Steps

1. Cut the cucumber into thirds lengthwise without peeling, then julienne them.
   🕒 01:31
2. Finely chop the green onion.
   🕒 03:00
3. Finely chop the ginger.
   🕒 03:41
4. Add ground pork about 100g to a frying pan and stir-fry over low heat until it changes color.
   🕒 04:44
5. Once the ground pork changes color, add sesame oil (refined) 1 tbsp and continue to stir-fry until the entire mixture turns whitish.
   🕒 04:57
6. When the ground pork becomes whitish, add the chopped green onion and ginger, increase the heat, and stir-fry until the aromatics are fragrant.
   🕒 05:30
7. Add Cooking Sake (Rice Wine) 2 tbsp, Soy Sauce 5 tbsp, and Sugar 2 tbsp to the stir-fried ground pork and mix well.
   🕒 06:07
8. Further add sweet bean paste (Tianmianjiang) 3 tbsp and mix until everything is incorporated.
   🕒 06:45
9. Add hot water 5 tbsp and chicken stock granules 1 and 1/2 tsp and mix.
   🕒 07:16
10. Taste and add an additional 2 tbsp of sugar if more sweetness is desired. Adjust the amount of sugar based on the spiciness of the sweet bean paste.
    🕒 07:53
11. Add thickened mixture (potato starch slurry) 2 tbsp to thicken the sauce.
    🕒 08:15
12. Finally, drizzle in sesame oil 2 tbsp for added flavor to complete the meat sauce.
    🕒 08:30
13. Boil frozen udon noodles 2 portions in plenty of hot water for about 1 minute according to package directions, then drain thoroughly.
    🕒 08:56
14. Place the drained udon noodles in a serving bowl.
    🕒 10:20
15. Generously top the udon with the meat sauce.
    🕒 10:51
16. Garnish with the julienned cucumber and serve. For an extra kick and flavor variation, add chili oil to your preference.
    🕒 11:16