Chewy udon noodles in a thick and rich curry flavoured broth, this Japanese curry udon is one of the tastiest noodle dishes out there and it's easy to make from scratch too!
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What is Curry Udon?
Curry udon is an udon dish flavored with curry by adding curry powder to the broth. While most udon noodle dishes are usually served in a light and thin broth, curry udon is very different. Although the base of the broth is the same (made with dashi, soy sauce and mirin), curry udon is thick, warming and flavoured with curry spice.
Curry udon also contains meat and a wider variety of vegetables which sets it further apart from your regular udon soup.
Curry Udon Ingredients
Curry udon contains a wider variety of ingredients than other kinds of udon soups. Here I'll go over them in a little more detail.
Udon Broth (dashi stock)
The broth is packed with flavour, here are the main ingredients:
- Dashi (Check out my recipe on how to make your own dashi from scratch.)
- Curry Powder (I use S&B brand)
- Soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
- Mirin (I used Kikkoman)
- Sugar
As you can see, there are lots of Japanese flavours going on in this broth, and the result is a unique curry with a deep umami savory taste. Using soy sauce also makes the curry broth darker in colour.
Dashi
To give the curry broth an authentic Japanese flavour, it's important not to skip the dashi. Dashi is a kind of soup stock made from dried kelp (kombu), bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and sometimes other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms or dried sardines. When it contains 2 or more ingredients, it's known as "awase dashi".
It's easy to make your own dashi from scratch and only takes about 35-45 minutes from start to finish. If you're interested in learning more about homemade dashi, check out my post on how to make a basic awase dashi. I've also included instructions in the recipe card below.
If you're making a vegetarian version of the dish, make sure to use vegetarian dashi stock. You can check out my recipe for vegan dashi if you want to try making it yourself too!
Dashi Shortcut
If you want to save yourself some time, you don't necessarily have to make your own dashi from scratch. You can also buy the following on Amazon:
Instant dashi powder is usually made mainly from bonito (skipjack tuna) powder, the one I've linked above also contains kombu, or you can choose sardine or vegetarian too.
The dashi bags contain kombu, bonito, niboshi and shiitake.
You can simply add dashi bags or dashi powder to water to make a quick dashi, they only take a few minutes so it can cut 30 minutes off your cooking time.
Meat (Pork, beef or chicken)
Classic curry udon is usually made with thinly sliced pork, and I must say it's my favourite meat to use for this dish. The flavours from the fat in the pork add to the broth and give it an authentic flavour that you would expect when you eat curry udon in Japan.
You can also make it with beef, chicken thigh or even top it with a delicious tonkatsu (トンカツ) pork cutlet depending on your preference.
Vegetables
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:
- White onion
- Any mushrooms
- Carrots
- Snow peas
- Aubergine (eggplant)
- Courgette (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 after sealing the meat.
Curry Powder
One of the best things about this recipe is that you can use any curry powder. It doesn't have to be Japanese curry roux or anything like that because you're already getting Japanese flavours from the dashi and condiments.
I've tried using a mild Indian curry powder and S&B Japanese curry powder to make this dish, both were delicious.
I think this recipe tastes best made with curry powder, but you can use Japanese curry roux cubes instead if you prefer.
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.
Udon noodles
Udon noodles are thick and chewy noodles made with flour, water and salt.
They come dried, fresh and frozen. Frozen ones have a great texture and can be microwaved for convenience, but any kind of udon works. Simply cook them separately by following the instructions on the packaging, divide them into serving bowls and pour the curry broth over the top!
Portions
The amount of udon we use per person, of course varies depending on which type you buy. Here is how much you will need for two servings.
- Fresh / refrigerated Udon - 400g (14oz)
- Dried Udon - 200g (7oz)
- Frozen Udon - 500g (18oz)
Cook Separately
It's best to cook the noodles separately, check the packaging and follow the instructions.
Once they're ready, rinse them under hot water and divide them into serving bowls. Then you can just pour the curry soup over the top.
