ramyaramesh3007This creamy, umami udon with vegan ‘mentaiko’ and pan roasted shimeji mushrooms is satisfying, packed with flavour and can be made in under 30 minutes!
Mentaiko is made with spicy cod roe, a Japanese-Italian fusion dish was then born when this seafood was combined with noodles. While usually made with spaghetti, today we’ll be combining this delicious mentaiko sauce with udon – except that it’ll be completely seafood free, dairy free and vegan! You read that right.
Mentaiko is not an easy ingredient to recreate and make it plant-based but Lisa inspired me to use amaranth as a substitute. It’s very fascinating how it looks EXACTLY like mentaiko when cooked in an umami broth. You can keep and use it in other recipes as well or add it to your rice for an extra boost of nutrients.
Though these require a tad bit more work to prepare, with the mentaiko prepared this recipe comes together in just 20 minutes. It’s one of my go-to recipes when I don’t have time. Not only that, it’s very pantry friendly especially if you have some staples like vegan cream (soy cream, coconut cream, cashew cream) and vegan mayo (I used kewpie’s vegan mayo).
To recreate the umami, I like to top the udon with some pan fried shimeji mushrooms – not only do that have more umami-ness than regular button mushrooms, they pair so well with the udon for the perfect bite due to their long shape. Alternatively, you can use crab seafood mushrooms that are even longer and have more umami than shimeji mushrooms. So it goes like this…
UMAMI METER (Highest -> Lowest):
Crab mushrooms (also known as seafood mushrooms) > Shimeji Mushrooms > Shitake Mushrooms > King Oyster Mushrooms > Oyster Mushrooms > White & Brown Button Mushrooms
Ingredients You Need:
- amaranth – this is a type of grain you can find online or in healthfood stores. If you can’t access it, you can skip it as it only serves to look like mentaiko without much of the actual mentaiko flavour. Instead you can just boil a simple broth to add to the sauce that’ll give you the same umami deliciousness!
- ume plum – for the distinct tartness
- udon noodles – you can also use spaghetti or any type of pasta!
- vegan cream – I used soy cream, but you can use coconut cream or cashew cream
- vegan butter – you can substitute this with olive oil
- vegan mayo
- seasonings – sake, soy sauce, mushroom seasoning, nutritional yeast, hot bean paste
- mushrooms – shimeji mushrooms
- garnish – toasted sesame seeds, scallions, ginger
Gluten free substitutions: Use gluten free pasta or rice noodles. Ensure vegan mayo and mushroom seasoning are gluten free.
Allium free substitutions: Omit scallions.
Vegan Mentaiko Udon
Ingredients
Creamy Udon
- 2 packs frozen or fresh udon
- 2 tbsp vegan mentaiko
- 2 tbsp vegan cream
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 1/4 cup broth
- 1 tsp hot bean paste
- 1 cup shimeji mushrooms
Vegan Mentaiko
- 1/2 cup amaranth
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sake
- 1 slice kelp
- 3 medium ume plums chopped
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
- green part of scallions
- marinated ginger
Instructions
- Boil amaranth with all the ingredients for about 20 minutes. Take out the kelp and drain the broth from the cooked amaranth. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the udon noodles and cook according to the package instructions. Or soak them until they separate. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Heat a little oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms until they are golden, about 3-4 minutes. Season with 1/2 tbsp soy sauce.
- Remove the mushrooms. Add vegan butter, cream, mayo, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, sake, hot bean paste and mushroom seasoning. Mix well.
- Add the amaranth (vegan mentaiko) broth. Season with salt if required. Mix well then add in the vegan mentaiko. Simmer for a minute.
- Add in cooked udon noodles and mix well. Serve on a plate and spoon over the mentaiko sauce. Garnish with panroasted mushrooms, toasted sesame seeds, scallions and ginger. Enjoy!