Sara Udon (Crispy Noodles with Seafood) 長崎皿うどん (2024)

Sara Udon is a Japanese take on the popular Chinese crispy noodles dish with saucy seafood and vegetables. Skip takeout and make this Nagasaki fried noodles recipe at home tonight!

Since I was small, I’ve always loved foods that have a crispy and crunchy texture, andSara Udon (皿うどん) was no exception. This noodle recipe is the Japanese version of the classic Chinese dish – Crispy Noodles with Seafood 海鮮炒麵, featuring stir-fried seafood, pork,kamaboko fish cake, cabbage, bean sprouts, and other colorful vegetables, atop a bed of pan-fried egg noodles.

Sara Udon was always my first favorite at the Japanese-style Chinese restaurant while the other kids would go forChahan (炒飯 – fried rice) or Gyoza. When the plate of noodles served in front of me,I made sure to devour the crispy bits of noodles as fast as possible before they get wilted from the remaining heat of the sauce on top.

What isSara Udon?

Sara Udon(皿うどん), literally means “plate noodles” in Japanese. It consists of two parts: crispy fried noodles on the bottom and stir-fried seafood, pork, and vegetable sauce on top. All the ingredients in the soup are thickened with a small amount of slurry, so they coat well with the noodles.

By now you’re probably wondering where is the “udon noodles” as it’s called Sara Udon.

Well, the definition of udon can be a little ambiguous at times. Before it was called Sara Udon, the dish used to be one of the versions ofChampon– a noodle dish introduced by a Chinese restaurantShikairō(四海楼) back in Nagasaki, where Champon was first created.If you are not familiar with Champon, you can read my post first.

Champon

Thick Champon noodles, which look slightly like a thinner version of udon noodles, were served on a plate, and the ingredients were served over the noodles without soup for the ease of home delivery. Since the noodles were served on the plate, this version was eventually named Sara (“plate”) Udon instead of Champon.

Later on, thin noodles that are fried to crispy were introduced and became another version of Sara Udon. The soup thickened with slurry and that has become the mainstream of what Sara Udon is nowadays.

These days you can find Sara Udon being served with two different styles of noodles. The first style is similar to Cantonese-style crispy chow mein (or more notably Hong Kong Crispy Chow Mein) where thin egg noodles are fried in oil till crispy. The second style uses thicker Chinese noodles that are pan-fried like Chanpon noodles. Both are common in Nagasaki, but Sara Udon outside of Nagasaki area mostly uses thin crispy noodles.

Key Ingredients to Make Sara Udon

1. Crispy Noodles

Where to find crispy noodles? I found this Nagasaki Sara Udon package in my local Japanese grocery store Nijiya Market and I use only the noodles and skip the soup base.If you don’t have a Japanese market nearby, you can visit a Chinese grocery store and look for crispy noodles in a bag.

If you prefer to make your own, you can deep fry or pan fry the Hong Kong noodles in your wok.

2. Your Choice of Seafood, Pork, and Vegetables

I have included most of the ingredients that come with Sara Udon in this recipe. They are:

• Pork belly slices (no, it’s not bacon. It’s the pork cut used for making bacon. You can find it in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Mexican grocery stores. If they only sell a block of pork belly, slice your own following my tutorial).
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Clams (I skipped them in this recipe since it takes time tode-grit clams)
• Kamaboko fish cakes
• Quail eggs
• Onion
• Carrot
• Cabbage
• Bean sprout
• Snow peas
• Wood ear mushrooms

This may look like a daunting list of ingredients, so you can certainly simplify the ingredients or switch things up with whatever you have on hand.

3. Chicken Stock/Broth Base Soup

The soup base is chicken stock/broth. You can use homemade chicken stock if you have it around (Here’s my chicken stock recipe), or use packaged chicken stock. Each package comes with different saltiness so please adjust the soup base accordingly. It’s important to keep a spoon around and always taste before you finish cooking!

To make avegetarian or vegan-friendly version of Sara Udon, please use a vegetable broth and “Vegetarian Mushroom Flavored Stir-Fry Sauce” instead of oyster sauce. For protein, you can easily use deep-fried tofu or pan-fried tofu in place of seafood.

Sara Udon on Kodoku no Gurume

I was inspired to make this noodle recipe after watching the popular Japanese TV drama –Kodoku no Gurume(孤独のグルメ) [Season 6: Episode 7]. The protagonist Gorō-san had a bowl ofSara Udon at Nagasaki Hanten (長崎飯店) in Shibuya. It was exactly the noodles I used to order at Chinese restaurants growing up. So I got to share my version of this recipe!

For those of you who are not familiar withKodoku no Gurume, the main character Gorō is a Japanese salaryman who is in sales. As a salesperson, Gorō travels across Japan for his work and on each business trip he visits various restaurants and street booths to sample the local cuisine. Each chapter features a different place and dish.

This TV drama has been around for years in Japan, and currently, Season 7 is on air. Unfortunately, it is not available on Netflix like Midnight Diner: Tokyo Storieshere in the States, but it’s available on Netflix Japan and other sources. Maybe Netflix USA will pick it up if there’s enough interest in the drama. You can find some of the older seasons available in DVD format on Amazon.

Whether you have access toKodoku no Gurumeor not, I want to share all the delicious foods the main character Gorō-san enjoyed in the show and I hope you would join me in cooking up these dishes.

Kodoku no Gurume Recipes Series on Just One Cookbook

• Champon
• Kushikatsu (Kushiage)
• Pan-Fried Ginger Pork Belly
• Pickled Tomatoes
• Sara Udon

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