Yaki Udon is a stir fried noodle dish made with a variation of ingredients, so it’s a great way to clean out your fridge. In this particular recipe, I used scallops and baby bok choy – but feel free to use whatever vegetables you like, such as: spinach, carrots, broccoli, or cabbage. Or other proteins like shrimp, beef, chicken, or even tofu.
When purchasing scallops, you may notice they are generally labeled either ‘wet’ or ‘dry’. Whenever possible, go for dry scallops. They have not been treated with sodium tripolyphospate, a solution that adds moisture to the scallops thus increasing their shelf life. That means ‘wet’ scallops are generally not as fresh and you’re paying for the added water weight. Due to the excess water, wet scallops will also be more difficult brown, no matter how hot you get the pan. Likewise, the additive solution can also disturb the delicate flavor of the scallops.
When cooking scallops, you want the pan to be HOT! Add the scallops to the pan and sear each side for 1 1/2 minutes. Resist the urge to move them around! If you move them before they’ve had a chance to sear properly, they will stick to the pan. Be careful not overcook the scallops – like shrimp, overcooked scallops become rubbery.
Although yaki udon is a Japanese dish, I have combined a number of non-traditional flavors, which goes to show you how versatile this can be – you can really tailor it to your liking. With just a few easy tips, this is a quick and easy meal to prepare anytime during the week!
- ⅛ cup low sodium soy sauce, plus 2 tablespoons
- ¼ cup orange juice, about 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- ½ pound dry scallops
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ pound baby bok choy, ends trimmed, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup beef stock
- ½ teaspoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 packages (14 ounces) sanuki udon, (If frozen, boil. If refrigerated, place in a bowl of warm water to separate the noodles. Drain.)
- bonito flakes, garnish
- In a small bowl combine an ⅛ cup low sodium soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, and sriracha. Add the scallops and allow to marinate for 15 minutes.
- Remove the scallops from the marinade and pat them dry. In a large wok or saute pan, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat. Just before the oil begins to smoke, sear each side for 1½ minutes (do not move them around pan once you set them down). Remove the scallops from the pan and allow to rest.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Toss in the bok choy and stir fry until bright green and wilted, about 1 minute. Add the beef stock, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, molasses, sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Add the drained noodles to the pan and cook over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 minutes, allowing the noodles to soak up the sauce.
- Gently toss the scallops in with the noodles and cook until warmed, about 30 seconds. Plate the yaki udon and sprinkle with bonito flakes. Serve and Enjoy!
Just saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it’s too gorgeous! I love the idea of putting scallop into Udon but the marinade just make it even better! The combination of the sauce sounds great and I can taste its deliciousness in my imagination. Pinned and saved! Gonna try out this soon 🙂
Thanks, Maggie! I like using this marinade with mildly flavored seafood like shrimp or tilapia. I hope you enjoy the dish! 🙂
Oh man! Orange juice, molasses, Siracha and soy?! This is the kind of adventurous flavor profile we tip our hats to at TBAFP. Trying this recipe (with beer) for sure!
Thanks! I’d love to hear what beer your choose to pair with this dish!
This is so fancy! I appreciate the tip on buying dry scallops, sounds like a fabulous idea. I am such a huge fan of baby bok chou, too, I love to see it used in recipes. I love how versatile this dish is!
Thanks, Meggan! 🙂
This is the most indulgent udon stir fry I have ever seen!! Scallops? GOLD! And thank you for the tip re: not moving the scallops. That is one of the reasons why I hesitate to buy them – because they are expensive and I can never get them to sear perfectly. And now I know it’s because I like to pretend I’m a pro chef and I shake the pan and move them around a bit (like when I sear prawns) and clearly that’s the problem.
I like the marinade you’ve used for the scallops, I would never have thought to use orange juice but can totally see it working with the other ingredients you’ve used, especially the lime. And the sauce you use for this stir fry looks great too, no jar sauce in sight!! Tucking this one away to make in the near future!!
Lol – you crack me up! Though I think you could hang with the best of them 🙂 It does seem a bit counterintuitive to leave something be in a hot pan in order for it not to stick – but the food will actually release on its own when its ready. I feel like there must be a Buddhist proverb stating something like that about lessons on life 😉
The marinade I use is actually my go-to when cooking any type of seafood that is light and delicate. It really brightens up the flavors! Hope you enjoy!
I really appreciated the ‘scallop lesson’ in this post! I adore scallops but had no idea how to cook them, which is a shame because they’re so expensive to order in restaurants (much better to cook them at home).
This whole dish looks absolutely delicious. You’ve got so many amazing flavours in there!
Thanks, Helen! I love scallops, but you’re right – they’re so expensive to order in a restaurant! With just a few easy tips, you can enjoy them at home and save a little money 🙂
2 of my favorite foods, noodles and scallops. What an amazing recipe, I really need to try this recipe.
Mine too! 🙂
I love the idea of a fridge clean up meal and this one is just perfect! I love all the flavors in this dish and especially the sriracha! Pinned
I hate throwing away vegetables because they’ve sat in the fridge too long! The nice thing about this, you really can use up all those wonderful veggies without letting them go to waste! 🙂