{"id":29847,"title":"Kitsune Udon – Udon Soup with Fried Tofu","modified":"2025-02-12T11:12:42+01:00","plain":"A quick and effective udon noodle soup for fans of Japanese-style garnished broths!\n\n\n\nIn the world of noodles, Kitsune udon is one of those ultra-comforting dishes that blend a whole range of flavors and ingredients typical of the Land of the Rising Sun. Treat yourself to one of these great classics of Japanese cuisine! \n\n\n\nWhat is Kitsune udon? \n\n\n\nKitsune udon is an exceptional dish in Japan, where it is very popular... And for good reason! Essentially, you're dealing with a soup of thick and soft udon noodles in a dashi broth. It's usually garnished with fried tofu (called \u201caburaage\u201d) seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, thinly sliced narutomaki, and green onions.   \n\n\n\nFans of soups and broths like ramen, consider yourselves warned. They are often served hot, but can also be consumed cold in summer. In short, it's a rich and delicious dish combining the softness of the noodles with the gentleness of the broth and fried tofu.   \n\n\n\nNot to be confused with my delicious Yaki Udon\n\n\n\nThe Japanese being strong in culture and traditions, you're probably wondering about the meaning of the term \u201ckitsune\u201d. It literally means \u201cfox\u201d. But then, why this specific reference, you might ask? There are several theories explaining this. One of them says that fried tofu is often considered the fox's favorite food in Japanese folk tales.     \n\n\n\nNiku udon is another delicious version of udon in broth\n\n\n\nAnother theory states that the color of fried tofu significantly resembles that of a fox's fur. In fact, in many literally translated Japanese recipes, they say 'cook until fox color' to mean 'cook until golden brown'. Far-fetched, perhaps, but these are indeed the anecdotes associated with Kitsune udon.   \n\n\n\nMy kimchi udon is a delicious Japanese-Korean fusion\n\n\n\nWhere does Kitsune udon come from? \n\n\n\nIt's said that Kitsune udon originated in Osaka in 1893, during the Meiji period. In a store specializing in udon, originally called \u201cMastubaya\u201d, a customer reportedly placed a piece of aburaage served as a side dish on plain udon and appreciated the combination of the two ingredients. That's how it all started.   \n\n\n\nAs Osaka residents are particularly proud of their rich broth and konamon (flour-based food) culture, Kitsune udon perfectly represents the local know-how by combining these two elements.\n\n\n\nMain ingredients of Kitsune udon\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Dashi: \u201cThis is the very base of the soup in which the noodles will be immersed. Dashi is a typically Japanese element with umami flavor that\u201d is often used in the preparation of soups, including the famous Miso soup! We're dealing with subtle flavors, opposite to Korean kimchi jjigae, for example \n\n\n\nThe udon noodles: Essential for this recipe. In addition to being versatile and adaptable to a good number of dishes, we particularly love them for their thickness and texture that ensure all the gourmet aspect of this recipe. To understand their assets and differences well, I invite you to consult my guide to Asian noodles.   \n\n\n\nThe fried tofu: In most recipes, it's called \u201caburaage\u201d. These are ready-to-use fried tofu pouches, but it's almost easier to make it yourself because aburaage is often difficult to find. It's not rocket science, the seasoning is simply composed of light soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar, I'll detail it all in the recipe.   \n\n\n\nLe kamaboko: It is optional, but it's another surimi-type topping that is found in traditional Kitsune udon. Generally, \u201cnarutomaki\u201d kamaboko is used, as it's more visually appealing.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\tAuthentic Kitsune Udon\n\t\t\n\t\tA quick and effective udon noodle soup for fans of Japanese-style garnished broths!\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t300 g of udon noodles (precooked)Soup Base2.5 tablespoons of mirin2 tablespoons light soy sauce1 packet of dashi (powdered (or homemade, using the same amount as the water described below))1 pinch salt600 ml waterSeasoned Fried Tofu3 pieces of thin fried tofuSeasoning for Seasoned Fried Tofu150 ml water1 tablespoon light soy sauce1.5 tablespoon of mirin1.5 tablespoon of sake1 teaspoon of sugarToppings (optional)Narutomaki (thinly sliced)green onions (chopped)\t\n\t\n\t\tSoup Baseadd water and powdered dashi to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let it infuse for 4 minutes. Add salt, soy sauce, and mirin.Bring back to a boil then remove from heat. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Boil the precooked udon noodles according to the package instructionsRinse the noodles under the tap after cooking and drain. Serve in a soup bowl. Seasoned Fried TofuRemove excess oil from the fried tofu by pressing it with paper towels. In a saucepan, place the fried tofu and seasonings. Simmer on low heat until all the liquid has evaporated.AssemblyPour the hot soup over the udon noodles. Add the seasoned fried tofu, narutomaki toppings, and green onions on top\t\n\t\n\t\t If you prepare the seasoned fried tofu in advance, you can make this recipe in just 10 minutes\n Dashi packets and dashi granules often contain salt. Feel free to adjust the salt accordingly \nIf you follow a plant-based diet, use kombu dashi or dried shiitake dashi.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tMain course, Soups and brothsJapaneseNouilles, Sauce soja light, V\u00e9g\u00e9tarienne","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}