/Mawa Gujiya With Dry Fruits 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Strawberry Kuchen 
• Food Lust People Love: Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Kachumbari, Kenyan Salad 
• Blogghetti: Chipotle Lime Shrimp Kabobs 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Fresh Kielbasa Sheet Pan Dinner 
• A Messy Kitchen: Kimchi Udon 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Cheese Tortellini Soup with Kielbasa and Kale 
• Magical Ingredients: Kimchi Gochujang Dip 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sweet & Spicy Hawaiian Pineapple Ketchup 
• Culinary Cam: A Fruit Formerly Known as ‘Kaffir’ + Makrut-Kissed Cookies 
• Palatable Pastime: Kimchi Cucumber Pickles