Beef Udon
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The savory rich broth, the chewy udon noodles, and marinated thin-sliced beef make this Beef Udon my quick ultimate comfort dish to warm my day.
It has been raining cats and dogs here lately. What is more comforting than a bowl of soup in this cold day. Something about wrapping your hands around a warm of delicious comfort says it all.
This Beef Udon bowl was something I had in mind at the moment. You can say that my recent trip to Japan influenced me a lot to enjoy more Japanese food. I had Beef Udon during my trip to Teshima and it was seriously a hearty and comforting bowl of noodle soup to enjoy during the cold weather. Today we are going to recreate that experience with this recipe back in our kitchen.
About Udon
Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle used frequently in Japanese cuisine. The noodle is thicker and chewier than soba noodles, and it can be served both hot and cold. Udon is readily available at supermarkets in Japan. You should be able to find dry or frozen udon at Asian supermarket. For the best selection, you should try to find it at a Japanese market in your area.
Udon comes in many different forms; freshly made, dry, and frozen. The cooking time varies widely from a few minutes to as much as 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the noodle. Overall, cooking udon is notoriously sub-par like cooking spaghetti.
How to Make Beef Udon
Unexpectedly, this recipe is actually very easy to make at home. And it is quick to make, so there is no excuse not to try it! We use only basic condiments in most Japanese cooking. Despite its simplicity, this Beef Udon is packed with tons of flavors. This comfort dish is made of rich dashi broth, the chewy noodles, and topped with stir-fried marinated thinly sliced beef as well as chopped green onion. Everything just comes together so nicely in the bowl that you just want to hold you face above it. You will find yourself slurping down the last drops of the soup wishing you had made more.
Firstly, start making the stir-fried beef for the topping. I use thinly sliced beef with paper thin thickness. The thinner the beef is, the faster it is cooked and the beef will exhibit a soft, tender texture with flavor burst. To make the stir-fried beef, just heat some oil, toss in your beef, and add the seasoning. Easy right?
Next, make the broth with dashi and some basic seasonings. Dashi is Japanese fish stock which gives Japanese food its unique, rich, umami-packed savory flavor. The simple version of dashi is made by heating water containing kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi shavings (bonito flakes). The deep umami flavor is what set dashi apart from other stocks and there is no substitute for it. Instant dashi is the most convenient method to produce a pretty flavorful soup stock. Especially if you are short on time or too lazy to make the stock yourself, dashi powder can come in handy.
When everything is ready to assembly, just put the udon noddles in serving bowls. Pour over the dashi broth over the noodles. Put the stir-fried beef and chopped green onion for the toppings.
More Japanese Dinner Recipes
If you don’t know, I have tons of Japanese dinner recipes that I think you will love.
Ingredients
- 2 servings cooked udon noodles
- Chopped green onion
Stir-Fried Beef
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 0.55 lbs (250 gr) thinly sliced beef
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
Broth
- 2 cups (500 ml) dashi
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Stir-Fried Beef
- Heat oil in a frying pan with medium heat. Add beef and cook until brown. Season with soy sauce and sugar. Turn off the heat. Set aside the beef to a plate and leave the liquid in the frying pan.
Broth
- Add dashi to the frying pan and bring to boil. Season with soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.
- Put the cooked udon noodles to the serving bowls. Pour the broth over the udon noodles and and serve the stir-fried beef and green onion at the top of the udon noodles. Serve hot.
