Thick chewy udon noodles soaked in a rich, fragrant curry sauce! This Japanese Curry Udon will satisfy your noodles craving in an instant. Bonus: it’s simple enough to throw together on a busy weeknight.
Curry Udon (カレーうどん) has been a popular menu item in Japan for a long time. It is lesser-known compared to Curry Rice, but the creamy curry is just as fulfilling when you enjoy it with udon.
And to me, the silky noodles have a way to soothe the soul in a comforting way unlike the other. When you blanket it with a rich curry sauce, you just want to grab your chopsticks and slurp away.
Ingredients You’ll Need
1. Your Choice of Protein
I used thinly sliced pork loin in the recipe as it cooks in seconds, but feel free to use your choice of protein such as chicken, beef, seafood, or tofu.
2. Japanese Curry Roux
Since the Japanese modify the food from other cuisines to suit their palate, you can expect Japanese curry to be quite different from Indian curries or Thai curries. It is thicker, milder, and sweeter, with a stew-like consistency. An ideal curry for curry beginners, or for people who prefer a gentler, sweeter flavor.
To make the curry sauce, we’ll need to make curry roux. Homemade curry roux from scratch is, of course, the best, but there’s always an option of using the convenient store-bought curry roux when needed.
This is going to be a quick curry recipe, so I take the easy route this time. Nowadays, you can even find the rectangular packages of Japanese Curry Roux sold at major American grocery stores. Look for them at the Asian/ global food aisle.
3. Udon Noodles
Thick, chewy, slippery udon noodles are so delicious! You can buy frozen, refrigerated, or dried udon noodles at Japanese or Asian grocery stores, and refrigerated ones in American grocery stores.
However, I only recommend getting frozen ones (choose one that says “Sanuki udon”) or dried udon noodles as they have a better texture than the refrigerated ones.
- Make dashi (homemade, which takes just 30 minutes, or dashi packet, or dashi powder).
- Stir fry the onion and your choice of protein in the frying pan.
- Add the dashi and curry roux in the frying pan.
- Cook up udon noodles in a separate pot.
- Assemble drained udon noodles and curry sauce in a serving bowl.
A satisfying noodle dish whipped up in under 30 minutes! This curry udon is rich and flavorful, with just a tinge of sweetness in each spoonful.
Make Cold Curry Udon in the Summertime!
Oh by the way, if it’s in the middle of summer, try Cold Curry Udon!
Other Less-Known Curry Recipes
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Curry Udon
Video
Ingredients
- ½ onion (5.7 oz, 162 g)
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.)
- 6 oz thinly sliced pork loin (or use your choice of protein; cut into small pieces)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 3 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock; click to learn more) (720 ml)
- 2 cubes Japanese curry roux (Roughly 2 oz or 50 g total. You can make homemade Japanese curry roux)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 servings udon noodles (6.3 oz/180 g dry udon noodles; 1.1 lb/500 g frozen/boiled udon noodles)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. For curry roux, you will need to break into cubes and use 2 pieces. Prepare dashi with your preferred method, if you haven't made yet.
- Thinly slice the onion and green onions.
- In a medium pot (I used a 2.75 QT Staub), heat oil on medium heat and add the onion.
- Saute the onion for 2-3 minutes, and then add the meat.
- Cook the meat until almost no longer pink and add sake.
- Add dashi and cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.
- When simmering, skim off the scum and fat from the stock and continue to cook.
- Meanwhile, start boiling a large pot of water for udon.
- After 5 minutes, turn off the heat. Put the cube of the curry roux in a ladle and dissolve one cube at a time.
- With chopsticks or spoon, let the roux dissolves completely in a ladle, before releasing it to the soup. Tip: You don't want to eat a chunk of undissolved curry roux, so take your time to dissolve the roux completely.
- Add soy sauce and mix well. Turn off the heat and cover the lid to keep it warm.
- When water is boiling, cook your udon noodles according to the package instruction (For this Sanuki udon, cook frozen noodles in boiling water for 1 minute).
- Drain the noodles and divide into two bowls. Pour the curry over the udon noodles. Top with green onion and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 13, 2012. A video and new photos were added in May 2020.
