Thick chewy udon noodles served in a rich, fragrant curry soup! 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 soup, you just want to grab your chopsticks and slurp away.
How to Make Curry Udon
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 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.
- Onion
- Green onion
- Udon noodles – More about it below.
- Dashi (Japanese soup stock) – homemade, which takes just 30 minutes, or dashi packet, or dashi powder). For vegans/vegetarians, make Vegan Dashi.
- Japanese curry roux – More about it below.
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Make dashi.
- 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 soup 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.
What is 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 soup, 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.
Which Udon Noodles to Pick?
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 This 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 (for garnish)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 6 oz thinly sliced pork loin (cut into bite-sized pieces; you can substitute your choice of protein)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 3 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 2 cubes Japanese curry roux (2 oz, 50 g; or make homemade Japanese Curry Roux)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 servings udon noodles (1.1 lb, 500 g frozen or parboiled udon noodles; 6.3 oz, 180 g dry udon noodles)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Break the boxed roux into cubes and use 2 cubes Japanese curry roux (keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator/freezer for 1–3 months). Prepare 3 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) using your preferred method.
- Thinly slice ½ onion and 2 green onions/scallions. Set aside the green onions for garnish.
- Preheat a medium pot or Dutch oven (I used a 2.75 QT Staub) over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil. Next, add the onion slices.
- Sauté the onion slices for 2–3 minutes. Then, add 6 oz thinly sliced pork loin that you‘ve cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook the meat until it‘s barely pink. Next, add 1 Tbsp sake.
- Add the dashi to the pot 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 with a fine-mesh skimmer and continue to cook.
- Meanwhile, start boiling a large pot of water for the udon.
- After 5 minutes of simmering the stock and meat, turn off the heat. Next, put a cube of curry roux in a ladleful of hot stock.
- With chopsticks or a spoon, dissolve the roux cube completely in the ladle, then release it to the soup. Repeat with the next cube. Tip: You don‘t want to eat a chunk of undissolved curry roux, so take your time to dissolve it completely.
- Add 2 tsp soy sauce and mix well. Turn off the heat and cover with the lid to keep it warm.
- When the water is boiling, cook 2 servings udon noodles according to the package instructions (for this Sanuki udon, I heated the frozen noodles in boiling water for 1 minute).
To Serve
- Drain the noodles and divide into two bowls. Pour the curry soup over the udon noodles. Top with the green onions and serve immediately.
To Store
- Keep the leftover curry soup in a glass airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month. Defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours and reheat in a pot. I recommend cooking the udon noodles just before serving.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 13, 2012. A video and new photos were added in May 2020.
Dear Nami this was a simple and delicious recipe! Tried it with my daughter today and she loved it! Thank you for your wonderful recipes:)
Hi Josephine! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed this recipe!
I made this for my dinner last evening. I love Japanese curry and I love Udon so what could be wrong.
Nothing really. I think next time I will add a small amount of other vegetables that I add to the curry beside onions. Keep up the good work.
Hi Barbara! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it and thanks for your kind feedback. 🙂
I like the recipe, it’s simple and filling. However, there was too much dashi in my opinion, the curry was too diluted for my taste.
Hi Maria! This curry udon is dashi based, more liquid version (for example, my mom prefers thick curry sauce udon and made that for us growing up). So please adjust as you like. I try to make it close to the standard curry udon noodle soup served in Japan. 🙂
Curry Udon is one of our favorite comfort foods. Do you remember the little Mom and Pop Udon noodle shop in Nakaodai that was walking distance from our house? Our favorite place for sure. We love the medium House curry in the green package, if we make it at home. Hope you are doing well. Take Care
Ah, I’m not familiar with the shop, but I can imagine the curry udon they serve in Japan. So delicious, especially on cold nights. We’re doing okay. I hope you and your family are well. 🙂 xo
Another winner Nami-chan! Thank you so much! Easy and so yummy. The dashi was clutch, gave it that really comfort food taste. Used instant dashi – Hondashi brand. Thank you for sharing. You are my go to for Japanese cooking 🙂 aloha from Hawaii!!
Aloha! Thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thanks for trying it! 🙂
Thank you Nami! Question, is it possible to share a Kakiage Tenpura Corn recipe if you have one? We often order this side dish at one of our favorite ramen shop here in Hawaii and now that corn is in season I’d like to give it a try at home. I’m not sure which direction to go for a “light” and crispy batter. Tenpura batter is a little tricky for me. I can never get it “light” and fluffy. Thank you so much! 🙂
Aloha! I’ll add it to my list. 🙂 I think the oil temperature is the key.
I have been making Curry Rice with S&H Curry for many years and made last week. I never thought of using Udon but now I am dying to try it. Thank you for all the curry variations.
Hi Barbara! Hope you enjoy the recipe! It’s a great quick meal! 🙂
What do you mean by “2 blocks curry roux?”
Hi Elaine! I apologize for my “loose” measurement for this recipe. What I meant is that storebought-curry roux came in a package like this (https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-curry-sauce-mix-roux/).
Each square roux has divided lines (kind of like bar chocolate?), and with hands, you can easily break it into 4-6 smaller blocks/cubes depending on brands. 1 piece (block/cube) is 3 x 3 cm (really roughly) and 20 grams.
Super delicious! Tossed in some carrots and green onion and a little cayenne pepper. Making this again.
Hi Neeki! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this dish! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. 🙂
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If i want to use your homemade recipe for curry roux instead of the 2 blocks, how much do i need?
Hi Anita! It’s hard to say, but I’d say try adding 1/2 Tbsp increment to the soup and taste how thin/thick you want to eat. It’s really up to individual in terms of curry udon’s thickness. Everyone prefers different style… 🙂
Hello Nami,
I just tried your beef udon recipe the other day and my husband simply loves it! The tender sweet slices of beef go very well with the warm soup udon. I then decided next on the menu shall be curry udon!
The curry udon recipe states it is for 1 serving. Will 2 packet udon be too much then? And 3 cups dashi will be how much in volume? 720 ml?
Thank you for sharing all these great recipes. 🙂
Hi Bernice! I apologize for my late response. I’m so happy to hear your husband liked the beef udon recipe. 🙂
Thanks for bringing it up to my attention. This recipe is for two. I think when we were converting the recipe to a different plugin, some of the serving size got changed, and I truly apologize for the confusion. Yes, 3 cups = about 720 ml.
Sorry I couldn’t write you back sooner. I’ve been a bit busy….