Beef Udon

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Original Author: Namiko Chen

Serves: 2

My version of the beef udon is slighty different.  I like the broth with more beef flavored.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• ½ Tokyo negi (½ leek or 2 scallions/green onions)
• ½ lb (227 g) thinly sliced beef (ribeye or top sirloin, I used pre-marinated bogogi from H mart)
• 2 servings/packages of Udon (Namiko likes frozen sanuki noodles, I like the thin, flat type)

For Beef (can skip if used pre-marinated bogogi)

• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• ½ - 1 Tbsp. sugar

For Soup (I used chicken/beef broth, adding Japanese soup base and used the beef scrapes from the pan to add more flavor)

• 2 cups (480 ml) dashi
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. mirin
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Pinch (1/8 tsp.) of Kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. salt

For Toppings

• Some slices of Narutomaki (fish cakes I skipped)
• 1 green onion/scallion
• 1 small bunch of Mitsuba (Japanese herbs) (Optional)
• Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7 spice) for taste
  

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, add 2 cups (480 ml) dashi and 1 tsp. sugar.
   
2. Add 1 Tbsp. mirin and 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and bring it to a boil.
   
3. Taste the soup and adjust the taste with Kosher salt as it will enhance the flavor without adding additional sugar or soy sauce. Cover and keep it on low heat.
   
4. Cut the Tokyo negi and Narutomaki (fish cake) diagonally.
   
5. Cut the Mitsuba into small pieces and thinly slice the scallion.
   
6. Cut the thinly sliced meat into bite size pieces.
   
7. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook the frozen udon for 2 minutes. Loosen up the noodles once they started to separate.
   
8. Once the udon is done cooking, use fine sieve to drain water and transfer to serving bowls.
   
9. While cooking udon, you can start heating the large frying pan. Once it’s heated, add 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil and cook the Tokyo negi until tender.
   
10. Add the meat and brown all sides. Don’t move the meat around until it’s nicely seared.
    
11. Once the meat is nicely browned, add ½ to 1 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. soy sauce. When the sauce has caramelized and slightly thicken, turn off the heat.
    
12. By this time, the noodle should be in the serving bowls. Pour the hot soup over the udon noodles in the bowls. Then serve the meat on top of the udon noodles.
    
13. Place the narutomaki (fish cake) and garnish with scallion and mitsuba. If you like it spicy, sprinkle Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7 spice). Enjoy!
    

Notes

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook.