Yaki Udon

There was a Japanese Bon-Odori festival this weekend near the International District. My wife and I, and a couple of other friends that used to teach English in Japan went to check it out. The guys wore jimbei, which is a traditional summer wear for males, and the girls wore yukata, traditionally worn by women in the summer time. But recently there are cute Hello Kitty jimbei for girls and simple yukata for guys.

We enjoyed some festival foods like somen, yakisoba and teriyaki. There was a taiko drum show, which rocked, and we danced (or pretended like we danced) to bon-odori, a traditional Japanese summer festival dance. It was a lot of fun. On our way home late at night, we walked past some frat guys that were on their way to hit the clubs. One of them saw us in our jimbei and yukata, and yelled, "Memoirs of Geisha!" I was impressed that he was able to get the country right.

Yakisoba is a popular festival food, but I also enjoy yaki udon once in a while. It's fairly easy to make, and has more simple taste than yakisoba.

IN JAPANESE: Yaki Udon
CATEGORY: Noodles
COOKING METHOD: Stir-fry
DIFFICULTY: Medium
SERVES: 2 people
LENGTH OF TIME: 15 min

INGREDIENTS:
1 pack of udon
4 slices of bacon or thinly sliced pork
1 egg
1/4 onion
some carrots
some mushrooms
1 TBsp of vegetable oil
1 half inch piece of ginger (see TIP: Ginger)
1/2 TBsp of sugar
1 TBsp of soy sauce
some salt
some pepper
some pickled ginger (optional)
some fish flakes (optional)

HOW TO:
If you have the dried udon noodle, you need to boil and cook it as instructed. But I recommend that you use the non-dried kind. A lot of times, these noodles will come with a packet of soup power, but for yaki udon, you won't be needing that.

Pre-heat your wok and pour about a table spoon of vegetable oil. When the oil gets warm, stir fry your choice of meat, and then vegetables. On a bowl, mix egg with 1/2 table spoon of sugar (or mirin).

When the meat and vegetables are mostly cooked, push them aside, and pour the egg and scramble well. After the egg is cooked, mix well with meat and vegetables.

Add udon in the wok, and stir fry for about a minute. Shred a piece of gigner, pour 1 table spoon of soy sauce, and add some salt and pepper to your taste.

Serve with pickled ginger and fish flakes on top.