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What is Curry Udon?
Curry udon is a soupy noodle dish made with chunky Japanese udon (wheat noodles) served in a thick, glossy curry flavored dashi soup. You could say that it’s a dish where Indian spice meets Japanese noodles, and it’s a surprisingly amazing combination!
While most traditional udon dishes are served in a light and thin broth, curry udon is basically on another level. The base of the broth is essentially the same (made with dashi, soy sauce and mirin). However, curry udon is thick, spicy and filling. Regular udon dishes feel quite humble, whereas curry udon feels rich and decadent.
Curry udon contains meat (most commonly pork) and can be customized with a wide variety of vegetables. However, you could easily make this a vegetarian dish by using vegan/vegetarian dashi and switching the pork out for a meat-free alternative!
How I Developed This Recipe
In Japan, it’s common to use commercial roux for convenience when making curry udon at home. However, creating this dish from scratch is quite doable and can be even more rewarding!
With this in mind, I developed a recipe that simplifies the process of making authentic curry udon, ensuring that anyone can prepare it in their own kitchen.
Curry udon is particularly comforting during the cold winter days when you crave something warm and filling. The spiciness of the curry paired with the chewy texture of the udon makes for a satisfying meal that warms you from the inside out!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Udon Noodles: Choose from pre-boiled, dried, or frozen to enjoy their chewy texture.
- Dashi Broth: The foundation of our soup. Select from my favorite dashi, simple awase dashi, vegan dashi. Alternatively, you cause instant granules or dashi packets options for convenience.
- Soy Sauce: I recommend Kikkoman for both quality and affordability. For more details, check out my soy sauce guide.
- Mirin: Opt for “hon mirin” (本みりん) like Hinode Hon Mirin for genuine flavor. Consult my Mirin 101 for further information.
- Sugar: Regular sugar works, though I prefer light brown cane sugar for depth.
- Curry Powder: I realize that the words “curry powder” alone are unclear, but in this recipe, I am using S&B’s Oriental curry spices. A Japanese company developed this mix, an essential product for recreating the flavor of Japanese-style curry. This recipe tastes best with curry powder, but you can use Japanese curry roux cubes instead. If you go down the curry roux route, use one cube of Japanese curry roux for each tablespoon of curry powder in the recipe. So 2 tbsp curry powder = 2 cubes of curry roux.
- Potato Starch: Cornstarch or tapioca starch are suitable substitutes.
- Thinly Sliced Pork Belly: Adds authentic flavor to the broth. Alternatively, beef and chicken thigh work well.
- Toppings: I chose green onions, shimeji mushrooms, kamaboko (Japanese fish cake), and tofu pouch (aburaage).
The main vegetables in this dish are spring onions and shimeji mushrooms, but you can also add other vegetables to make it more to your taste. Here are some ideas:
- Yellow/white onion
- Any kind of mushrooms
- Carrots
- Snow peas
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Bell Peppers
- Baby Corn
If you’re adding other vegetables, make sure you add them early to ensure they’re properly cooked. If using white onion, I’d recommend sautéing them before sealing the meat to make them soft.
If you want to upgrade your curry udon, maybe you can add a boiled egg or something deep-fried like tempura or even a tonkatsu on top.
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Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsVisual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Japanese Curry Udon at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
For the best flavor and texture, brown your meat first. I used thinly sliced pork belly, which is most common for curry udon in Japan, but you could also use beef or chicken if you prefer.
This step also helps render the fat in the meat will add more flavor to your broth!
Once the meat is sealed, add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to the pot.
Bring it to a boil over medium heat and then lower the heat to a simmer.
Okay, the term “paste” is used loosely here. Basically, I made a curry-flavoured slurry which will not only help the curry powder distribute evenly throughout the broth without lumps but also thicken the broth to give it a true “Japanese curry udon” consistency!
Whisk the curry powder, potato starch, and cold water in a small bowl until smooth. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter. If it’s too thick then feel free to add a little more water.
Pour the curry mixture into the broth and mix it well. I used a whisk to make sure it was thoroughly mixed into the soup.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. In this recipe, I use spring onion, shimeji mushrooms, kamaboko (a Japanese fish cake commonly used in udon dishes), and aburaage (tofu pouch). For more ingredient ideas, check the substitutions below!
Simmer on a low heat without a lid for about 15 minutes. Mix from time to time to ensure even cooking.
While the soup is simmering, cook your udon noodles in a separate pot. This ensures that the noodles’ starch doesn’t make the soup too thick or floury.
Once cooked, drain the water by pouring it into a colander and rinse with freshly boiled water for the best results.
Transfer the cooked udon to serving bowls and pour the soup over the top. Garnish with thinly sliced spring onions and a sprinkle of shichimi chili pepper.
Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsFAQ
If you look at the long history of udon, you could say that curry udon is something completely unique. Curry udon is a noodle dish created by fusing yoshoku (Western-inspired Japanese food) culture and Japanese noodle culture, but when was the dish invented?
Today, curry udon is famous for being a type of Nagoya-meshi (food from Nagoya and surrounding areas), but actually, it wasn’t born in Nagoya at all. Actually, I’m from the Nagoya area, and there are many people who misunderstand that it originated from around here.
