An innovative recipe combining the famous udon noodles with delicious Korean beef bulgogi
Today, friends, we’re playing apprentice sorcerers to challenge Mother Nature, create a chimera, something terrifyingly… delicious.
A dish so controversial that I fear Korean purists and Japanese purists might put aside their differences to launch a joint assault against the homeland of the Great Clove…
On this day, udon noodles met beef bulgogi… they lived happily and had only one child: bulgogi udon
Japan and Korea: an endless culinary love affair
From kimbap resembling pimped-up sushi to dashi broth and its cousins found in all broths: from kimchi jjigae to samgyetang, Japanese cuisine and Korean cuisine are no strangers to fusion creations.
In short, thick udon noodles as we like them and divinely tender beef thanks to its marinade is a winning combination.
Just like my stir-fried beef noodles or my beef udon, I would be hard-pressed to understand if this recipe doesn’t make the rounds in my community by the end of the week following the publication of this article.
The main ingredients of bulgogi udon
The beef: Star of the dish, it must be cut very, very thin. No need to choose a particular cut, the thinness of the slices and the tenderizing apple marinade will take care of it
The light soy sauce: Brings salt and umami
The mirin: Brings a slight sweet touch
The sesame oil: ideally, toasted sesame oil but if not, I won’t hold it against you
The udon noodles: thick and bouncy, they haven’t conquered the world for nothing! Use vacuum-packed pre-cooked noodle packets, pay attention to how you cook them before use! You need to put them in boiling water and gently separate them until they become soft
Bulgogi Udon
Ingredients
- 400 g beef thinly sliced, ideally 2 mm to 3 mm thick
- 500 g of pre-cooked udon noodles about 2 packets
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 stalk of green onion thinly sliced
- 1 carrot optional, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
- 0.5 red apple
- 0.25 onion
- 0.5 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 0.5 teaspoon of ginger chopped
- 0.5 pinch black pepper ground
To serve
- Green onions sliced
- White sesame seeds
Procédé
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside3 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 0.5 red apple, 0.25 onion, 0.5 tablespoon garlic, 0.5 teaspoon of ginger, 0.5 pinch black pepper
- Place the thinly sliced meat in a bowl and pour the marinade over it. Gently massage the meat400 g beef
- Add sesame oil to the meat and mix1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or put the meat in an airtight container. Marinate for 4 hours in the fridge, or overnight if possible
- Pre-cook the pre-cooked noodles by boiling them for a few minutes, stirring slowly until they are fully cooked.500 g of pre-cooked udon noodles
- Place in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop their cooking
- Preheat a pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil
- Cook the meat and vegetables over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes.1 onion, 1 stalk of green onion, 1 carrot
- Turn up to high heat and add the drained udon noodles.
- Stir-fry for 5 good minutes until the juice/sauce reduces
- Add sesame seeds and stirWhite sesame seeds
- Garnish with sliced green onionsGreen onions
