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Curry Udon カレーうどん

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Curry Udon | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

Curry Udon has been a popular menu item in Japan for a long time but still not so well known yet in the US.  No worries, nowadays you can buy a box of Japanese Curry Roux at many American supermarkets.  It’s very tasty so I hope you try Japanese curry if you haven’t tried it before.

Japanese curry when compared to Thai or Indian curry is much thicker and the spices are milder.  Some people do make curry roux from scratch and that’s definitely on my to-make list.  But for today it’s going to be a quick curry recipe.

Since I won’t be posting tomorrow, I’d like to say Happy Valentine’s Day to all my dearest readers.  I hope you have a fun & romantic day with your loved one.

MY LATEST RECIPES

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you missed my posts last week, I have super easy and quick chocolate desserts that you can surprise the special someone in your life with: Nama Chocolate (Homemade Chocolate) and Chocolate Covered Strawberries.  It’s not too late to make them and you just need a few ingredients.  Both recipes takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish.

Curry Udon カレーうどん | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

Today I’m guest blogging at Jen’s blog Smoky Wok (formally known as Tastes of Home).

If you’ve never heard of Smoky Wok, I’m really delighted to be able to introduce you to this great blog.  The author Jen shares easy Asian home cooking recipes including Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, and even Japanese cuisines.  You will notice right away her beautiful food styling and photography, if you are interested some of her photos are available for purchase at Getty Images.  When you are visiting her blog, check out her quick meal recipes to get some inspiration for this week’s dinners. 😉

As I’m a big fan of Jen’s noodle dishes, I made Curry Udon for the guest post.  Have you had Japanese curry before?  Please click HERE to view the Curry Udon recipe at Smoky Wok!

Curry Udon | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

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Curry Udon
Curry Udon
Print
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Servings: 1
Ingredients
  • 3 cups dashi
  • 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
  • ½ onion (sliced)
  • ½ lb thinly sliced pork loin (or your choice of protein) (cut into small pieces)
  • 1 Tbsp sake
  • 2 blocks Japanese curry roux (See Notes for homemade recipe)
  • ½ Tbsp soy sauce
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • 2 packages udon (I like sanuki udon)
  • 1 green onion/scallion (finely chopped)
  • Korean Chili Thread (optional)
Instructions
  1. Gather all the ingredients. 

    Prepare dashi stock.

    Curry Udon Ingredients
  2. In a large frying pan, heat oil on medium high and sauté onion until soft, about 7-10 minutes.
    Curry Udon 1
  3. Add your choice of meat/seafood in the pan and increase the heat to high. Stir fry until the meat/seafood is almost cooked through.
    Curry Udon 2
  4. Add dashi stock and sake in the pan and bring it to a boil.
    Curry Udon 3
  5. When boiling, skim off the scum and fat from the stock. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5-7 minutes.
    Curry Udon 4
  6. Turn off the heat and add curry roux. Using chopsticks or wooden spoon, dissolve the roux completely. Heat the curry on medium high for 10 minutes. Make sure you stir once in a while so the curry will not get burnt on the bottom.
    Curry Udon 5
  7. Meanwhile Boil a lot of water in a large pot and cook udon for 2-3 minutes and drain well.
    Curry Udon 6
  8. Add soy sauce and season with salt (optional).
    Curry Udon 7
  9. Serve udon in a bowl and pour over curry. Top with green onion and Ito Togarashi.
    Curry Udon 8
Recipe Notes

Japanese curry roux: Homemade recipe, click here.

 

 

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

 

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  17. Hi Nami!!
    I’ve never had Japanese curry before but this recipe looks so delish. Can’t wait to try it.
    btw, Happy Valentine’s Day to you! Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. Hope all is well.
    XOXO

    17
    Reply to mai'> Reply

  20. Happy Valentine’s Day Nami to you and your lovely family. The udon looks amazing. Going over to check it out after I check out those chocolate covered strawberries. So delicious. Have a wonderful day.

