Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Japanese Curry Beef Udon
日式咖喱牛肉烏冬
Recipe overview
Onion and carrot make a gently sweet broth, then Japanese curry roux is dissolved off the heat in batches for a smooth, flowing curry soup lighter than curry rice sauce. Udon is loosened separately and thin beef is cooked only at the end.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 4 packs, 180–200 g each Japanese udon
- 350 g, fully thawed Thinly sliced beef
- 1, about 200 g Onion
- 120 g, thinly sliced Carrot
- 2 Scallions
- 1.1 litres Water or low-salt dashi
- 1 tbsp Cooking oil
Beef seasoning
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Water
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Oil
Curry soup seasoning
- 80 g Japanese curry roux
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 pinch White pepper
02
Tools
- Medium deep pot
- Wooden spoon
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
- Knife and board
- Knife and board
- Small beef bowl
- Colander
- Measuring cup and spoons
- Measuring cup and spoons
- 4 large noodle bowls
03
Steps
Step 1
Slice vegetables
Slice onion and carrot thinly; separate sliced scallion whites and greens.
Step 2
Prepare beef
Fully thaw beef, drain and pat dry; slice large pieces across the grain. Wash raw-beef tools.
Step 3
Season beef
Gently mix beef with soy, water and cornstarch, then oil; rest 10 minutes.
Step 4
Sauté onion
Sauté onion and scallion whites in oil over medium heat 2–3 minutes until translucent.
Step 5
Add carrot
Stir-fry carrot 1 minute to coat with oil.
Step 6
Simmer broth
Add 1.1 litres water or dashi; simmer 6–8 minutes until onion softens and carrot is tender.
Step 7
Dissolve roux off heat
Remove from strong heat; add small roux pieces in 2–3 batches, stirring each completely smooth.
Step 8
Adjust curry soup
Gently heat with remaining seasonings for 2 minutes. It should flow; add hot water 30–50 ml at a time if too thick.
Step 9
Loosen udon
Boil udon separately 1–2 minutes only until strands loosen and stay springy.
Step 10
Add udon to curry
Drain udon, add to curry and gently separate for about 1 minute.
Step 11
Cook beef through
At a gentle simmer add beef in batches, separate slices and cook 1.5–2.5 minutes until fully brown with no red centre.
Step 12
Serve
Divide udon, beef, vegetables and flowing curry soup into 4 bowls; top with scallion greens.
Common mistakes
- Adding whole roux to a fierce boil dissolves poorly.
- Thick curry-rice sauce makes udon sticky.
- Long cooking makes udon bloated.
- Early beef becomes tough.
- Thick carrot stays hard.
- Unstirred curry sticks to the base.
- Too much water weakens flavour.
Tips
Cut roux small and dissolve it off heat. Curry udon soup is thinner than curry rice sauce; add hot water little by little. Loosen udon briefly and add beef last, cooking it fully through. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat the whole dish thoroughly.
