Kind of Udon

Like many Japanese noodles, udon noodles are often served chilled in the summer and hot in the winter. Toppings are chosen to reflect the seasons and to balance with other ingredients. Most toppings are added without much cooking, although some are deep-fried. Many of these dishes may also be prepared with soba.

Hot
* Kake udon (in Kantō) or Su udon (in Kansai) – Hot udon in broth topped with thinly sliced green onions, and perhaps a slice of kamaboko.
* Kitsune udon – "Fox udon." Topped with Aburaage (sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets). A favorite in the Kansai region, particularly Osaka.
* Tempura udon – Topped with tempura, especially shrimp, or kakiage, a type of mixed tempura fritter.
* Tanuki udon ("Raccoon-dog udon") (in Kantō) or Haikara udon (in Kansai) – Topped with tenkasu (deep-fried tempura batter).
* Tsukimi udon – "Moon-viewing udon." Topped with raw egg, which poaches in the hot soup.
* Wakame udon – Topped with wakame, a dark green sea vegetable.
* Karē udon – "Curry udon." Udon in a soup made of Japanese curry. May also include meat or vegetables.
* Chikara udon – "Power udon." Topped with toasted mochi rice cakes. A hearty dish.
* Stamina (sutamina) udon – "Stamina udon." Udon with various hearty ingredients, usually including meat, a raw egg, and vegetables.
* Nabeyaki udon – A sort of udon hot-pot, with seafood and vegetables cooked in a nabe, or metal pot.
* Kamaage udon – Served in a communal hot-pot with hot water, and accompanied by a hot dipping sauce of dashi and soy sauce.
* Udon-suki – Udon cooked in the manner of sukiyaki.
* Yakiudon – Stir-fried udon in soy-based sauce, prepared in a similar manner to yakisoba. This originated in Kitakyushu of Fukuoka Prefecture. (Note that while yakiudon is made with udon, yakisoba is not made from buckwheat soba, but with steamed Chinese-style ramen.)
* Misonikomi udon – Hard udon noodles simmered in red miso soup. The soup generally contains chicken, a floating cracked raw egg that is stirred in by the eater, kamaboko, vegetables and tubers. The noodles are extremely firm in order to stand up to the prolonged simmering in the soup; additionally, the noodles do not contain salt, so as to avoid over-salting from the salt in the miso.
* Houtou udon –local dishes of Yamanashi Prefecture, a miso soup with udon and plenty of vegetable.

Cold
* Zaru udon – Chilled udon noodles topped with shredded nori and served on a zaru (笊 or ざる), a sieve-like bamboo tray. Accompanied by a chilled dipping sauce, usually a strong mixture of dashi, mirin, and shoyu. Eaten with wasabi or grated ginger.
* Bukkake udon – Cold udon served with various toppings liberally sprinkled on top. It may include:
tororo – puree of, or grated yamaimo (a Japanese yam with a slimy texture)
oroshi – grated daikon radish
natto – sticky fermented soybeans
okra – fresh sliced okra
* kijoyu udon – served in a really cold soup of raw (unpasteurized) soy sauce and sudachi (a type of citrus) juice, sometimes with a bit of grated daikon