Udon with Chicken, Eggs & Green Onions

My husband goes to Japan a few times a year and he requested this for dinner tonight, to change things up. He found the recipe in Sunset Magazine (Feb 2014) but I used this link for the same recipe because it had more instructions. I added chicken to make sure my toddler would have something he liked at dinner. Paprika was used because I didn't have the seven-spice powder. It was a simple and beautiful meal!

Ingredients

• 2-3 chicken thighs 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 4 large eggs, soft boiled
• 3/4 pound udon noodles
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced green onions
• 4 cups Udon Broth
• 1/4 tsp seven-spice powder or paprika

Preparation

1. Soft boils eggs and set aside. You can cook the eggs a day in advance. 
2. Cut chicken thighs into 1/4 inch slices and put into a bowl. Stir in olive oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Transfer to a frying pan and cook on high heat until chicken is cooked through and set aside.
3. Boil udon for 2-3 minutes, strain and set aside.
4. Bring broth to a boil in a saucepan. Or, add udon broth spice packet to the water you used to boil the noodles.
5. Divide noodles and chicken among bowls. Gently scoop an egg into each bowl and ladle broth over noodles. Top with green onions and a dash of seven-spice powder or paprika will do.

This was honestly good BUT we both agreed the next time we have udon, we would make our own broth. The MSG in the udon noodle spice packets was just too much for us. As for me, I don't think it was worth the 30 minute low temperature boil for "custardlike" eggs that the recipe suggested. I would be fine with a simple soft boil.

As for our toddler, he thought the noodles were pasta, loved the broth and ran around like a crazy child for an hour afterwards. Was the wild moment was caused by the MSG? Tip for serving soup to toddlers that love to play with water: Serve the soup on a plate with a high lip and with only as much broth as you are willing to deal with :)