Kimchi Udon Soup
Kimchi udon soup is a warm noodle soup with savory, umami-rich flavors from the dashi and kimchi. I recommend adding tofu, fish cakes, shiitake, and crown daisy, but you can easily customize the toppings to your liking as well.
This flavorful noodle soup is simple and easy to prepare. I usually order kimchi udon at the Japanese restaurants back in Korea. Since I don’t often see this dish being served here in the States I decided to write my own recipe so that I could recreate this comforting, heartwarming dish right at home.
Dashima Broth Base
The soup is made with a dried kelp (dashima, 다시마) and dried anchovy (myulchi, 멸치) base. Dashima broth is commonly used in Korean and Japanese cuisine and adds an important depth of flavor that is savory and umami-rich.
Normally, you would have to gut large, dried anchovies before using them. To make things more convenient, I like to use this dried anchovy seafood soup packet that you simply let simmer in water for about 10-15 minutes. I also use this broth to make my doenjang jiggae.
Besides dashi, udon broth is commonly prepared with soy sauce and mirin. I also use Korean radish (moo, 무) since it makes the soup taste more refreshing. The kimchi also gives the soup a bit of tang and a kick of spice.
Kimchi Udon Soup Toppings
I like to add tofu, fish cakes (odeng, 오뎅), shiitake mushrooms, and crown daisy (ssukgat, 쑥갓) to this dish. You can always substitute these with other vegetables or protein like onions and thinly sliced beef. However, I highly recommend keeping the crown daisy. It has a unique and distinct herbaceous flavor that perfectly complements the savory udon soup. You can usually find crown daisy at your local Asian grocery store.
Mise En Place
If you make this Kimchi Udon Soup I would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment and/or recipe rating at the bottom of this page. And if you have a photo of your food, be sure to tag me on Instagram!
Kimchi Udon Soup
Ingredients
- 600 g fresh udon noodles, (~3 200g packs)
Udon Broth Base
- 8 cups water
- 400 g Korean radish, peeled and chopped (small radish)
- 2 anchovy seafood soup packet
- 120 g onion (about ½ onion)
- 8 garlic cloves
Udon Broth Seasoning
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp mirin
- ½ tsp salt (or TT)
- 3 tbsp kimchi brine
Udon Toppings
- 1 ½ cup Korean fish cakes
- 1 ½ cup kimchi, chopped
- 16 oz firm tofu, sliced
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup crown daisy
Instructions
- Add the water and udon broth base ingredients in a large pot, and bring it to a boil (takes about 15 min).
- Let it simmer for about 30 min, removing the soup packets at 15 min.
- Remove the garlic, radish, soup packet, and onion from the broth stock. You should have about 7 ½ cups of broth.
- Stir in the udon ingredients for the udon broth seasoning.
- Add the udon toppings to the soup and let it simmer for a couple minutes.
- Cook the udon noodles according to the package instructions.
- Add some noodles, soup, and soup toppings to a bowl. Serve immediately.