One of my favourite dishes at Kinka Izakaya is their Udon Carbonara, it’s creamy, rich and the perfect example of fusion done right. Unfortunately, it’s not available at all of their locations. When Stephen and I recently stopped by the Kinka North York outpost, we were disappointed that Udon Carbonara was not on the menu.
As we walked home (after a still delicious meal), we talked about making the dish at home ourselves. After all, we had taken a cooking class in Rome and learned how to make Spaghetti Carbonara. Our instructor had also sent us incredibly detailed instructions, so why not try it with udon? The first time we tried, the egg ended up a little scrambled, but with a few tweaks on timing (ie. letting the pan cool a bit more), delish. In the recipe, Stephen and I used frozen pucks of udon, which was perfect for two bowls. If you’re using the smaller instant kind, I would use 2 packs.
We also experimented with the cured meat substitute in place of of guanciale. The recipe below uses Chinese sausage, but I also really liked Chinese cured pork belly. Otherwise, thick cut bacon will always work.
- 1 Chinese sausage
- 1 pack udon noodles
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
- salt and pepper to taste
- Dice Chinese sausage into 1cm chunks.
- Finely grate the Parmesan cheese and set aside.
- In a large pot, boil water and cook udon as per instructions on package.
- While the udon cooks, heat a pan on medium heat and saute the Chinese sausage until crispy.
- In a bowl, combine the grated parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Once the udon is cooked, strain and add to the pan with the Chinese sausage, saute together for 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pan, stirring the noodles continuously, making the sure the eggs doesn't turn into scrambled eggs. Once the noodles are coated, plate immediately.
- Top with freshly cracked black pepper, more grated Parmesan cheese and serve.
Assemble ingredients
Dice Chinese sausage
Grate Parmesan cheese
Mix grated cheese, egg, salt and pepper
Saute Chinese sausage until crispy
In a separate pot, cook udon then add to the cooked Chinese sausage and saute together
Add egg mixture to cooked udon, stirring continuously
Once the noodles are coated with the egg mixture, plate immediately
Top with freshly cracked black pepper and more grated cheese before serving
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