Udon Pork Belly Carbonara

Chewy udon noodles tossed in a super creamy carbonara sauce with crispy and tender pork belly! The way the eggy sauce clings to the thick udon noodles makes me feel like this Italian-Japanese mashup was meant to be! These flavors go so well together that udon noodles might be my chosen noodle for all carbonara going forward!
The inspiration for udon pork belly carbonara
While eating pork belly with udon noodles at the food court in the Super88 market in Boston, I broke the yolk of a beautifully fried egg perched on top of the noodles and was briefly reminded of carbonara. The quick sauce that the egg yolk formed blended perfectly with the udon and pork belly, just the way it does with the spaghetti and guanciale in the Italian dish. I instantly decided to go home and make an udon version of the Italian carbonara, and it was so good that I needed to share it!
Par bake the pork belly
The pork belly is super easy to make, it just takes a while to cook. If you were using bacon or pancetta or guanciale, you would cook it in the pan and build the carbonara sauce from there. For this, we are going to bake it most of the way in the oven, then finish it in the pan. Mix some ingredients and toss it into the oven for about 2 hours. Maybe make a little extra because you are going to eat some when they come out of the oven.

Crisp up the pork belly in the pan
When the pork belly is tender, remove the pan from the oven and take the meat out of the sauce. Save the sauce though! Add the meat to a frying pan to crisp up the edges.

Then add the cooked udon, and some of the pork cooking liquid.

Build the carbonara sauce in the pan with the udon
When everything is nice and hot, take the pan off the heat. Add in scallions, black pepper, pecorino cheese, an egg, and three egg yolks. Toss it vigorously to form the sauce! Serve it up right away so that the egg can’t overcook in the pan.

Serve the udon pork belly carbonara
Get the pasta onto the plates asap and top with more black pepper and scallions. Eat it right away! This meal is sooooo good! I could eat the whole batch if I am not being careful!

The creamy carbonara sauce works so well on the chewy thick noodles. I also love the aesthetic of udon noodles, they are so thick they look like pasta would look in a cartoon. It makes this carbonara extra fun because between the chunks of pork and the thick noodles, everything feels extra large and dramatic.

Easily one of my favorite recipes!

Twists on this recipe
You could make homemade udon noodle for this! I like this recipe. For more info on making a traditional carbonara, check out this post.
You could make udon carbonara with guanciale instead of pork belly, if you prefer. You could also swap the noodles for whatever noodles you want! Ramen noodles would be fun for this recipe too.
For more fun twists on carbonara flavors that will make your purist Italian uncle cringe, check out my carbonara benny, carbonara wings, or these carbonara deviled eggs!
Udon Pork Belly Carbonara
Ingredients
Pork
- 1 pound boneless skinless pork belly cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Carbonara
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces precooked and frozen udon noodles (3 servings)
- 2 scallions sliced, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper plus more for garnish
- 1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 egg yolks
Instructions
Pork
- Preheat oven to 275
- Add the pork to a baking sheet with the seasonings and sauces. Toss to combine. Spread out evenly on the pan.
- Cover with foil and bake at 275 for about 1.5 to 2 hours until mostly tender.
Carbonara
- Boil the noodles to package instructions to reheat. Strain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Preheat a large frying pan to medium high heat and add in the olive oil. Remove the pork only from the baking sheet, reserving the cooking liquid. Add the pork to the preheated pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes to crisp up the pork.
- Turn the heat to medium. Add 1/3 cup of the pork cooking liquid to the frying pan and stir to combine. Add in the cooked noodles and stir to combine. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and add in the scallions, black pepper, cheese, eggs, and yolks. Toss well to combine allowing the eggs to form a sauce over the noodles.
- Serve immediately!
Yum. You can put gochujang on anything & it will be delicious.