Chilled Tanuki Udon (Japanese Udon Noodles)

Chilled Tanuki Udon features Japanese udon noodles, tempura scraps, edamame and fresh vegetables all swimming in a delicious umami-rich chilled broth! A satisfying and easy summer meal made in 15 minutes.

As you can probably tell from my last couple posts, I'm having a moment with noodles. What is there NOT to love about noodles? There's like 100 different varieties and x100 more ways to prepare them! I'm a thick (thicccc!!) chewy noodle typa girl, anyone else? And one of my favourite types of noodles are Japanese Udon Noodles!! Thick, chewy & toothsome = best kinda noodles IMO.

So to share my noodle luvin' moment, today I'm sharing another dish I ate a ton of growing up: Chilled Tanuki Udon AKA Cold Japanese Udon Noodles.

What is Tanuki Udon?

I'm glad you asked! Tanuki means Racoon... so I guess in english this would be called Racoon Udon Noodles? But don't worry, this dish does not contain any racoon or any animal products for that matter. This dish does contain dish (from the broth), but it can easily be made vegan by making your own mentsuyu (noodle soup base).

Tanuki Udon can be served hot or cold, but since it's summer right now we'll be preparing the chilled version. It's so easy and quick to make, perfect for a lazy lunch or dinner.

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Chilled Tanuki Udon Ingredients

• vegan mentsuyu
• udon noodles (frozen preferred, but dried will work)
• dried wakame (dried seaweed)
• edamame
• japanese/persian cucumbers
• tomatoes
• scallions
• agedama/tenkasu (temputa bits) * ESSENTIAL
• optionally: sesame seeds & pickled ginger for garnish

All these ingredients may sound very familiar to you, except the agedama. What is agedama? It's also known as tenkasu, but it's basically bits of fried tempura batter. Almost like crunched up potato chips in texture! It's very commonly used in noodle soups and a lot of other Japanese dishes because it adds texture and even more flavour. You can purchase already made tenkasu online or asian/Japanese grocery stores. You can also easily make your own by making some tempura batter and slowly adding the batter into a deep fryer. If you have any left overs, you can freeze them and use them when needed.

How to make Cold Udon Noodles

This Tanuki Udon recipe is meant to be super easy and quick because who wants to be slaving away in the humid hot kitchen?

• It starts with getting some water ready to boil the noodles. In the mean time, prep the toppings. Rehydrate the wakame, microwave the edamame, and slice the cucumbers and tomatoes. Get a water bath ready by adding in some cold water and ice cubes.
• By now, the water should be rumbling so add in the frozen udon noodles and cook for around 3-5 minutes. If using semidried udon, this may take 8-10 minutes or if using dried 10-12 minutes. Test the noodles for doneness by taking a noodle out, dunking it into the cold water and biting into it. It should be tender throughout with no hardness in the centre. Once cooked, drain, rinse and place the noodles into the water bath to chill. This is super important so that the udon noodles don't over cook or become gummy.
• In the mean time, mix together the soup base and water to your preferred taste. I like to keep mine a little more on the concentrated side since I add in some ice cubes to keep the noodles chilled but that's totally optional!
• Then serve in a bowl: ice cubes on the bottom (optional), noodles, place all the toppings on top and then pour over your soup base.

And there you go! An easy udon recipe perfect for the summer. Packed with vegetables, delicious chewy udon noodles and a ton of flavour.

Other Cold Noodle Dishes to Try:

• Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad with Tofu
• Vegan Hiyashi Chuka
• Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles with Jackfruit Chicken
• Sesame Miso Noodle Salad
• Vegan Bun Chay (Chilled Vietnamese noodles)

If you recreate this Chilled Tanuki Udon recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!

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