Quick and easy spicy Seafood Udon Stir Fry is made with chewy Japanese udon noodles, prawns, squids, scallops, and spicy-sweet stir fry sauce. Perfect for quick lunch or busy weeknight dinners. Ready in 15 minutes! Faster and tastier than ordering from takeaways!
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What do you make if you have loads of udon noodles packets at home? We usually make yaki udon or udon noodle soup recipe. Chicken Yaki Udon Noodle and Beef Udon Stir Fried are our viewer's favourite yaki udon recipes, made with classic Japanese style sweet and savoury stir fry sauce. You might also like!
Stir Fry Udon Noodles
Yaki Udon is a classic Japanese stir fry noodle dish made with thick round wheat noodles, choice of protein, and vegetables. Cabbage, carrot, mushroom, spring onions are classic vegetables that are added to the yaki udon. But you can customize the protein and vegetables to your preference. Yaki udon stir fry sauce is very simple and usually consists of Japanese soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
In this post, I am sharing our favourite spicy seafood udon with a hint of Korean gochujang flavour. Combination of Japanese udon and Korean-inspired stir fry sauce. If you are bored of regular mild stir fry sauce, you should definitely try this spicy-sweet flavour.
What do we need
You will need a few simple pantry staple sauces, seasonings, and fridge-friendly ingredients. Just make sure to prepare all your ingredients before you heat the wok.
Udon noodles - I usually use fresh udon noodle pack which is available in most supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. I usually blanch the noodles in hot boiling water for 1-2 minutes to loosen up. You can prepare the noodles by the packet instructions, then rinse with cold water and drain the water out.
Seafood - Add your favourite mix of seafood. Prawns, shrimps, squids, and scallops go well with this recipe. Simply season it with salt and fresh ground black pepper. To eliminate any fishy smell of seafood, add a good amount of freshly chopped garlic.
Can I add any other protein? You can also add chicken breast, thigh, beef, or Tofu with seafood.
Vegetables - Carrot, onions, spring onions, chilli pepper goes well with this dish. Feel free to add your favourite stir fry vegetables like baby corn, mushroom, green beans, mangetout, broccoli, etc.
Sesame seeds - Toasted sesame seeds bring a nutty, crunchy texture.
Udon Sauce - Japanese yaki udon sauce usually consists of mirin, soy sauce, sugar, dash stock or mentsuyu. It can be slightly different depending on the restaurants or the family recipes.
In this recipe, I add two extra ingredients, Korean Gochujang chilli paste and paprika for a distinct spicy, peppery flavour. But the sauce is not too spicy, it is perfectly balanced with sugar, soy sauce and mirin.
How to make seafood udon stir fry
- First, add all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix it well and set it aside. Prepare the udon noodles by the packet instructions.
- Heat the wok/pan into high heat, drizzle 2 tbsp of oil and add the prawns. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes and follow with the chopped garlic.
- Next, add the squids and scallops , continue stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the seafood from pan and set it aside.
- In the remaining pan, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil and stir fry the onions over medium-high heat. Follow with the carrots, chilli slices and cook for anther 1-2 minutes.
- Place the udon noodles, pour the stir fry sauce mixture in and return the seafood back in the wok. Toss well and combine everything evenly.
- Once the noodles absorbed all the sauce, turn off the heat. Stir in spring onions and transfer to serving plate.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Stir Frying Tips
- As this is a fast cooking process, prepare all the seafood, stir fry sauce, and vegetables before you start frying.
- Make sure to fry with high heat to prevent the noodles from getting soggy.
- Use large wok or pan to give enough heat to all ingredients.
- Do not overcook the seafood, as it can be harden and rubbery if it is overcooked.
- Blanch the noodles in hot boiling water to loosen up and prevent it from breaking apart. Then rise in cold water to stop the cooking process and remain it's chewy udon texture.
- Do not overcrowd the pan, fry with batches if needed.
- Customize the sauce and vegetables to your taste. If you don't like spicy flavour, you can reduce or omit the chilli paste and paprika amount. If you like loads of vegetables add extra vegetables.