    20
    Reply to Suzi'> Reply

  25. Happy Valentine’s Day Nami! Jon and I are not big on this holiday (though it was a big deal when we were younger, haha!). Trinity did a lot of preparation for her class, she assembled little containers of chocolate and Hello Kitty fake tattoos also little Valentine cards, I will be volunteering at the class party (which is always a riot because those kids say the darnedest things!)

    Never had curry noodles, though the whole idea really intrigues me, the recipe looks real simple, I’ve gotta go get some Japanese Curry Roux soon. Which brand and flavor do you suggest?

    25
    Reply to Jeno @ Week Nite Meals'> Reply

    • Hi Cindy (Jeno)! Oh how fun! I’m sure Trinitiy had a fun Valentine’s Day at school. 🙂 The curry roux brand in the picture called “Golden Curry” is very popular and I think you can even find it in American supermarket’s Asian food isle. We buy mild as kids don’t eat spicy food, but you might want to buy “hot” one. There are usually mild/medium/hot, for each brand. For people who are used to eating spicy food, this “hot” level is nothing compared to other cuisine. 😉 My supermarket sells other curry brand and I often buy Kokumaro (こくまろ) Curry.

      100
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  27. Candice

    Hi Nami,

    Happy Valentines Day to you as well!

    Thanks for sharing your Nama Chocolate & Chocolate Covered Strawberry recipe with us. I can’t wait to make it. The udon looks delicious too. Thanks for sharing Jen’s blog with us. =)

    27
    Reply to Candice'> Reply

  51. Happy Valentines Day Nami! 🙂 I hope you have a great day.
    Unfortunately I don’t like to eat curry, but I must say that your recipe look nice and easy to make!

    p.s hehe yes, you’ve got me about the nama chocolate.. it’s so delicious and we really can’t get that here in Sydney!

    53
    Reply to jack'> Reply

  63. Nami, I love udon…the texture is just so good, kind of chewy…now I have to try it with curry…and I know that my husband will like it since he loves curry dishes, so why not please both of us?
    Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂

    66
    Reply to Juliana'> Reply

  65. Happy Valentine’s Day Nami – I’ve never heard of curry udon before – or maybe I have, I can’t remember, but it sounds delicious. Udon, curry – I love them both!! As always you astound me with your beautiful dishes… this must have been a real treat to eat!

    68
    Reply to Charles'> Reply

  72. Hope you’ve had a wonderful Valentine’s Day Nami! Udon are one of those noodles that I love but never think of buying when I’m at the market. Looks like it’s time to remember! Love your light and healthy soups with SO much flavor! Still haven’t been able to find the dashi packets, so I’m headed to check on-line. I really need to make your dashi stock so I can start making these soups!

    75
    Reply to mjskit'> Reply

  86. Dear Nami,

    Growing up in Malaysia with all its beautiful curries, Japanese food those days used to be somewhat of a luxury. I still think I would choose all the beautiful fresh seafood, classic teppanyaki dishes like beef and king prawns, yakiniku dishes and noodles over a Japanese curry though I believe it would be milder than the fiery ones from South East Asia.

    The Ito Togarashi looks so elegant, can you make it or do you buy it from a Japanese grocer? Your bowl is beautiful and I love the mushroom chopstick holder too! 🙂

    90
    Reply to Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan'> Reply

    • Hi Chopin! My favorite ramen restaurant puts it on their ramen, and I’m addicted to that beautiful look. I looked and looked in every Japanese supermarket but I couldn’t find, so I asked my mom to send it from Japan. 🙂

      101
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  92. I love curry udon but I have not thought of making it! I will give it a try. I can buy most of the things in my regular market even the curry roux!The only thing I can’t get is the red chili threads. I will make this soon. Thank you!

    96
    Reply to Denise'> Reply

  101. Po

    Sanuki udon is three times more expensive than the udon I normally purchase (some random brands) but since it is recommended, I have decided to give it a go when I plan to try out this curry udon recipe. Oh my, the udon is marvelous! Just as the udon I eat in the fine dining Japanese restaurants. Thank you fore the recommendation, Nami : )

    107
    Reply to Po'> Reply

    • Hi Po! 3 times more expensive? I’m sorry it’s so expensive. 🙁 But I’m glad you gave it a try. I hope your home cooked udon is much cheaper than when you eat out at the restaurant so you can justify your purchase. The texture of sanuki udon is definitely better than regular udon, and once you like sanuki udon, it’s hard to go back to regular kinds. I’m happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for writing, Po!

