A quick summer lunch: Cold Tanuki Udon - refreshing cold udon drizzled in umami mentsuyu and topped with cucumber, tomatoes, tenkasu, wakame, and egg.

Cold Tanuki Udon

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup Mentsuyu/Tsuyu (noodle soup base) (dilute 2-3 times based on preference; this is my Homemade Mentsuyu recipe)
• 2 servings udon noodles (6.3 oz/180 g dry udon noodles; 1.1 lb/500 g frozen/boiled udon noodles)

Topping:

• 2 tsp dried wakame seaweed
• 1 green onion/scallion
• 1 Persian/Japanese cucumbers
• 2 inch daikon radish (green top part of daikon tastes sweeter)
• ½ cup Tenkasu/Agedama (tempura scraps)
• 1 soft/hard-boiled egg
• 4 grape tomatoes
• ¼ tsp toasted white sesame seeds
• wasabi

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients. 

   If you are going to/need to make Mentsuyu from scratch, follow the recipe here.
   
2. Put wakake seaweed in a small bowl and soak for 15 minutes. After soaking, queeze the water out and set aside.
3. Thinly slice the scallion.
4. Peel the cucumber (leave some skin) and thinly slice diagonally. Then cut into julienne strips. Set aside.
5. Peel the daikon skin and grate. Squeeze the water out and set aside.
6. Bring a large pot of water to boil for udon noodles. My favorite udon is the frozen Sanuki Udon. Cook the frozen udon noodles in boiling water for 1 minute (no need to defrost).  If you use dry noodles, follow the package instructions. Remove udon from boiling water and cool in an ice bath. Wait until it cools completely and drain.
7. To make the sauce, add 1/3 cup of Mentsuyu. My Mentsuyu recipe should be diluted about 2-3 times depending on your preference. If you use store bought mentsuyu, read the directions to see if you can use it “straight” (no need to dilute) or if it should be diluted 2 times or 3 times. Add ice cubes to keep tsuyu cool.
8. Serve udon on the plate/bowl and add toppings on top. Pour the Mentsuyu (sauce) over and enjoy!

https://www.justonecookbook.com/cold-tanuki-udon/