It is said that the real place of origin is a restaurant called “Sancho-an” (now closed) located in Waseda, Tokyo. Apparently it appeared around the late Meiji period, which is over 100 years ago. I’m actually very surprised that curry udon has such a long history.
Speaking of Waseda in Tokyo, Waseda University is one of the most famous universities in Japan, and it is said that as soon as this novel menu of eating udon with curry soup appeared, it quickly gained popularity amongst students at the time.
So curry udon is from Tokyo, but why is it considered as Nagoya’s specialty in recent years? I’m from the area, so I haven’t really noticed, but it turns out that curry udon in Nagoya and curry udon in Tokyo are slightly different despite having the same name.
Curry udon in Nagoya is characterized by a very thick broth and especially thick noodles to match the broth; the curry itself is also spicier than that of Tokyo. On the other hand, Tokyo’s curry tendon has a lighter broth and is more like a curry-flavored pancake udon (udon noodles in a sweet thick sauce). Simply put, Nagoya’s curry udon uses a curry roux which is more similar to curry rice.
Nagoya-style curry udon originates from Shachinoya, a long-established chain restaurant that has been around since 1976. The new flavor created by the famous restaurant at that time became very popular among Nagoya people, who love the rich taste.
By the way, people in Nagoya tend to prefer strong or rich flavors, and I am no exception. Because of this, my recipe leans towards Nagoya style.
Other examples of Nagoya-meshi recipes include:
Hitsumabushi
Taiwan ramen
Tebasaki chicken wings
Miso katsu
Miso udon
Taiwan mazesoba
It might sound a bit ridiculous, but curry udon is actually considered a “dangerous” food to some and there are many blogs in Japanese that offer advice on how to eat it safely.
“How is it dangerous?” you might ask. Well, because the soup is especially thick, it retains the heat, meaning that the soup stays hotter for longer. Also, udon noodles are known for being slippery and heavy which can cause them to fall and splash while you eat them. Slippery noodles in an extra hot curry soup is a recipe for danger. Not only could you get burnt by the splashes, but also the curry soup could stain your clothes so it’s a double disaster!
Don’t let the danger deter you from this extremely delicious dish though. Here are a few tips I’ve gathered on how to eat curry udon safely.
1. Wear dark clothes/napkin
This one might seem obvious, but the best way to prevent curry stains is to of course, wear dark clothes or protect your clothes by covering them with a napkin. Basically, don’t wear white! Keep this in mind if you’re planning on cooking curry udon or going to an udon restaurant. (Even if you don’t order curry udon, a friend or family member might!)
2. Mix well
First, gently loosen the noodles in the bowl with chopsticks before you start eating. This will help some of the heat escape and also break the noodles apart so it will be easier to pick them up, making them less likely to fall and splash. You can also blow on the soup while mixing to help bring the temperature down more. This will prevent you from burning your mouth too.
3. Prevent splashes
The biggest danger of curry noodles is splashing. This is what we want to avoid. The best way to prevent this is to not pick up too many noodles at once. If you pick up too many, you’re more likely to drop some and the weight of many noodles creates a bigger splash than just a few noodles.
It’s also recommended to bow your head slightly when eating and move your face a little closer to the bowl so that the noodles can be slurped up vertically. This puts more distance between the soup and your clothes and less distance between your mouth and the noodles meaning less distance to fall.
I hope you enjoy this Curry Udon recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Udon Recipes
- Beef Udon Noodle Soup (Niku Udon)
- Kitsune Udon (Udon Noodles with Deep Fried Tofu)
- Chicken Yaki Udon (Garlic & Butter Soy Sauce Fried Noodles)
- Zaru Udon (Cold Udon with Homemade Dipping Sauce)
You can also check more authentic Japanese udon recipes here!
Japanese Curry Udon
Ingredients
Broth
- 500 ml dashi stock
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp S&B curry powder
- 1 tbsp potato starch or corn starch
- 5 tbsp cold water
Curry Udon
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- 150 g thin sliced pork belly
- 100 g green onion diagonally sliced
- 50 g shimeji mushroom(s)
- 8 slices kamaboko fish cake kamaboko, optional
- 2 fried tofu pouch (aburaage) thinly sliced, optional
- 2 portions udon noodles
- 2 tbsp green onion green part, finely chopped (garnish)
Instructions
- Heat a large pot on medium. Add 1 tsp cooking oil and add 150 g thin sliced pork belly. Fry until seared on both sides.
- Once the meat is seared, add 500 ml dashi stock to the pot with 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 1 tsp sugar. Mix and bring to a boil, once boiling lower the heat to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp S&B curry powder and 1 tbsp potato starch. Once combined, add 5 tbsp cold water and mix it into a thin curry paste. (It have the thickness of pancake batter.)
- Pour the curry paste mixture to the pot and whisk to incorporate it into the broth.
- Add 100 g green onion and 50 g shimeji mushroom(s) to the pot. (You can also add 8 slices kamaboko fish cake and 2 fried tofu pouch (aburaage) here if you are using them.)
- Simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened, stir occasionally.
- While the soup is simmering, cook 2 portions udon noodles in a separate pot following the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, drain in a colander and rinse with freshly boiled water.
- Transfer the cooked udon to serving bowls and pour the curry soup over the top. Garnish with chopped spring onion and shichimi (Japanese chili pepper).
- Enjoy!
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