      108
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

      • Po

        Yes, you are absolutely right, Nami! I doubt I will satisfy with the usual udon now. The texture of sanuki udon is very much better than the regular one so I guess there’s a price to pay : )

        p/s: I couldn’t find Ito Togarashi though, not even in Isetan. Maybe I will fake them by cutting the dried chili into tiny threads next time I cook curry udon : ) They look so beautiful as toppings!

        109
        Reply to Po'> Reply

        • You might want to try dried udon one time. If it’s good quality one, it’s also better than regular packaged udon too. Packaged udon breaks so easily and texture is not my favorite. Hope you have some option of dried udon and sometimes splurge on Sanuki udon. 🙂 I also had a hard time finding in the US, so I asked my mom to send it. She said it was not easy to find either. 🙁

          110
          Reply to Nami'> Reply

  102. Amanda

    I just made this last night and it was wonderful!! We currently live in Okinawa and have had the joy of having curry udon at one of the local udon restaurants here. I am so glad that I now have a recipe for it! I accidently left out the soy sauce, however, I think the soup did just fine without it. Also I added an extra block of curry roux…. we like curry flavor 😉 This is now my new, go to cold weather comfort food. Thank you, Nami, for this wonderful recipe 🙂

    111
    Reply to Amanda'> Reply

    • Hi Amanda! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂 Soy sauce adds a little bit more “koku” (savory flavor) to curry, but it’s not necessary. I just like to play with flavor. Thank you so much for stopping by to let me know! 🙂

      112
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  103. Julia

    Just found your blog while searching for a Curry Udon recipe. I tried it out today with the only difference that I substituted the meat for shiitake mushroom since I didn’t have any meat to use, and it was delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipe, now I gotta try some others 🙂

    113
    Reply to Julia'> Reply

    • Hi Julia! Thank you for letting me know! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe. Shiitake has great umami flavor and perfect thing to add in curry! I hope you find some recipes you like on my blog. 🙂 Thanks for writing!

      114
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  104. dani

    Could I used dried udon noodles instead? Before I buy fresh udon noodles I want to use up more of the dried Udon I accidently bought in bulk. Thought I was ordering soba and ended up with 12 packages of udon to use up.

    And this recipe looks fantastic. I love curry. ^_^

    115
    Reply to dani'> Reply

    • Hi Dani! Sure, you can use dried udon noodles and I sometimes use it too! 🙂 12 packs of udon… my daughter will be happy if I have endless stock of udon noodles. Hope you enjoy the curry udon!

      116
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

    • Ahahaha! Your comment just made my day! I’m glad your husband enjoyed it. Soon you don’t need my recipes anymore and you can make all the Japanese food! 😉 Thank you for your feedback, Christina!

      118
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  107. Cassandre

    Hi Nami,

    Your curry udon looks amazing! 🙂
    Instead of using a block of Japanese curry roux like you, I really want to try your curry roux recipe.
    So I was wondering how many tablespoons/grams of your homemade roux do I need to use for 2 blocks of curry roux ?

    Bye, Cassandre.

    121
    Reply to Cassandre'> Reply

    • Hi Cassandre! Thank you so much for your kind words! This curry udon is so good! I hope you get to try this. I haven’t made this with my homemade curry roux yet (I should!), so it’s hard to say… but the curry roux recipe is for one box of store-bought curry roux. So you probably need a few Tbsp. Great thing about making curry dish is that you can add curry roux until the consistency you like. I really like “thick” curry udon (my mom used to make thicker version), but my family likes thinner curry udon. You can adjust how much curry roux to use based on your preference. The homemade curry roux should be enough as long as you don’t exceed using one box of store-bought curry roux. Hope this helps. 🙂

      122
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

      • Cassandre

        Nami,

        Yes, don’t worry, it helps. 😉 I think I get it, not really an exact science but more like cooking with your taste buds and heart, right? how you feel it in the moment… I tried this dish a few times at the restaurant and I like it thick too (finish udon and drink all the dashi like a soup, it’s wonderful =D).

