This Japanese beef curry udon is rich, flavorful and comforting with chewy udon noodles and tender beef. The recipe for a quick tofu veggie stir fry is included!
Beef Curry Udon
Ingredients for Homemade Dashi Broth
- 2 litres water
- 20 grams dried kelp
- 15 grams dried shiitake mushrooms
Ingredients for Beef Curry Udon
- 1 medium brown onion, sliced
- 500 grams thinly sliced beef (I used beef chuck. You could also use ribeye, tenderloin or sirloin.)
- 1 tablespoon sake (substitute for rice vinegar)
- 6 cups dashi broth
- 92 grams (1 packet) curry cubes
- 4 packets/serves udon noodles
- 1 handful fish cake, sliced (use any fish cake if you don’t have Japanese fish cake)
- 3 green onions, sliced
Instructions
1. To make the dashi broth at home, add the water, dried kelp and dried shiitake mushrooms to a large pot. Submerge all the ingredients and let it rest for 1-2 hours, occasionally stirring.
2. As you wait for the dashi to rest, slice the onions, green onions and fishcake, and thinly slice the beef.
3. After the dashi has rested, place the pot over medium low heat for 10 minutes. As soon as it boils, remove all the mushroom and kelp so you are left with the broth. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside.
3. Now make the beef curry udon. When a large pot over medium heat is hot, add a generous drizzle of oil. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onions and saute for 2 minutes.
4. Once the onions are slightly softened, add the sliced beef and cook, stirring with a spatula, until almost all the beef is brown. Then add the sake and stir for another minute.
5. Measure out 6 cups (1.5L) of the dashi broth you just made, and pour it into the pot before covering with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure you skim off any skum that the beef has produced.
6. Meanwhile, cook the udon noodles according to package instructions, and boil the sliced fishcake for a couple minutes until cooked.
7. After the 5 minutes, place a cube of curry into a ladle and fill the ladle up half way with the broth. Stir the mixture inside the ladle with a small whisk or chopsticks to fully dissolve the curry cube. Pour the dissolved cube into the pot, and repeat with each curry cube.
8. Add the soy sauce and mix until combined. Turn off the heat.
9. To serve, add the udon to a bowl, pour over the beef curry soup and top with a handful of green onions.
Tofu Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 medium carrot, sliced
- 200 grams tofu puffs
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- cornstarch slurry: 2 teaspoons cornstarch + 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
1. Heat a wok or skillet over high heat before adding a drizzle of oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and fry until lightly golden.
2. Add the broccoli and carrot and stir fry for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the tofu puffs, soy sauce and oyster sauce to the pan and mix everything together. Pour in the water, cover, and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Lastly, drizzle over the cornstarch slurry and stir until the sauce has thickened a bit. Remove from heat.
