Udon Noodle Salad, especially cold is my favourite summer time light meal. With the right amount of carbs, loaded with protein and colourful veggies, it has the right balance of flavours too. Marinated tofu, the peanut sauce or dressing, crunchiness from the veggies and come together beautifully to create an awesomely delicious light meal.
Sharing Udon Noodle Salad Recipe With 2025 Alphabet Challenge Group
Reaching letter U is a reminder that the year is coming to end pretty soon! This Alphabet Challenge Group, initiated by Wendy has allowed me to recreate old recipes, discover some new ones and given me the opportunity to finally try out the bookmarked ones. Udon Noodle Salad is one of them. Can you believe it all this time I was looking in the wrong place for Udon Noodles. The first time I cooked with udon noodles was during our visit to Bali in 2019. The supermarkets there would stock them in the refrigerator. So obviously had been looking for them there. Finally, in my not so good French asked for assistance at our local supermarket. He took me to the aisle where all the noodles are kept! Really, soft udons on a shelf!
Ingredients with letter U are a little difficult but not impossible. U is for Urad dal, Ugali, Uji, Ube, Udon, Unsweetened, Unsalted, Uttapam, Upma, Upside down, etc.
U is for Udon Noodles
A Bit More About Udon Noodle Salad
Though I prepared this salad often during the summer, I will be giving it a try during the winter as a warm salad. I may replace the cucumber with mushrooms, broccoli or zucchini as I am not a fan of it being cooked. What I like about this recipe is that you can add any veggies and protein of your choice. Being a vegetarian I went for tofu. If you don’t want to make the peanut sauce or dressing, just make enough of the marination which you can drizzle over the warm salad. What I am trying to say is that this salad is absolutely versatile – make it your own. But, I wouldn’t replace the udon noodles with any other noodles. I love udon noodles. I had them for the first time some years back at a Wagamama Restaurant in London. Thereafter any meal at a Wagamama, it has to be with udon noodles for me.
Some Recipes With Letter U You May Like
URAD DAL/SPLIT BLACK GRAM CURRY
A healthy creamy curry that goes well with plain rice, Roti or Naan. Urad dal or Split Black Gram Curry is a good way to include plant proteins in your diet.
Dal Makhani is a popular lentil dish from the North Indian Cuisine. Dal is lentils and makhani is butter. Therefore as the name suggests this lentil curry is rich and creamy. Both cream and butter contribute to the richness and the spices make it exotically flavourful. The lentils or dal used for this curry is urad or black gram.
Ugali is like a porridge but much more dense made from white maize meal or maize flour. It is the staple diet of the indigenous people of East Africa. Ugali or Nsima as it is known in Kenya, is generally enjoyed with a vegetable and/or meat stew.
Farali Uttapam is a variation of the popular traditional Southern Indian Snack Uttapam. Traditionally, uttapam is made from a batter of rice and urad dal. However, these two are not allowed during fasting days like Navratri, Ekadashi, Janmashtami, Ram Navmi, etc. Therefore, these Farali Uttapams are made from a batter of sama chawal (barnyard millet), sabudana dana (tapioca pearls) and rajgira flour ( amaranth flour). All these three are allowed during the fasting.
Vegetable Upma makes a filling, nutritious and healthy breakfast option. I also add some yogurt to make the meal more wholesome. Upma is a popular South Indian breakfast dish made from semolina. To make it protein rich I like to add cooked chickpeas,beans or paneer. Today I am sharing a recipe where besides a mixture of vegetables I have added cooked chickpeas.
Ragi Shavige Uppitu is a healthy, vegan, delicious breakfast or lunch box meal made from ragi vermicelli and vegetables. Also known as ragi semiya, ragi semiya upma or simply ragi vermicelli. Ragi is finger millet. Ragi vermicelli is widely used especially in South India as a breakfast or snack ingredient. Add vegetables and make an upma, add it to idlis, make kheer.
This traditional Pear Upside Down Cake just got better with added fresh ginger and made it eggfree. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as dessert or enjoy at teatime with coffee or tea.
CHOCOLATE MANGO SMOOTHIE - USING UNSWEETENED COCOA
Chocolate Mango Smoothie, using unsweetened cocoa is a delicious, exotic, filling and healthy smoothie to enjoy as breakfast, as a snack or as a light meal.
Avocado, Bean & Mango Salad is a zesty, nutritious, filling and delicious salad bursting with colours. Like me if you are a lover of both avocado and mango then this salad is just right for you. With homemade Cilantro Dressing, we love to have this salad as a light meal. I
Barley Salad with a Greek lemony dressing is easy to make, ideal potluck salad and makes a healthy meal. Add vegetables of your choice. What I like about this salad is that it stays fresh for at least 3 days in the fridge
Chickpea Chaat Salad is a tasty, gluten free, vegan, slightly sweet, a bit spicy and tangy kind of salad. The star ingredient is boiled chickpeas. Add salad vegetables of your choice. This salad is a version of the popular Indian street food Chana Chaat.
Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style is a must try salad. The dates, sumac, chilli flakes and marinated onion adds a bright, sweet, sour and slightly spicy taste. An excellent way to use up old pita bread, enjoy this salad as a meal or side dish.
Fattoush Salad is a delicious tangy, slightly sweetish, crunchy Levantine Salad made with veggies, herbs and crispy pita. Fattoush is an ideal weight loss salad as it is low in calories, filling and flavourful.
Guava Salad, Burmese Style is full of unique flavours imparted by toasted chickpea flour, fried onion, tamarind, jaggery and the red chilli flakes. Easy to make, it can be enjoyed as a light meal if you are a guava lover like me.
GRILLED HALLOUMI SALAD AND BLACKBERRY SALAD DRESSING
Grilled Halloumi Salad is a colourful, healthy and filling Mediterranean inspired salad. Pair it with a fruity salad dressing like the blackberry one I made at home. Ideal as a summer picnic, party salad or as light meal.
Ice Apple Salad with coconut milk, mint, cucumber and a few spices is a refreshing, cooling and unique summer salad. This salad is full of nutrients and an excellent way to enjoy the superfood - ice apples or tadgola. Serve it as a starter or enjoy it as a light meal. Make sure it is served chilled.
Armenian Jajukh Salad is a refreshing, healthy, easy to make, five ingredient Cucumber and Yogurt Salad. Healthy, easy to make,cooling, refreshing and perfect for the summer season.
Kachumabari, Kenyan Salad is the easiest, most popular and a superbly delicious side dish that goes well with chicken, fish, barbecued meat (nyama choma), kebabs, tikkas, pilau, ugali, etc. It is a basic salad of tomatoes, onion, fresh coriander, lemon and a bit of chilli.
Lobia Paneer Salad is an Indian style, protein rich, healthy, filling and delicious salad. Easy to make, this black eyed beans or cow peas salad is a versatile one. Add any choice of vegetables and additional proteins to it. Enjoy it as a side dish or as a light nourishing meal.
Moong Dal Salad is a popular, protein rich, delicious and healthy South Indian style salad. Known as Kosambari, it is generally made from yellow moong dal, cucumber and coconut. A tempering of mustard seeds, green chillis and curry leaves is added to make the salad flavourful.
Crispy Noodle Salad is not only a filling nutritious light meal on its own but a dish which offers different flavours and textures. Quite easy to make, this salad is pretty versatile as you can add any ingredients that you like. Dress it up with a sweet, sour or a balanced dressing. This salad dish is inspired by the famous and popular Aussie favourite Chang's Crispy Noodle Salad. This salad can be enjoyed warm or cold. So it is perfect for both the hot and cold seasons.
Orange Avocado Salad is a colourful, refreshing, full of flavour kind of summer salad. Enjoy it as side or as a light meal. What I like about this salad is the delicious light orange dressing. And you can add other salad ingredients like radish, beans, quinoa, orzo, rice, etc. Somehow I felt that oranges and tomatoes don't go together well.
Pineapple Salad with berries, coconut, fresh mint, with a drizzle of honey and some fresh orange juice makes a refreshing summery dessert salad. Enjoy it on its own or with some vanilla ice cream.
Nectarine Quinoa Salad is a gluten free, vegan, colourful, bright, packed with flavours and textures kind of summery salad. With a homemade fresh ginger salad dressing, this is one salad you don't want to miss out on.
Rosolli, Finnish Salad is usually prepared during Christmas time. It is made of beetroot, apple, carrot, potato and onion. The dressing is fresh cream. Trust me this salad has become one of my favourite. We enjoyed as a light meal. A balance of flavours and different textures. Softness from the boiled potatoes, crunch from the carrot and beetroot, crispiness from the onion and apples
Chermoula Sweet Potato Salad is a filling, flavourful salad where sweet potato, chickpeas, couscous, tomatoes, olives and feta are mixed with Chermoula Sauce. Enjoy this delicious salad warm or cold.
Mini Taco Salad Cups make a great appetizer/starter dish for parties. Best part is that you don't need a fork. Add any salad of your choice to the taco cups.
Udon Noodles are thick and made from wheat flour, salt and water. They are generally used for Japanese Cuisine but nowadays it is used to prepare other SE Asian dishes. Don’t overcook them as you need that soft and yet chewy texture. Follow the instructions on the packet. I cooked them for 3 minutes and used about 200g.
Tofu
I prefer to use medium tofu, about 200g. Remove the tofu from the package. Wrap it with some kitchen towel so that all the excess water is absorbed. Then cut it into bite size cubes.
