5 from 5 votes

Servings

Enjoy a warm, comforting bowl of kake udon—chewy noodles in a light, tasty dashi broth. It’s simple, cozy, and easy to make!

Looking for easy udon recipes? Try my Tanuki Udon, Kitsune Udon, Zaru Udon!

kake udon (udon noodle soup) in a bowl with chopsticks.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

This requires just a few easy steps, ready in 15 minutes.
You will savor the comforting flavors of this simple Kake udon.
You can explore more topping variations to suit your taste preferences.

Kake Udon

Kake udon, or udon noodle soup, is a traditional Japanese dish prepared by pouring hot, savory broth over boiled udon noodles and then topping them with minimal toppings. It’s a popular quick lunch menu in Japan.

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this udon noodle soup:

Udon noodles: Dried, fresh, or frozen udon noodles are available at grocery stores. I use frozen udon noodles in this recipe.
Mentsuyu: A Japanese soup base made with dashi stock (Japanese soup stock), soy sauce, and mirin. I use homemade mentsuyu in this recipe, but store-bought works great if you’re short on time!
Toppings: Green onions and wakame seaweed.

How To Make Kake Udon: STEP BY STEP

Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.

Step 1

Prepare toppings.

Step 2

Cook udon noodles.

Step 3

Drain and quickly rinse under running cold water.

Step 4

Make udon soup.

Serve the noodles in a bowl, pour the soup, and finish with toppings. Once it’s served, please eat immediately. Otherwise, the udon noodles soak up the soup and become soggy. If you like a little spice, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice mix) and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

If the mentsuyu soup is too salty, dilute it with water. If it’s too light, add more mentsuyu.
Udon noodles cooking time – a couple of minutes for frozen noodles and 10 minutes or more for fresh and dried noodles.
Try various toppings from the “Topping variations” section below.
If you use store-bought mentsuyu, follow the instructions on the package. How much water to add depends on the product.

Topping Variations

Toppings for Kake udon (udon noodle soup).

Kake udon is the most basic udon noodle soup, but the topping variations are limitless! Here are my favorite toppings you can try:

Green onions (scallions, spring onions)
Wakame Seaweed
Kamaboko fish cake – A type of fish cake
Onsen Tamago – A Japanese-style soft-cooked egg. To make it, bring water to a boil in a pot, remove from the heat, add the eggs, cover, and let them sit for 15–20 minutes.
Agedama – Tempura bits or tempura flakes (Crunchy pieces of tempura batter)
Spinach – Boil for 1 minute
Tororo Kombu – Flakes of kombu seaweed
Aburaage – Thin, deep-fried tofu. Bake on both sides in a toaster to make it crispy

More Udon Recipes You Will Love

Leave a Rating!

I hope you enjoy this kake udon soup! If you try it, don’t forget to leave a rating to share your thoughts—I love hearing from you!

Kake Udon (Simple Japanese Udon Noodle Soup)

5 from 5 votes

Prep: 5

Cook: 10

Total: 15

Servings:

Author: Juri Austin

Enjoy a warm, comforting bowl of kake udon—chewy noodles in a light, tasty dashi broth. It's simple, cozy, and easy to make!

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Equipment

Medium saucepan
Strainer

Ingredients

▢ 2 servings Udon noodles
▢ 3 cups Mentsuyu, dilute with water as needed
▢ 1 inch Scallion, chop
▢ 1 Tbsp Dried Wakame Seaweed, rehydrate and drain

Instructions

Prepare Toppings: Chop scallions. Soak the wakame seaweeds for 5 minutes and drain completely.
Cook Udon Noodles: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the udon noodles, and cook according to the package instructions. Stir the noodles with chopsticks to separate them as they cook.
Drain the Noodles: Drain using a strainer and quickly rinse under running cold water to remove the extra starch.
Udon Soup: Put mentsuyu and water in the same saucepan and warm it up.
Serve: Serve the drained noodles in a bowl, pour the soup, and place the scallions and wakame on top.

Notes

If the udon soup is too salty, dilute it with water. If it’s too light, add more mentsuyu.
Udon noodle cooking time – a couple of minutes for frozen ones. 10 minutes or more for fresh and dried ones.
Try various toppings from the “Topping variations” section.
If you use store-bought mentsuyu, follow the instruction on the package. How much water to add depends on the product.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 293kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 17gVitamin C: 1mg

This nutritional information is estimated and provided for general reference only.

Course: Noodles

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: kake udon

Did You Make This Recipe?

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Juri Austin

Hi! I’m Juri, founder of Chef JA Cooks and the creator and photographer of this site. I’m here to guide you in authentic yet easy-to-follow Japanese recipes! Let’s explore the world of Japanese cuisine together!

Learn More About Juri

5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

4 Comments

Rafał says:

Nov 1, 2024 at 4:52 PM

Hi.
This time I would like to try it with an egg. However, I am not sure if I understand the following sentence correctly, because I boil a soft-boiled egg for about one and a half to two minutes.

“Onsen Tamago – A half-boiled egg. Place eggs in boiled water and leave for 15-20 minutes to cook slowly”.

Does this mean that after boiling the water, remove it from the stove with the egg inside? The question may sound strange, but I’ve just never encountered this before 😅

1. Juri Austin says:
  
  Nov 2, 2024 at 4:24 AM
  
  Thank you for letting me know! Sorry, that sentence wasn’t explained enough. I’ve revised the instructions as follows:
  
  “Onsen Tamago – A Japanese-style soft-cooked egg. To make it, bring water to a boil in a pot, remove from the heat, add the eggs, cover, and let them sit for 15–20 minutes.”
  
  1. Rafał says:
    
    Nov 2, 2024 at 5:07 PM
    
    Thank you Juri.
    Have a nice day 🙂
  2. Juri Austin says:
    
    Nov 3, 2024 at 3:24 AM
    
    You are welcome! Have a nice day too!