        I think I’ll try cooking this curry udon next week. I’ll come back later and keep you updating on the amount of curry roux I used!

        123
        Reply to Cassandre'> Reply

          • Cassandre

            So, I’m back ! 🙂

            First, I made homemade curry roux according to your recipe. Well… I think I was wrong somewhere. I tried to convert tablespoons in grams and maybe it’s here I made a mistake. Then my roux turned brown after only 5 minutes ; I think I burned it ><'… My homemade curry roux came closer to the one I buy normally at 70-80% maybe? But it was good, not the taste of Japanese curry I expected but good nonetheless! 🙂 I will definitely give it another try.

            Now the udon! Obviously, because of my roux, it wasn’t the taste of the one I eat at the restaurant. Same here, 70-80%?

            I used for about 30 grams of roux (2 tablespoons?) for 1 block, but my mistake was that I forgot that the curry would thicken so after 4 minutes of heating the curry, it was really really thick and I had to add some water.

            Next time, I’ll cook it with curry sauce mix and I will get the right taste! 😉

            125
            Reply to Cassandre'> Reply

            • Hi Cassandra! Thank you so much for writing your feedback. I’m sorry the curry roux didn’t turn out well. Probably 5 minutes is a bit too short so I think your heat was a little too strong. Hope your next curry udon will come out well next time! 🙂

              126
              Reply to Nami'> Reply

  109. Leo Döhl

    The Curry Udon was a very nice and fast to make, which was what I just needed for tonight as I was home a bit late. This was also a slightly different way of enjoying curry because of the Japanese seasoning with Dashi stock, Sake and Soy Sauce.

    As with other recipies, I was really satisfied with this – 5 stars.

    ありがとうございます！

    129
    Reply to Leo Döhl'> Reply

  111. Alan

    Love your recipes Namiko! I’ve recently begun to cook with curry. I was just wondering if instead of curry cubes I could use powder. If so, how much powder per ml of water?

    133
    Reply to Alan'> Reply

    • Hi Carmela! I’m with a Japanese friend now and both of us never heard or tried stir fry kare udon before! That is pretty creative as we have kare pirafu (kind of like fried rice) but not with noodles. We only had “wet” curry udon. I’ll try making it myself. Not sure what kind of flavor the chef used besides curry (since it’s not a common dish, I’m sure he/she created their own version), but I’ll see what I can make. Maybe if it’s good I’ll share one day. 🙂

      138
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  114. Selina

    Hi Nami,

    Thanks for another great recipe as always 🙂 I just have a quick question. I made Curry Rice today and there is leftover curry (with meat, carrot and potato). Is there any correct way to dilute the leftover curry to make this Curry Udon?

    Thank you very much in advance. Have a nice day!

    139
    Reply to Selina'> Reply

    • Hi Selina! Thank you for your kind words! I love the dashi broth in curry so I used it to make this particular curry udon. With leftover curry, you could use dashi or simply water to dilute. Now regarding the amount, it’s up to preference. I actually enjoy thicker leftover curry udon instead of soupy one by diluting just a little bit so it’s not thick sauce like one for curry. But not as thin as “soup”. If you prefer soupy type, then you can add more water/dashi. Flavor should’t be lost. There is no correct measurement as everyone has different amount/thickness of curry leftover and hard to explain. Add liquid on simmer and see the consistency. 🙂 Hope this helps!

      140
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

      • Selina

        Hi Nami! Thanks a lot for the quick response 🙂 However, I only managed to read your reply now as the notification somehow ended up in the Spam mailbox 🙁 (maybe because the email address of the notification is different from the newsletter one). I have marked it as not spam now 🙂

        141
        Reply to Selina'> Reply

        • Hi Selina! Sorry it went into the spam folder. I’m using a plugin that send my response to the commenter so I don’t have the control. If you have any further question, feel free to email me. 🙂

          142
          Reply to Nami'> Reply

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