Oil
Any vegetable oil of your choice. We will be adding it to the tofu marinade.
Sesame Oil
Need some for the peanut sauce or dressing and the marination.
Soy Sauce
I prefer to use the dark one. We will need some for the marinade and some for the peanut sauce.
Rice Vinegar
For the marinade and the peanut sauce or dressing.
Fresh Ginger
Peeled and minced or grated, for the marinade and the peanut dressing.
Garlic
Peeled and minced or finely chopped for the marinade and the dressing.
Chilli Sauce
Any brand of your choice or homemade for the marinade. Add according to your taste.
Peanut Butter
Smooth or crunchy, for the dressing or sauce.
Sesame Seeds
Can use white, black or mixed. We will be sprinkling some on the salad and adding some to the dressing. Best to toast them for about 40-60 seconds in the microwave oven or in a pan over low heat.
Chilli Flakes
For the peanut sauce or dressing, add according to your taste.
Maple Syrup| Honey
For the peanut sauce or dressing. For vegan option omit honey.
Cucumber
We need approximately 75g which is one small cucumber. Wash and cut it into thin sticks. I like to use Persian or English Cucumber as they don’t need to be peeled and the seeds are super soft.
Bell Pepper
About 45g which is just a quarter of a big pepper. Use any colour of your choice. Cut it into thin strips.
Carrot
Peeled and cut into thin sticks or julienne.
Spring Onion
I used one sprig and chopped both the white and green part finely. We will be using it as garnish.
Red Cabbage
Shredded. Best to use a mandoline for this as trying to chop it thinly with a knife is time consuming. I used about 100g.
Salt
Soy Sauce tends to be salty and the udon noodles may contain salt. So add accordingly. Just enough for the vegetables.
Water
Enough normal tap water to cook the udon noodles
UDON NOODLE SALAD
mayurisjikoni
Udon Noodle Salad, especially cold is my favourite summer time light meal. With the right amount of carbs, loaded with protein and colourful veggies, it has the right balance of flavours too. Marinated tofu, the peanut sauce or dressing, crunchiness from the veggies and come together beautifully to create an awesomely delicious light meal.
Just in case we haven’t met before I’m Mayuri Patel from the coastal sunny town of Mombasa. In fact more of a global citizen now as I spend time between Canada and India. I’m the creator and writer of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Jikoni is kitchen in Kiswahili. Love cooking up a storm in my jikoni. When I’m not in the jikoni then you may find me reading fiction books, watching romantic movies, listening to Bollywood songs or enjoying God’s creation, nature. If my recipes can inspire you to cook at home then my job is done here. Cook up a storm in your kitchen with easy to follow vegetarian recipes right from soups to desserts.
Discovering the noodle aisle sounds like a great “aha!” moment. This salad is perfect for summer. Filling and nutritious and full of flavor! I’m sure your plan for winterizing it will be a success.
Thank you so much Karen, felt a bit sheepish when the store helper pointed out the noodles. And yes, pretty soon will be making a warm version of this salad.
This looks wonderful, I love the flavors. We would use coconut aminos and leave out the tofu or switch with sliced, cooked chicken since we have soy allergies, but still want to try this!
9 Comments
Wendy Klik
October 8, 2025 at 6:21 am
What a delightful, colorful salad. I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks.
mayurisjikoni
October 10, 2025 at 7:46 pm
Thank you so much Wendy.
Chunky Pumpkin Ancho Unsweetened Cocoa Chili
October 8, 2025 at 7:22 am
[…] Udon Noodle Salad by Mayuri’s Jikoni […]
Karen’s Kitchen Stories
October 8, 2025 at 12:31 pm
Discovering the noodle aisle sounds like a great “aha!” moment. This salad is perfect for summer. Filling and nutritious and full of flavor! I’m sure your plan for winterizing it will be a success.
mayurisjikoni
October 10, 2025 at 7:45 pm
Thank you so much Karen, felt a bit sheepish when the store helper pointed out the noodles. And yes, pretty soon will be making a warm version of this salad.
hobby baker Kelly
October 8, 2025 at 6:08 pm
This looks wonderful, I love the flavors. We would use coconut aminos and leave out the tofu or switch with sliced, cooked chicken since we have soy allergies, but still want to try this!
mayurisjikoni
October 10, 2025 at 7:44 pm
Thanks Kelly, you definitely add chicken as any protein source is great with this recipe. I’ve yet to try out coconut aminos.
Colleen – Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck
October 13, 2025 at 9:20 pm
Whoo Hoo! Another colorful salad with all of the good stuff! So much flavor going on here!!!
mayurisjikoni
October 22, 2025 at 9:03 pm
Thanks Colleen. So far this is my hubby’s favourite.