Extra ingredients
In Japan, udon dishes are usually served with slices of a pink and white Japanese fishcakes called "kamaboko" (かまぼこ) and a sweet deep fried tofu called "aburaage" (油あげ). But these can be hard to find in other countries and they're not necessary for the dish.
If you want to upgrade your curry udon, maybe you can add a boiled egg or something deep-fried like tempura or a breaded cutlet on top. That's the ultimate curry udon in my opinion!
I hope you love this dish as much as I do. Let's get started!
Watch my video How to make Japanese Curry Udon with Chicken!
Step by step recipe
Japanese Curry Udon Noodles Soup from Scratch
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2-3 portions 1x
Description
How to make delicious Japanese Curry Udon (カレーうどん) from scratch. Chewy udon noodles served in a Japanese style curry soup and mixed with meat, vegetables, kamaboko and fried tofu. (Serves 2)
Ingredients
Dashi
- 600ml Water (2 ½ cups)
- 2 sheets Dried Kelp Kombu (12g)
- 15g Katsuobushi Bonito flakes (½oz)
Broth
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Curry powder
- 1 tbsp Potato starch (or corn starch)
- 4-5 tbsp Cold water
Curry Udon
- 1 tsp oil
- 150g meat of your choice (thinly sliced pork belly/ beef / chicken thigh)
- 100g Spring onion / scallions (1 cup)
- 50g Shimeji Mushrooms (½ cup)
- Kamaboko (Japanese fish cake) optional
- Aburaage (fried tofu) optional
- 2 Portions of Udon Noodles
- 2 tbsp Spring onion green part, finely chopped (garnish)
Instructions
Dashi
(If you have instant dashi you can skip this part.)
- Take a large bowl and add 600ml (2 ½ cups) of cold water. Add two sheets of dried kombu seaweed to the water.
- Leave to soak until softened. (This usually takes about 30 minutes)
- Once the kombu has softened, transfer it to a pot and turn on the heat to a medium setting.
- When it starts to bubble (not quite boiling) remove the kombu and add 15g (½oz) bonito flakes (katsuobushi).
- Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Line a sieve with kitchen paper and put it over a pot or large bowl.
- Pour the dashi through it. The kitchen paper will catch all the little bits.
- Set the bowl of dashi aside for later.
Curry Udon
- Cut the spring onion diagonally into chunks. (If using kamaboko or aburaage, cut them into thin slices.)
- Heat a large pot with a drizzle of oil, add the meat of your choice and fry until browned on the surface.
- Once the meat is lightly browned, add the dashi to the pot with 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 1 tsp sugar.
- Mix well and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp curry powder and 1 tbsp potato starch. Add 4 tbsp of cold water and mix it into a curry paste with a thin consistency. (It should be like a thin pancake batter.)
- Add the curry paste mixture to the pot and whisk to incorporate it into the broth.
- Add the spring onion and mushroom to the pot. (You can add kamaboko and aburaage here if you are using them.)
- Simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened, stir occasionally.
- While the soup is cooking, cook the udon noodles according to the packaging.
- Place the udon noodles in serving bowls and pour the curry soup over the top.
- Garnish with chopped spring onion and enjoy.
Notes
If you use chicken thigh, I recommend using skin-on and frying it with the skin side down first.
You can add extra vegetables to this dish such as white onion or carrots. Add them early on to ensure long enough cooking time.
Kamaboko (the pink and white fish cake) is more for decoration and can be omitted from the dish.
If you want a stronger curry taste, you can add an extra 1-2 tsp curry powder.
Prep time includes the kombu soaking time.
If you want a saltier broth, you can add soy sauce to taste.
When making the curry paste, make sure it's runny like a thin pancake batter before adding it to the broth. Thick paste tends to clump when it's added to the hot water so feel free to add more cold water to the paste to reach the desired consistency. Add it straight to the broth and mix well (you can use a whisk if you like.)
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Noodles
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Japanese
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