Shrimp Tempura Udon (Japanese noodle soup)

Name: Shrimp Tempura Udon (Japanese Noodle Soup)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Vegetable oil; 1 cup Tempura batter mix; ¾ cup Ice water; 6 shrimp with tails (shelled and deveined); 6 premade store-bought frozen shrimp tempura (optional, instead of making from scratch); 3 cups Water; 1 Dashi packet; 1 tbsp Light soy sauce; 1 tsp Sea salt; 1 tsp Sugar; 2 tbsp Mirin (sweet cooking sake); 2 Bundles udon noodles ((6 oz dry noodles or 14 oz refrigerated noodles)); 8 Slices kamaboko fishcake; 1 Green onion (green part only) (thinly sliced)

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Shrimp Tempura Udon is a Japanese noodle soup featuring umami-packed broth (dashi), thick udon noodles, and crispy golden shrimp tempura. The combination of ingredients are flavorful, filling, and perfect for a cozy night at home. Make the dish from scratch or use store-bought shrimp tempura to create the meal in under 20 minutes.

Shrimp Tempura Udon in a bowl with kamaboko, sliced green onions, and dashi.

We love udon so much that we eat it every week! In order to reduce the amount we spend on our pricey habit, we have developed our own tasty udon recipe. Not only is the recipe restaurant quality, it's also simple and easy.

Jump to:

What is Tempura?
What is Udon?
About This Dish
Ingredients
Substitutions
Variations
How to Make Shrimp Tempura Udon
FAQ
Other Types of Udon
How to Store Tempura Udon Soup
Top Tips for Frying Tempura
Related Recipes
Did You Like This Recipe?
📖 Recipe
How to Store Tempura Udon Soup
Top Tips for Frying Tempura

What is Tempura?

Tempura is a Japanese dish where vegetables or seafood is lightly battered then deep fried. Tempura is typically lighter and crispier than other fried food and makes a great side or addition to other Japanese main dishes like Udon, Chicken Katsu, or Sake Kama.

What is Udon?

Udon is a thick wheat noodle that is often enjoyed in a flavorful hot broth. When enjoyed in broth, it is often accompanied by additional ingredients like beef (niku udon), egg, or tempura. Udon broth consists of dashi (Japanese soup stock), soy sauce, and mirin. These flavors combine to make a unique umami flavored broth.

About This Dish

Taste - Shrimp Tempura Udon is a flavor medley. The shrimp is briny and rich while the soup is light yet hearty. The green onion adds a mild onion flavor.
Texture - The noodles are smooth and chewy while the shrimp and other toppings are crunchy. The combination of noodles and toppings with the light soup creates a perfectly balanced bite.
Effort - This dish is easier than it looks. The udon broth and noodles are simple and frying the shrimp tempura is straightforward.
Time - It only takes 35 minutes to make this restaurant quality udon. In order to minimize post-dinner cleanup, be sure to clean as you go.

Ingredients

Shrimp Tempura

Vegetable oil - Vegetable oil has a high smoke point (400˚F to 450˚F) so it will withstand a high temperature before it starts to burn.
Tempura batter mix - Tempura Batter mix provides the flour base for the tempura. Kikkoman tempura batter is great because it has a mild taste and is easy to fry with.
Ice water - Ice water prevents the tempura batter from absorbing too much oil.
Shrimp - Get them with tails, shelled and deveined. When fried in the tempura batter, they are crispy and crunchy outside and a juicy inside.

Udon

Dashi - Dashi is a group of Japanese broths that form the base for miso soup and other broth soups. Dashi accentuates the umami flavor of the dish.
Soy sauce - Soy sauce adds a slightly salty and sweet umami flavor to the broth.
Sugar - Sugar adds sweetness and balances the savory flavors in the broth.
Mirin - Mirin is sweet cooking sake. It balances the salty soy sauce and bring out sweet notes in umami-rich dashi fish broth.
Udon noodles - Udon noodles are white and thick wheat noodles.
Kamaboko - Kamaboko is Japanese fish cake. It adds a mild and sweet taste to the dish.
Green onion - Green onion adds a spicy and aromatic bite to the dish.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

Frozen Udon Noodles - You can use frozen udon noodles as well. They are usually precooked he and just need to be thawed. However, they may be harder to find and you may have to go to a Japanese grocery store to get them.
Prawn Tempura - You can replace shrimp with prawns if you prefer them to shrimp or you only have prawns available.

Variations

Egg - Add a soft boiled egg for extra protein and flavor. Follow the same instructions for our jammy soft boiled egg, but cook the egg for 6 minutes instead of 7. The egg will cook a little in the broth.
Deluxe - Add both green onion and a soft boiled egg for extra deliciousness.
Inari - Inari is sushi rice stuffed in fried tofu skins. Serve Udon with Inari for a lightly sweet side that balances out the savoriness of the udon.
Vegetable Tempura Udon - Fry vegetables in tempura batter to add variety to the udon. In order to have crispy tempura, you should only fry vegetables that are dry (low in water content). Good vegetables to fry are carrots, eggplant, kabocha squash, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, bell pepper, Japanese sweet potato, and cauliflower.
Tentsuyu - Tentsuyu is a tempura dipping sauce consisting of dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. It adds extra umami flavor to the dish.
Spicy - If you want to make the udon broth spicy, add 1 teaspoon of Shichimi Togarashi to the broth.

