Stir Fried Udon With Chicken

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This stir fried udon with chicken is a quick and easy one pot meal that comes together in less than 20 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights. With tender chicken, chewy udon noodles, and a soy-based sauce packed with savory umami flavor, it’s both comforting and satisfying. With this recipe, you only need a handful of simple ingredients to make a delicious restaurant-style dish right at home.

A cast iron skillet filled with stir-fried chicken udon noodles, pieces of chicken, sliced carrots, green onions, and mushrooms in a glossy soy-based sauce.

As a busy working mom, figuring out how to quickly make dinners that can satisfy everyone in the family is my daily challenge. Along with my favorite weeknight meals like 10-Minute Beef and Egg Over Rice and Easy Pork and Tofu Stir Fry, this stir fried udon is one of my go-to dishes for a fast and comforting dinner.

Not only is it quick, easy, and delicious, but everything comes together in one pan; no need to pre-cook the noodles in a separate pot, which is a huge advantage to making an udon dish.

Once you get the hang of this versatile recipe, it’s easy to make it your own. You can swap the chicken for beef, pork, or shrimp. Check your fridge and toss in your favorite vegetables you have on hand, like broccoli, bell peppers, snap peas, or cabbage. All these adjustments would work great.

Why You Should Try This Dish

Quick and easy: Ready in less than 20 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights.
One-pan meal: No need to pre-cook the noodles, everything cooks together for easy cleanup.
Versatile and flavorful: Customize it with your favorite protein and veggies for a delicious, satisfying meal every time.

Ingredients You'll Need

Here are the main ingredients you'll need for making this recipe. Check the recipe box below for the full ingredient list with actual measurement.

Flat lay of labeled ingredients for chicken udon stir-fry, including frozen udon noodles, chicken thigh, scallion, onion, carrot, shiitake mushroom, soy sauce, mirin, rice wine, Worcestershire sauce, bonito flakes, and salt and pepper, all arranged on a gray surface.

Notes

Shiitake mushroom - pre-soak for 1 hour before using. Feel free to use other types of mushrooms of your choice.
Chicken thigh - you can also use chicken breast if you prefer.
Rice wine - or sake if you have it at home.
Frozen udon - you don't need to thaw it before cooking, but I usually like to take it out from the freezer when I'm preparing other ingredient, so it will cook a little bit faster.

How to Make this Dish

Step 1 - Prepare chicken thigh

Cut chicken into bite sized chunks, toss with a pinch of salt and black pepper and set it aside.

Small chicken pieces sprinkled with salt and pepper, and a small bowl on the side.

Step 2 - Prepare veggies

Dried shiitake mushroom: soak in water for 1-2 hours or until completely softened. Trim off the stem and cut into slices.

Onion and carrots: slice thinly.

Scallions: trim off the root end and cut the scallions into halves to separate dark and light green parts. Thinly slice the light green parts diagonally, and cut the dark green parts into 2-inch sections (see below).

Chopped green onions on a marble surface. Dark green parts cut into 2-inch pieces and white parts sliced diagonally.

Step 3 - Prepare sauce

Combine all the liquid sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and use your finger tip to crush the bonito flakes into the bowl and set it aside.

Two bowls showing how to make udon stir-fry sauce — on the left, a soy sauce mixture, and on the right, the sauce combined with bonito flakes for extra umami flavor.

Step 4 - Cook

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onions and the light green part of the scallions and stir fry for 20-30 seconds until fragrant.

Add carrot slices, shiitake mushrooms and continue to stir fry for another 30 seconds, until the onions and scallions start to brown.

Sautéing vegetables for stir-fried udon, sliced onions and green onions in a cast iron pan, followed by adding carrots and shiitake mushrooms for extra flavor and texture.

Move the veggies to one side of the pan and add chicken pieces to the empty side of the pan. Brown both sides of the chicken before mixing everything together. The chicken should only be half cooked at this point.

Cooking chicken and vegetables for Japanese stir-fried udon, chicken thigh pieces added to a hot cast iron pan with onions, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms, then seared until golden and cooked through.

Pour in sauce along with half a cup of water. Nest the frozen udon noodle in the middle. Cover and cook for one minute.

Flip the noodle and continue to cook for another 30 seconds, or until the noodles loosen.

Cooking Japanese stir-fried udon, udon noodles added to a skillet with chicken, carrots, and onions in savory sauce, then covered with a lid to steam and absorb flavor.

Add the dark green parts of scallion and mix everything together. Remove the pan from the heat and it's ready to serve!

Stir fried udon with chicken, onion, carrots, shiitake mushroom and scallion in a cast iron skillet.

An overhead view of stir fried udon with chicken, onion, carrots, shiitake mushroom and scallion in a cast iron skillet.

Tips and Tricks

Since this dish cooks quickly, it’s important to prepare all the ingredients in advance.
The frozen udon is already cooked, so you just need to heat it through and toss it with the other ingredients. This should take only 2–3 minutes. Overcooking will make the udon lose its characteristic bounciness.
Feel free to swap the chicken for any protein of your choice and add extra veggies to make it a more balanced meal.

Recipe FAQs

What's bonito flakes? Do I have to used it?

Bonito flakes are thin, dried shavings of fermented tuna. I highly recommend using it as it gives this dish a very nice smoky and savory flavor. You can usually find it at your local Asian grocery store or on Amazon. If you don't use it very often, you can get the kind in small packets like this, and use one packet at a time.

Do you have a recommend brand of udon noodles?

I usually look for Sanuki udon made in Japan because it has a bouncier and chewier texture.

Does the leftover stir fried udon reheat well?

You can definitely reheat the leftover in microwave; however, the udon may lose its chewiness and become more limp.

Close-up of a plate of stir-fried chicken udon noodles with pieces of chicken, carrots, green onions, and mushrooms, with chopsticks picking up a portion of the glossy noodles.

I hope you'll enjoy this stir fried udon with chicken as much as my family!

Happy cooking!

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