This recipe is adapted from SoSimYum, Leo's Japanese Dojo and Cooking with Eddy Tseng after several rounds of experimenting.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
1. 200g plain flour (I use the organic flour from 365 Supermarket)
2. 60ml egg (an egg is around 55-60ml, I will top up the egg to 60ml) + water to 85ml
3. Approx. 1/2 tsp olive oil (2ml)
Directions:
1. Attach the largest noodle size disc to the pasta machine.
2. Turn on the pasta maker and gradually add in the wet ingredients.
3. Run the mixing cycle of 3 mins each for 5 times (total 15 min). The mixture will look lumpy, but do not be tempted to add more liquid.
4. Rest for at least 1 hour.
5. Mix and extrude with biscuit disc or a disc of a bigger diameter noodle size.
6. Return dough back into the pasta machine and extrude with udon disc. Noodles the come out will be perfect, not frayed, not so sticky, a little sticky. Flour with cornstarch in you are keeping them for next time and not consuming them immediately.
7. Bring to boil a pot of water, cook one serving at a time for 10 mins (check for doneness after 7 mins).
8. Drain and rinse under running cold water immediately (optional).
Detailed Directions:
1. Attach disc with the biggest hole to the Philips pasta machine.
To mix the ingredients:
2. Gradually add in the wet ingredients. The mixture will look dry, but do not be tempted to add more liquid.
3. Run the mixing cycle of 3 mins each for 5 times.
4. Rest for 1-2 hrs to relax the gluten. Cover with plastic wrap over the feeding of liquid opening. I rest it for 1 hr 30 mins.
(These steps above by the pasta machine are equivalent to combing the flour to a hard dough by hand in the noodle making process.)
To knead the dough:
5. Mix and start by extruding the noodles using the disc with the biggest noodles diameter disc to knead the dough - this is so that you won't stress your machine at this point. Cut into small inches size and add them back to the pasta maker. This step is to use the machine to knead the dough.
6. Your dough should not be sticky, doesn't fold easily, but elastic in the sense that when you press it with a finger, the indent is gradual. You don't have to let the dough rest again.
(These steps above by the pasta machine are equivalent to kneading the dough by hand in the noodle making process.)
To extrude the noodles:
7. Change the noodle disc to udon disc (2.5mm x 2.5mm) and select the extrude setting. The noodles should come out looking nice, not frayed and not sticky. It also doesn't break easily. If you are going to store it instead of eating them immediately, flour it with corn starch so that they will stay separate and not be sticking to each other.
To cook the noodles:
You can eat it on its own with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil, or use it for stir-fry and soup.
8. If you are eating on its own:
8a. Bring to boil a pot of water, cook one serving at a time for 10 mins (check for doneness after 7 mins).
8b. Drain and rinse under running cold water immediately to stop the cooking, and gently wash and rub away the starch around the noodles with your hands until the water is clear. You will notice that the noodles has pliability, but not sticky. Do not soak in the water for too long, as the noodles will turn soggy.
9. If you are making udon in soup:
9a. Bring to boil a pot of water, cook noodles for 5 mins so it is not fully done. Then drop it into your soup without having to rinse them in cold water.
10. If you are using the noodles for stir-fry:
10a. Bring to boil a pot of water, cook noodles for 5 mins so it is not fully done.
10b. Drain and rinse under running cold water immediately to stop the cooking, and gently wash and rub away the starch around the noodles with your hands until the water is clear. You will notice that the noodles has pliability, but not sticky. Do not soak in the water for too long, as the noodles will turn soggy. If you are going to wait for quite some time before using them, coat them with some olive oil to prevent them from sticking together after some time.
You are ready to use the noodles in stir-fry dishes :-)
If you have followed these steps correctly with mixing, resting and kneading, your noodles should taste firm, but chewy and springy.
Here is a stir-fry recipe: https://youtu.be/mc5Gl9ZycmM?si=vTzISFAJD3QkR-PZ
Storage:
Stores up to 5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
Additional Information:
Traditional Udon noodles are usually made without egg, but I like my noodles to be more nutritious, especially for our kids. Thus, this recipe comes with adding an egg. This noodles only uses 3 ingredients in the making, but the noodles tastes superb, smooth and has a lovely texture. I didn't follow the Japanese recipes of adding a lot of salt into the dough, but it still came out great. I find that adding salt makes the noodles brittle during extrusion, cooking and eating. After the noodles are made, I cooked it in salt water instead and it tasted pretty much like Japanese udon. Daddy FECS gave the thumbs-up.
References:
Attach the largest noodle size disc to the pasta machine. Turn on the pasta maker and gradually add in the wet ingredients.
Mix 5 cycles without extruding (After a cycle of mixing, pause and unplug the machine, then plug in and press mix button again for each cycle - each cycle is 3 mins, total 15 mins) until the dough looks like the one above - in small lumps and doesn't stick to your hand.
The mixture should look lumpy like the above. but do not be tempted to add more liquid. The mixture may look dry, but do not be tempted to add more liquid. It will be compact and hold its shape when pressed, but it doesn't stick to your hand.
Cover the openings with a plastic wrap.
I also place a kitchen towel over it. Let it rest for at least 1 hour.
This is how it looks like after it has rested.
Close up.
After resting for an hour, turn on the machine, mix and extrude with biscuit disc or a disc of a bigger diameter noodle size.
Cut or tear the dough into approx. 2 inches each.
Add them back into the pasta maker.
Change the disc to Udon disc. and extrude straight away. If there is left-over dough in the machine, press the "Extrude" button and continue extruding the noodles.
Place them in a plastic container dust with some corn starch, especially if you wish to store it for a few days.
Close-up.
Boil a pot of water, add 1 tsp salt per 1 litre of water. Add udon, or frozen udon and could between 10 mins, checking in between for doneness. If you are using the noodles for soup, don't fully cook the noodles, as the noodles will be soggy when you serve them. Cook for 5 minutes instead and dish it out into a noodle bowl like below and add your favorite toppings.
Homemade udon noodle soup :-)
