In the case of Kitsune Udon (“fox” udon) it’s topped with a piece of fried tofu that’s been seasoned with soy sauce, sake and sugar, called inari-agé. If you’ve ever had inarizushi you’re probably familiar with these flavorful fox colored pouches that are used to hold a ball of sushi rice inside, but they’re equally delicious served over a bowl of steaming udon noodles. Kitsune udon is simple to make, but like a cunning fox, there are a few tricks to making it even easier and better. The first trick is to par-boiling the aburaage before seasoning it. This rids the tofu of excess oil, making the aburaage easier to season and preventing your kitsune udon from getting greasy. Once seasoned, the inari-agé will last for a week in the refrigerator and much longer in the freezer, so you can make a big batch of these and freeze them in single serving sizes so you have some around when you find yourself craving a big bowl of comfort. My other trick for making a batch of kitsune udon quickly is to always have Mentsuyu on hand. Mentsuyu, which literally means “noodle broth” is a noodle soup base made with dashi broth, soy sauce, sake and other seasonings and you can get my mentsuyu recipe here. If you end up using a bottled mentsuyu be sure to read the directions for diluting it as every brand comes in different concentrations. As for the udon, I like using fresh noodles, but dried ones will work as well. Regardless of the type of noodles you use, be sure to cook them for slightly less than the time specified on the package as the noodles will continue to cook in the broth. You can also make this with soba noodles, which would make it Kitsune Soba (きつね蕎麦).
📖 Recipe
