Comforting Kitsune Udon Noodle Soup

A bowl of kitsune udon

One thing about Asian Americans is we always have some sort of dried noodle and soup base in the pantry. We wanted to make something that is very easy, uses pantry items we already had, and has a broth that warms the soul. Kitsune udon is a classic Japanese soup featuring udon with fried tofu skin and dashi broth. Based on Japanese folklore, the mythical fox loves aburaage – the signature topping for this type of udon.

Aburaage vs. Inariage

What’s the difference between aburaage (abura- age) and inariage (inari-age)? Aburaage is deep fried tofu skin. Inariage is aburaage in a sweet marinade. You may recognize inariage being used for inari (short for inarizushi) in sushi restaurants, the deep fried tofu pillows stuffed with rice.

Japanese Kitsune Udon

Get cozy with this hot noodle soup, featuring aburaage. You'll learn to make this flavorful dish at home for when its cold or rainy outside.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Asian, Japanese

Keyword dashi, noodles, udon

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings

Equipment

saucepan

Ingredients

4 cups dashi
4 cups water
1 package dried or fresh udon noodles
1 cup beach mushrooms
4 baby bok choy
1 can inariage (deep fried tofu skins in sweet marinade)
1 piece narutomaki (fish cake) sliced
itokiri togarashi (shredded chili pepper)

Instructions

Combine 4 cups dashi with 4 cups water in a pot. Bring to low simmer.
In a separate pot, boil udon according to package instructions. When noodles are done remove from pot and dunk in cold water for 20 seconds. Set aside in a bowl with a little cold water to keep it from drying out.
Steam the bok choy and mushrooms. Put them in a steamer basket then place in a pot with about 2 inches of boiling water. Cover with a lid and steam for 5 min.
Taste the dashi broth. Add more water or dashi to taste if needed, aiming for a slightly salty umami flavor.
Place the udon in your serving bowl, ladel the broth over the noodles, then top with veggies, inariage, narutomaki, itokiri togarashi, and chopped green onion.

Notes

Dashi is a broth made from kelp and bonito. It can be made at home but we like to buy it at the Asian market for money and time efficiency. You can buy it as a powder or as liquid concentrate. In this recipe we used concentrate. Due to the wide variety of brands/products, we recommend that you taste your broth and adjust the water/dashi ratio to taste.

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Originally published on 12/14/19. Updated on 5/11/23 with recipe card picture.

Noelle Noriesta

Noelle Noriesta, a Filipino-American home cook, is the principal creator of Fork and Spoon. Her recipes have a modern and playful approach inspired by her food experiences growing up in the Bay Area and now in Los Angeles. --Read more about me