Japanese Curry Udon

Curry udon noodle soup is a uniquely Japanese dish.  Udon are the thick wheat flour noodles that have more of a chewy consistency and are typically served as a noodle soup.  Japanese curry is the Japanese adaptation of the European permutation of the Indian curry.  It’s thicker and milder – almost stew-like.

So, who would have ever thought to combine these two dishes together to come up with a meal? 

Whether it was a deliberate masterpiece or an accidental fusion, the result is nothing short of…magical!  If you aren’t used to the concept of this combination, you may be a little skeptical of how it might taste. But the combination is so delicious and so satisfying that it is one of the comfort foods that the Japanese people enjoy over and over, especially on the cold days of winter. 

This recipe is super easy.  The only time-consuming part could be that you must first make the Japanese curry.  But don’t fret.  Because Japanese curry is one of the most popular foods in Japan, it has become so easy to make a great Japanese curry at home!

How to Make Japanese Curry

To make the Japanese curry, you’ll need:

• Japanese curry roux / sauce mix
• Beef stew meat
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Onions

Follow the direction on the curry sauce mix package for the amount needed for the ingredients and instructions on how to make it. 

The whole package should yield about 12 servings.  But since you can serve Japanese curry over rice as well, and the curry keeps well for a couple of days (as matter fact, it tastes better the second or third day!), a small family can enjoy a few meals out of one package!

Find the substitutions, additional ingredient ideas as well as the Instant Pot cooking directions in my Basics of Japanese Curry page!

Curry Udon Recipe

Ingredients
In addition to the Japanese curry, you only need two key additional ingredients to make curry udon.  They are:

• Mentsuyu.  Mentsuyu (Kikkoman’s brand name for this is “Hon Tsuyu”) is the concentrated soup base that’s typically used to make Japanese noodle soup broths for udon or soba dishes.  Check the directions on the back of the bottle to determine how much water to add to make broth for noodles (hot/cold).  Typically, it’s 1:4 or 1:5 ratio, which means for every 1 part mentsuyu, you add 4 or 5 times the amount of water depending on how strong/weak you want the broth to taste.  You can always start with 4x and add more hot water later if needed to dilute it to your liking.
• Udon noodles  (instant/dried or fresh – see below in the Shop Related Products section below for both options).

For garnish: Add thinly sliced green onion and/or shichimi peppers to your liking.

Once you have these things, the rest is easy!

Instructions: To make 2 servings

1. In a small saucepan, mix mentsuyu with water according to the directions. Bring the broth to boil and then simmer for 5+ minutes.   I mix ½ cup mentsuyu with 2 cups of water to make 2 servings of broth but this ratio may vary depending on the soup stock you buy.
2. Cook 2 servings of the udon noodles according to the package directions. Drain and divide the cooked noodles into individual serving bowls. 
3. In the meantime, if you had the curry pre-made, heat up the curry (about ½ to ¾ cup of curry per serving) in the microwave.
4. Add the noodle broth over cooked noodles, just enough to cover the noodles, then the heated curry on top.
5. Garnish with green onions and/or shichimi peppers.  Serve immediately.

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