Curry Udon

Ingredients

• 4 portions fresh or frozen udon noodles
• 3 cups dashi stock
• 3.5 oz Japanese curry roux (about half a standard box), broken into pieces
• 200g pork belly or chicken thigh, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 leek (or 3 green onions), sliced diagonally
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp potato starch mixed with 2 tbsp water, optional
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
• Shichimi togarashi, for serving

Before you cook

• Slice the pork or chicken thinly
• Slice the onion and leek
• Break the curry roux into small pieces so it dissolves quickly
• Mix the potato starch with water in a small bowl if using it for extra thickness
• Bring a separate large pot of water to a boil for the udon noodles

Steps

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat
2. Add the sliced pork or chicken and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes
3. Add the sliced onion and cook for 2 minutes until it begins to soften
4. Pour in the dashi stock and bring it to a gentle simmer
5. Drop the broken curry roux pieces into the simmering dashi
6. Stir continuously until the roux fully dissolves into the broth, about 2 minutes
7. Stir in the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar
8. Add the sliced leek and simmer everything together for 5 minutes
9. If the broth seems thin, stir in the potato starch slurry and simmer another minute until it thickens and turns glossy
10. Lower the udon noodles into the separate pot of boiling water and cook according to the package directions
11. Drain the udon noodles well and divide them among four deep bowls
12. Ladle the hot curry broth with the pork and vegetables over each bowl of noodles
13. Scatter sliced green onion over the top of each bowl
14. Serve immediately with shichimi togarashi on the side for sprinkling