Name: Yaki udon with mushrooms
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 490 gm dried thick udon noodles; 40 gm butter; ½ onion, thinly sliced; 150 gm shimeji mushrooms, torn apart; 100 gm chestnut mushrooms (see note), trimmed; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tsp sesame oil; 3 sheets nori, toasted over a flame; Marinated pork; 2 scotch fillet pork steaks (about 180gm each), thinly sliced; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil

Yaki udon is a stir-fried izakaya-style noodle dish found across Japan. Here we’ve finished the noodles with a seasoning of nori – the dried seaweed sheets are toasted over a flame and crumbled over for added texture and flavour. Charred cabbage makes a good alternative to the mushrooms, too.

Ingredients

490 gm dried thick udon noodles

40 gm butter

½ onion, thinly sliced

150 gm shimeji mushrooms, torn apart

100 gm chestnut mushrooms (see note), trimmed

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

3 sheets nori, toasted over a flame

Marinated pork

2 scotch fillet pork steaks (about 180gm each), thinly sliced

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1.For marinated pork, combine pork, soy sauce and oil in a bowl and set aside to marinate (5 minutes).

2.Meanwhile, boil noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender (5-6 minutes). Drain well, then rinse. Drain in a colander until required.

3.Heat a wok over high heat. Add butter and when hot, add onion and fry, stirring often, until starting to turn golden (2-3 minutes). Scatter pork evenly over wok and cook without stirring until seared and golden brown (1-2 minutes), then stir-fry until almost cooked (1-2 minutes). Add mushrooms and toss to combine until starting to wilt (2-3 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.

4.Add noodles to wok and stir-fry to heat (1-2 minutes), then add soy sauce and oil, and toss to combine. Add pork mixture and toss to combine. Crumble over nori to taste and serve.