Sara Udon (Crispy Noodles with Seafood Thick Sauce)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 40 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 16
About this dish
Crisp fried thin noodles are buried under a hot, glossy sauce of pork, shrimp, squid, and vegetables thickened with potato starch.
Read more
Chen Pingshun of Shikairo created it in 1899 as a soupless version of champon. Nagasaki still distinguishes the original thick-noodle style from the thin, crunchy style most people eat today, and this recipe follows the latter with store-bought fried noodles. Kamaboko, bean sprouts, and shiitake are added late so the sprouts keep their snap. Where the sauce soaks in, the noodles soften, and the rest stays crunchy.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Cut the pork, carrot, cabbage, kamaboko, shiitake, and cleaned squid into bite-size pieces.
Rinse and drain the bean sprouts and shrimp, then season the pork evenly with half the salt and pepper.
- 2
Combine the water, soy sauce, chicken stock powder, and potato starch in a bowl while cold, stirring until no starch lumps remain.
- 3
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and stir-fry the pork.
When no red remains on the outside, add the carrot, cabbage, shrimp, and squid and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- 4
Add the kamaboko, bean sprouts, and shiitake and stir-fry until the sprouts bend slightly but remain crisp.
Stir the soup mixture again so the starch is fully suspended.
- 5
Pour the soup mixture into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the bottom.
Cook until glossy and thick enough for a spatula trail to remain briefly, with pork at least 75°C in the center and shrimp and squid opaque. Season with the remaining salt and pepper.
- 6
Place one packaged fried noodle portion on each of two plates and loosen only the tightly compressed sections.
Pour half the hot thick sauce over each immediately, before the noodles sit and soften completely.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
ぐるなび · Checked: 2026-08-11
Use-up ingredient planner
Turn these ingredients into two more meals
The overlap excludes basic seasonings. Open the next recipe and your selected dishes will stay with you.
Nagasaki Champon
pork, carrot
Chinese Chow Mein
pork, carrot
Takasaki Zakuni
carrot, fresh shiitake