Whenever I make udon, it tastes, well – terrible. It tastes like water, no matter how much soy sauce I add in, and the dashi powder in the broth makes me uneasy as it tastes really off. It’s nothing like the udon you’d get in restaurants. My “recipe” (which I got off tiktok ) is
200ml water
1 packet of dashi powder (katsuobushi)
20ml soy sauce
20ml honmirin
1/2 tsp sugar
I feel like Im using all the right ingredients, its just “missing something”. Theres no umami taste whatsoever. I just dont know what Im doing wrong. I always end up throwing the soup away as it tastes so off. I even tried using store bought udon base but it still tastes weird to me. Help would be very much appreciated.
3 comments
How about adding some miso? I love miso soup and make my own. I then add different noodles or rice depending on my mood.
300cc water, ajinomoto dashi packet, soy sauce 1.5tbsp, mirin (IMPORTANT) 1.5-1tsbp, salt 0.5tsp
Bring to a boil and taste, add more soy sauce or mirin depending on your preference.
This is the failsafe recipe I grew up on as a Japanese kid when we ran out of “うどんスープの素” which if you can find, just use that. It’s much tastier. Google “higashimaru udon soup packets”
Q: Is my use of bonito flakes correct?
A: Adding powdered bonito flakes doesn’t result in a delicious outcome. You need to either use bonito broth powder or simmer the bonito flakes without bringing them to a boil to extract the flavor.
Also, I agree with yoofka’s opinion. “Higashimaru udon soup packets” are delicious.
Q: Even when I use commercially available udon soup packets, it doesn’t taste good.
A: It may not taste good with hard water. Please cook with soft water.
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Please consider adding kelp broth as well. The combination of bonito and kelp broth creates a synergistic umami effect, increasing the richness of flavors tenfold.