Curry Udon
Ingredients
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- 4 cups water
- 1/3 ounces kombu
- 11/16 ounces katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 10 ounces yellow onion – thinly sliced (~2 medium yellow onions)
- 8 ounces pork belly – thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 ounces Japanese curry roux – chopped
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp potato starch
- 2 tbsp water – cold
- 18 ounces udon noodles – fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cups scallions – thinly sliced (for serving) (~1.5 n/a green onions)
Instructions
1. Make dashi: Combine 4 cups water and the kombu in a medium pot and heat over medium until the water is steaming and tiny bubbles appear around the edges, 8–10 minutes; do not let it boil. Remove the kombu, add the katsuobushi, simmer 1 minute, then turn off the heat and steep 5 minutes. Strain the dashi into a bowl and return the pot to the stove.
2. Build the base: Heat the neutral oil in the pot over medium. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring, until translucent and lightly softened, 4–6 minutes. Add the pork belly and cook until the color just changes, 1–2 minutes. Pour in the sake and let it bubble 1 minute.
3. Simmer the broth: Return the strained dashi to the pot with the onions and pork. Add the mirin, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the onions are tender and flavors meld, 3–5 minutes.
4. Add curry: Turn the heat to low. Stir in the chopped Japanese curry roux until fully dissolved, 2–3 minutes. Return to a gentle simmer; the broth should be slightly thick and glossy.
5. Thicken: In a small bowl, whisk the potato starch with 2 tbsp cold water to make a smooth slurry. While the broth simmers, drizzle in the slurry, stirring constantly, and cook until the soup lightly thickens and coats a spoon, 1–2 minutes.
6. Cook udon: In a separate pot of boiling water, cook the udon noodles until just tender (fresh or frozen usually 2–3 minutes). Drain well and briefly rinse to remove excess starch.
7. Finish and serve: Divide the noodles between two bowls. Ladle the hot curry broth with pork and onions over the noodles. Top with the scallions (for serving) and serve immediately.
Curry Udon pairs thick, chewy udon noodles with a silky Japanese curry broth that clings to every strand. The soup is savory and gently sweet, with dashi’s clean umami supporting mellow, aromatic curry. Tender onions and thinly sliced meat add body, while a light starch thickening gives the broth its signature sheen and slurpable texture.
Born from Japan’s yoshoku tradition, curry arrived via the British in the Meiji era and quickly embedded itself in everyday cooking. Curry udon likely emerged in soba-ya noodle shops in the early 20th century, where dashi-based soups were already the norm and cooks folded curry into that framework. Today it’s a cold-weather staple across Japan, with regional touches—slightly sweeter in Kansai, a bit more soy-forward in Kanto—and a favorite way to repurpose leftover curry by stretching it with dashi.