FAQ
This seafood udon is medium spicy because Gochujang chilli and paprika are not very hot. You can add hot chilli powder, dried red chilli flakes if you prefer it spicy or you can reduce the chilli amount if you like the mild taste.
You don't need a traditional wok for this recipe. You can use any large pan, skillet, non-stick wok or pan, which have enough space to toss all the ingredients.
This udon recipe is 755kcal per serving and these nutritional facts are calculated approximately. It can be varied by a number of different factors.
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Seafood Udon Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 400 g Udon Noodles (14 oz) 2-3 serving udon noodles, see details in note
- 150 g Prawn/Shrimp ( About 5oz ), peeled and deveined large prawn or shrimp
- 150 g Squid ( About 5oz ), cleaned and cut into rings
- 120 g Scallop ( About 4oz ), ready shucked scallops
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
- 1 Carrot Cut matchsticks
- ½ Onion Cut thin slices
- 4-5 cloves Garlic Finely chopped
- 1 Red chilli pepper Cut thin slices
- 4-5 Spring onions Cut 1 inch pieces
- 2-3 tbsp Oil For stir frying
- 2 tsp Sesame seeds For garnish
Stir fry sauce
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce All-purpose soy sauce or Light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin See details in note
- ½ tsp Paprika Or chilli powder
- 1 tbsp Gochujang Korean chilli paste or hot chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar or honey
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 2 tsp Water
Instructions
- First, add all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix it well and set it aside. Prepare the udon noodles by the packet instructions.
- Heat the wok/pan into high heat, drizzle 2 tbsp of oil and add the prawns. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes and follow with the chopped garlic.
- Next, add the squids and scallops , continue stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the seafood from pan and set it aside.
- In the remaining pan, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil and stir fry the onions over medium-high heat. Follow with the carrots, chilli slices and cook for anther 1-2 minutes.
- Place the udon noodles, pour the stir fry sauce mixture in and also return the seafood back in the wok. Toss well and combine everything evenly.
- Once the noodles absorbed all the sauce, turn off the heat. Stir in spring onions and transfer to serving plate.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
- Udon noodles - Udon noodles are made of wheat and it has a round thick, chewy texture. Instead of udon noodles, you can use soba, ramen, or egg noodles.
- Tips to prepare udon noodles - I usually blanch or soak the ready udon noodles in the hot boiling water for 1-2 minutes to loosen up before I add in the stir fry. Then rinse with cold water and drain the water out. If you use dried udon, boil and cook by the packet instructions.
- Vegetables - You can customize the vegetables to your preference. Shredded cabbage, mushroom, baby corn, bok choy, pak choy, tenderstem broccoli, mangetout goes well too.
- Seafood - You can add any mix of seafood washed, cleaned, and deveined. If you rinse them with water, make sure to pat dry with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, before you add in your stir fry.
- Gochujang - is a Korean fermented chilli paste, you can buy it in most supermarket Asian aisle, Asian grocery stores, or Amazon online. There is not exact same substitute for Gochujang but if you don't like the flavour, you can swap it with hot chilli sauce or chilli garlic sauce.
- Mirin - is a Japanese cooking rice wine, dry sherry wine and Chinese Shao Xing wine are the closest substitutes. If you wish to make it a non-alcohol version, add rice vinegar and a dash of sugar instead of mirin.
- Paprika - You can either use paprika, smoked paprika, or chilli powder according to your taste.
- How to make mild or kid-friendly seafood udon stir fry? You can simply skip the Ghchujang and paprika if you are making it for kids.
Mira says
thank you for this recipe, the stir-fry was absolutely delicious!
Craig says
I made this tonight. Delicious!
Thank you.
Craig
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, Craig! Thank you so much for trying out.
Jessica says
This one looks very appetizing!!! I can’t wait to try it and oh it looks like spaghetti too! This is going to be first time cooking Udon noodles. Thanks Khin!
Khin says
You are very welcome. Hope you enjoy this recipe, Jessica.
May says
Delicious seafood dinner
Khin says
Thanks, May! Happy that you liked.