Add water and kombu to large wok or skillet. (This step may be skipped if you have enough vegan dashi on hand to replace the water).

On low heat, steep kombu for 20 or so minutes. Do not boil. This will make seaweed slimy and make your stock bitter. Remove kombu and either discard or reserve to make seaweed salad.

Bring broth to a boil and add udon noodles. Cook for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, combine gochugaru, gochujang, and sweetener in a small bowl. (If using sugar, add a small amount of water to thin). Add to pan with noodles.

Add garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until udon noodles are almost al-dente (around the 8 minute mark). Add rice cakes and cook until tender (2-3 minutes for fresh rice cakes). Do not overcook.

Garnish with green onion.

Note: this is a 'soupy' version we liked making as kids. Typically this a stir fried dish made with less broth and without the additional noodles. A common addition to this style of dish is hot dogs (you can use vegan ones). I omitted them because I do not like them. I added fried tofu for protein.