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Ketchup Udon Noodles Recipe for 1 Year+ - Being Naomi

Yummy Ketchup Udon With Seafood Sticks And Vegetables (1 Year+)

7 January 2021
Ketchup Udon for Feature Image

In Japan, Ketchup Udon Noodles, aka ‘Napolitan Udon’ ナポリタンうどん is a dish found on the kids’ menu, adults’ menu and in home cooking.

Udon Noodles are really versatile and great for babies and toddlers because they’re soft, chunky and easy to eat.

When Jin was in his weaning phase, I chopped the udon up into little pieces and stewed it until it was really soft but once he turned 1 year, I was able to make him all sorts of udon dishes like fried udon and soup udon but this is his favourite my Ketchup Udon Noodles for 1 year+.
Enjoy!

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Ingredients for Ketchup Udon

What Are Udon Noodles

Udon うどん is a soft, thick wheat noodle, basically made from flour, water and salt.

There are many brands out there so be sure to check the ingredients label. Some are literally made from just these 3 ingredients but others have some additions.

How Do You Eat It

It’s such a simple noodle but massively versatile. It can be eaten hot, cold, in soup, fried, stewed or even mash it up and create something new!

There are honestly SO MANY dishes for udon but I would say the most common ways it’s served in Japan are:

Kake Udon かけうどん

Served in a warm fish broth

Kake udon noodles in soup

Zaru Udon ざるうどん

Served cold and eaten by dipping in a sauce

Zaru udon noodles served cold and dipped in a sauce

Yaki Udon 焼うどん

Fried with meat/seafood and vegetables

Yaki udon - fried udon noodles with meat and veg

Where Can I Buy Udon Noodles

I used to only be able to find udon in Japanese and oriental supermarkets but over the years, I’m so pleased to see that local UK supermarkets have started selling them in their ‘World’ sections.

I found these at Sainsbury’s:

Samlip Fresh ‘Nama’ Udon £0.60 per 1 pack of 200g (1 adult serving)

Nama-Udon-from-Sainsburys

Yutaka Dry Udon Noodles £1.30 for 250g (3 adult servings)

Dry-Udon-from-Sainsburys

Available Fresh Or Dried

You can buy it in fresh and dry form, just like pasta. When I say ‘fresh’, it’s like the type you see in the fresh pasta aisle in supermarkets, which is much faster to cook than the dry version.

I always have stock of the fresh packs in the cupboard because they’re perfect for super quick meals. This dry version from Yutaka is good too, a reputable manufacturer, but they’re thinner, flatter and have a slightly firmer texture than the fresh ones so I use those for soup udon.

And Now For the Ketchup Udon Recipe

Final dish of Ketchup Udon

Ketchup Udon Noodles With Seafood Sticks and Veggies (1 Year+)

Being Naomi
This dish is a great way to pack a meal with vegetables and protein. My boy loves this so I batch cook it often.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 1 Adult or 2-3 Toddlers

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Pack Udon Noodles Vacuum pack containing fresh udon
  • 4 Seafood Sticks
  • 1 Carrot About 30g
  • 1 Small Onion About 60g
  • 5 Little Gem Leaves About 60g
  • 1 tbsp Oil Rapeseed/Sunflower or similar
  • 2 tbsp Water
  • 1 tbsp Ketchup I use 'Stokes' because it has less sugar & salt

Optional:

  • 1 Drizzle of Toasted Sesame Oil

Instructions
 

Prep:

  • Onion, carrot and lettuce – finely sliced/shredded/grated. Any shape as long as they’re thin so quicker to cook
    Seafood Sticks – cut in half, roll between your hands and separate into strips
    Showing how the veg and seafood sticks should be prepared
  • Take the udon noodles out of the pack and cut into a grid of 8 (or more if you want the udon pieces smaller) and break the noodle up with your fingers
    Showing how to prepare the udon

Lets Get Cooking!

  • In a large frying pan/wok, heat the oil and fry the onions on a low heat until they start to soften. About 4 mins. Putting the lid on and letting them steam a little helps to soften them
    Step1 Fry onions
  • Add the carrot and fry for 2 mins with the lid on
    Step2 Add the carrot and fry with the onion
  • Add the seafood sticks and lettuce and fry for about 2 mins
    Step3 Add the seafood sticks and lettuce and fry
  • Add the udon and water. Turn the heat up to medium and put the lid of for 2 mins to let everything steam
  • Add the ketchup, mix well and serve!
    Step4 and 4 Add the udon, water and ketchup

Optional:

  • For more depth of flavour, add a drizzle of sesame oil at the end, mix and serve
    Final dish of Ketchup Udon

Notes

Storage:
Can be frozen as soon as it has cooled down. Consume within 3 months.
 
Tailor the dish for your baby or for adults:

Keeping It Clean  – Don’t fry the veggies with oil. Microwave them for 2 mins, add to the frying pan, then continue to follow the instructions. Instead of ketchup, use tomato puree with no salt or sugar.
 
For Adults – Add the sesame oil step at the end and a sprinkle of chilli powder/flakes for a kick.
 
Make it Vegetarian – Leave out the seafood sticks and add in some more vegetables like beansprouts, grated courgette, anything you want!
Keyword easy, ketchup, protein, quick, Udon, vegetables

Give This Recipe A Try

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear know how it turned out in the comments below!

Boy-eating-ketchup-udon-with-a-fork-part-1
Boy eating Ketchup Udon with a fork part 2
Boy-eating-ketchup-udon-with-a-fork-part-3

2 Comments

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  • Viv 5 September 2021 at 11:51 am

    5 stars
    Just cooked this and while bee (13 months) didn’t have much as it is lunch time, she tried it and asked for more. I will definitely pick up a better ketchup and this will be made again and frozen too.
    Husband also approved it. Thank you.
    What do you do with leftover fish sticks?

    • BeingNaomi 6 September 2021 at 9:09 pm

      That’s so great to hear Viv! Thank you 🙂
      My toddler and husband also love this dish!
      I usually try and buy the fish sticks that are freezable because that way I can take out what I need and they defrost very quickly. I put them in fried rice or make a salad with cucumber, finely sliced spring onion, mayo and a touch of lemon.
      Hope this helps!