How to Make Shrimp Tempura Udon

Easy steps to make shrimp tempura for udon.

Prepare shrimp - Use a sharp knife and make three incisions across the belly of the shrimp to prevent the shrimp from curling. Then open the cuts with your hands and press down on the back of the shrimp to straighten.
Heat oil - Add the oil to a skillet so it is at least 2 inches deep. Then heat oil 350 degrees.
Prepare batter - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the batter mix and water until combined.
Fry - Dip each shrimp in the batter and drop it into the hot oil immediately. Fry shrimp for 2-4 minutes until shrimp are cooked and the batter is golden. Make sure to turn the shrimp halfway through. Once cooked, remove the shrimp from the pan and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil.

Easy steps to make easy shrimp tempura udon.

Make dashi (broth) - In a saucepan, add water, dashi powder/packet, soy sauce, sea salt, sugar, and mirin. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.
Cook noodles - Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add tempura udon noodles. Then cook per the packaging instructions. Finally, strain the noodles.
Assemble - Add noodles and broth to large soup bowls. Then top with kamaboko, green onion, and shrimp tempura. Enjoy immediately.

Hint: Make sure you don't pour the leftover frying oil down the drain. Instead, pour it into a glass jar or container then throw it in the trash.

FAQ

Udon is an extremely popular Japanese dish that has also gained popularity in the United States. Now you can make udon right at home! Here are the answers to the most common udon questions:

How do you pronounce udon?

Udon is pronounced oo-dohn, not oo-dawn or oo-dan.

How do you eat Tempura Udon?

Tempura udon is eaten with chopsticks. Chopsticks are used to eat the tempura, noodles, and other toppings. In order to consume the broth, you typically lift the bowl to your mouth and slurp it. Slurping enhances the flavors and helps cool down the hot noodles. It is also considered polite in Japan.

Is Udon healthy?

When enjoyed in moderation, udon noodles provide a healthy dose of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and other nutrients. Kamaboko is also high in protein and green onions contain fiber and vitamins. If you want to make this udon even healthier, swap out shrimp tempura with inari age (Kitsune udon) or omit toppings all together (kake udon).

Do I need to include shrimp in the recipe?

Not at all! The great thing about udon is that it is highly customizable. You can replace shrimp with your favorite meat (i.e. thinly sliced pork or beef) or make one of the many other types of udon mentioned below.

Where can you buy udon noodles?

You can buy udon noodles at Japanese markets like Mitsuwa or Nijiya or at some common chain grocery stores.

What's the difference between Udon and Ramen?

Both types of noodles are made of wheat flour but udon noodles are thick and straight while ramen noodles are wavy. Ramen broth also tends to have a bold flavor and thick consistency while udon broth is lighter and more subtle.

What is the difference between Udon and Soba?

Udon noodles are wheat based while soba noodles are buckwheat based (gluten free). Udon is also white and thick whereas soba is brown and thin. Finally, udon is typically served in hot broth while soba is typically served warm or cold with a sauce.

Shrimp tempura udon with chopsticks holding shrimp above noodles.

Other Types of Udon

Meat Udon (Niku Udon) - Add pork or thinly sliced beef like shabu shabu beef for a protein filled udon. Season the beef with soy sauce and sugar for extra flavor.
Kake Udon - A simple and traditional udon consisting of hot broth, udon, and green onions.
Kitsune Udon - Kitsune Udon features inari age/aburaage (seasoned fried tofu). This is a great vegetarian option.
Zaru Udon - A cold udon recipe that is served on top of a zaru (bamboo tray). First, you chill the udon noodles in cold water. Then you dip them in cold tsuyu, a savory umami flavored sauce.
Tsukimi Udon - This udon consists of raw egg that poaches in the hot broth. Tsukimi means moon viewing and in this recipe, the egg represents the full moon surrounded by clouds of noodles.
Chikara Udon - Udon topped with toasted or steamed mochi rice cake. The rice cakes melt into the hot broth.
Yaki Udon - Udon noodles stir fried with veggies and pork (or other protein) in a flavorful sauce (soy sauce based).
Kakiage Udon - Kakiage is a mix of vegetables and seafood in a disc-like shape, deep-fried together. The vegetables replace the shrimp tempura or are added for extra fried goodness.
Tanuki Udon - An udon topped with tenkasu (fried tempura bits). It can be served hot or cold, which makes it a popular summertime dish.

How to Store Tempura Udon Soup

Store all leftovers in separate air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat the broth, transfer it into a pot and heat over medium heat, stir occasionally. To reheat the tempura, fry it in a pan on both sides for one minute. Only assemble the udon when you are ready to eat to prevent the noodles from getting soggy. Likewise, make sure the ingredients are stored separately so they don't get soggy while stored.

Top Tips for Frying Tempura

Straighten shrimp - Make 3 incisions on the shrimp bellies and use your fingers to push down and straighten the shrimp so they don't curl when you fry them.
Heat oil properly - Make sure the oil is hot (350˚F to 360˚F) before you fry the shrimp. If you don't have a thermometer, test the oil temperature by dropping a small amount of the tempura batter in the oil to see if it cooks golden brown.
Cook shrimp long enough - If a shrimp gets stuck to the bottom of the pan while frying, it means the oil is not hot enough. In order to unstick the shrimp, just let the shrimp cook longer and once cooked, it will release from the pan.

If you loved this shrimp tempura udon recipe, check out these other delicious Japanese dishes:

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