Delicious Yaki Udon

• 500 g udon noodles
• 250g chicken thighs
• 1 carrot
• ¼ cabbage
• ½ onion
• 1 spring onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tabletablespoon Japanese sake (or dry sherry)
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons tonkatsu sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Garnish

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving

PREPARATION

1. Slice the carrot and onion into fine matchsticks, shred the cabbage and slice the chicken into 3cm-wide strips.

2. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or ramekin.

BUILD YOUR WOK CLOCK: place your sliced onion at 12 o’clock, then arrange the spring onions, carrots, chicken bowl, cabbage, noodles and sauce clockwise around your plate.

COOKING

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over a high heat until smoking-hot. Add the onions, and spring onions and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned and slightly softened.

5. Reduce the heat to medium (so as not to burn the onions), push the veg to the side of the wok and add ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil to the centre.

6. Bring the wok back to smoking point, add the carrots followed by chicken and stir-fry 3–5 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Put the cooked ingredients back onto the wok clock plate.

7. Heat a further ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok to high heat, add the noodles and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the sauce and coat the noodles with it for an extra minute return the vegetables, chicken and cabbage to the wok. Stir the noodles from the centre of the pan outwards, while shaking your wok back and forth, until they are evenly coloured by the dark soy sauce. (This is what we call the ‘tummy and head movement’ at the School.)

8. Garnish with shredded spring onion and sesame seeds