Bowl of thick udon noodles in clear broth topped with a square of simmered fried tofu and sliced scallions, beside chopsticks — Photo: ノボホショコロトソ · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Japanese · Lunch · Dinner

Kitsune Udon

Name: Kitsune Udon
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 3 3/4 cups water for dashi; 1 piece (10 x 10 cm) dried kombu; 1 1/2 cups loosely packed bonito flakes (katsuobushi); 2 sheets aburaage (thin fried tofu sheets); 1/2 cup water for simmering tofu; 2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce; 3 tbsp mirin; 2 tsp sugar; 2 blocks frozen udon noodles; 8 cups water for boiling noodles; 2 cups baby spinach; 2 stalks scallions; 1 pinch shichimi togarashi

きつねうどん

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Thick, chewy udon noodles in a clear, savoury kombu and bonito dashi, topped with sweet simmered fried tofu pockets, spinach and fresh scallions. A comforting Japanese noodle bowl, made lighter by blanching the tofu to remove excess oil.

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 35 min
Serves: 2

Easy
Dairy Free

20%

Per serving407kcal20% of a 2,000 kcal day

18gProtein

78gCarbs

5gFat

5gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 73% · Fat 10% · Protein 17%

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Ingredients

For 2 servings

3 3/4 cups900 gwater for dashi
1 piece (10 x 10 cm)10 gdried kombu
1 1/2 cups loosely packed15 gbonito flakes (katsuobushi)
2 sheets40 gaburaage (thin fried tofu sheets)
1/2 cup120 gwater for simmering tofu
2 tbsp32 greduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp54 gmirin
2 tsp8 gsugar
2 blocks400 gfrozen udon noodles
8 cups2,000 gwater for boiling noodles
2 cups60 gbaby spinach
2 stalks20 gscallions
1 pinchshichimi togarashi (optional)

Steps

1
Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth and place it in a saucepan with the 900 ml dashi water.
2
Heat over medium-low for about 10 minutes until small bubbles form, then remove the kombu just before boiling.
3
Bring to a boil, add the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes.
4
Strain the dashi through a fine sieve and discard the flakes.
5
Bring the large pot of noodle water to a boil.
6
Blanch the aburaage in the boiling water for 30 seconds to remove excess oil, then drain and gently squeeze out the water.
7
Cut each aburaage sheet in half diagonally into triangles.
8
In a small pan, combine the 120 ml simmering water, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin and the sugar, and bring to a simmer.
9
Add the aburaage and simmer for about 10 minutes, turning once, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
10
Season the strained dashi with the remaining 1 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp mirin, taste, and keep it hot.
11
Slice the scallions thinly.
12
Boil the frozen udon in the noodle water for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and loosened, adding the spinach for the last 30 seconds.
13
Drain the noodles and spinach and divide between two bowls.
14
Pour the hot dashi over the noodles.
15
Top each bowl with the sweet tofu triangles and scallions, and sprinkle with shichimi if using.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

For a vegan version, make the dashi with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms instead of bonito flakes, and check that your mirin and shichimi contain no animal ingredients.
To make it gluten-free, use rice noodles and a tamari labelled gluten-free in place of the udon and soy sauce, and choose mirin and shichimi labelled gluten-free.
If you can't find aburaage, use firm tofu cut into cubes and pan-fried until golden, then simmer it in the sweet soy mixture.
Swap the baby spinach for bok choy or a handful of fresh pea shoots if that's easier to find.

Storage

This dish is best eaten fresh, as the udon turns soft sitting in broth. If you have leftovers, refrigerate the broth, noodles and tofu separately within 2 hours for up to 3 to 4 days, reheat the broth until steaming hot, and don't freeze the assembled bowl.

Make ahead

Make the dashi and simmer the sweet tofu up to 3 days ahead and keep them in separate covered containers in the fridge. On the day, reheat the dashi until steaming and cook the noodles and spinach fresh.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: GlutenSoyFishSesame

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (1,830 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	407 kcal	22 kcal
Protein	17.6 g	1 g
Carbohydrates	77.6 g	4.2 g
of which sugars	12.2 g	0.7 g
Fiber	5.1 g	0.3 g
Fat	4.7 g	0.3 g
of which saturated	0.6 g	0 g
Sodium	1,176 mg	64 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.