Cold udon noodles with sesame chicken (bukkake udon)

Noodles are a quintessential ingredient in Japanese cuisine and during the country’s hot and humid summers, steaming bowls of noodles are swapped for cold noodle dishes with dipping sauces. Here, a dashi sauce is poured over cold noodles and topped with fresh ingredients.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g chicken breast fillet
• 250 ml (1 cup) sake (see Note)
• 3 garlic cloves, lightly bruised
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 kg fresh udon noodles (see Note)
• thinly sliced spring onion, black sesame seeds and wasabi, to serve

Dashi sauce

• 2 tsp (10 g sachet) instant dashi (see Note)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 cm piece ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp caster sugar

Chilling time 30 minutes

Instructions

Place chicken in a saucepan with sake, garlic, 750 ml (3 cups) water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 8 minutes or until just cooked, then cover with a lid and set aside to cool in cooking liquid. When cool enough to handle, remove chicken from cooking liquid, discarding liquid, and using two forks, shred meat into a bowl. Toss chicken with sesame oil and season with a little salt. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Meanwhile, to make dashi sauce, place dashi in a bowl with 125 ml (½ cup) boiling water and stir to dissolve. Cool, then stir in soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, ginger and sugar.

Cook noodles according to packet instructions, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Place noodles in a bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Divide noodles among serving bowls, reserving dressing, and top with chicken. Spoon dressing over noodles. Scatter with spring onions and sesame seeds and serve with a dollop of wasabi.

Notes

• Sake is available from bottle shops.

• Fresh udon noodles are available from the refrigerated section of Asian food shops.

• Instant dashi is sold as granules from Asian food shops.

Photography by Ben Dearnley. Food preparation by Phoebe Wood. Styling by Kirsten Jenkins.

As seen in Feast magazine, February 2015, Issue 39.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.