Fried Udon with Prawns & Fish Balls

Udon are chewy Japanese noodles made from wheat flour, water, and salt, typically served in a simple broth which is made of dashi (stocks used in Japanese cuisine), soy sauce, and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. However, I like to fry it rather than cooking it in soup. Usually I will add a mix of some of the following ingredients in my fry - long cabbage, cai xin, carrot, Shiitake mushrooms, prawns, fish balls, chicken slices and fucuk (bean curd sheets). Fried udon is smooth, chewy and tasty when fried the Chinese way.

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 200 g udon
• 2 long cabbage leaves
• 2 pieces Shiitake mushroom
• 6 prawns
• 4 pieces of fish balls
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 cup water

Method:

• Wash and cut long cabbage leaves into thin strips, width-wise.

• Soak Shiitake mushroom till soft. Then, slice them up.

• Wash the prawns, remove the shells and de-vein them.

• Wash fish balls. If they are too big, cut each of them into 2.

• Heat up sesame and cooking oil in a kuali.
• Add Shiitake mushroom slices to the kuali. Fry them till they are fragrant.
• Add chopped garlic and fry them till they are fragrant.
• Add long cabbage strips to the kuali.
• Fry till the long cabbage strips are cooked.
• Add water to the kuali.
• Season with light and dark soy sauces, salt, pepper and chili flakes.
• Let the sauce simmer for about 5-7 minutes.

• At the same time boil a pot of water using the other burner.
• When the water is boiling, add udon to the pot.
• Gently use a fork to loosen the udon.
• Once they have loosened, pour them immediately into a colander to drain off the water.

•  Add udon to the kuali and fry it for a short while.

• Ladle the udon onto a plate and serve hot.

• You can serve it with a topping of chili padi, fried shallots, fried onions or scallions.