Udon, these deliciously thick Japanese noodles never disappoint. You can cook udon in all possible ways, beef udon is just one of them.
In any case, if there’s fat and soy sauce, their magic will do the rest: in short, the dish is impossible to mess up. By the way, if you like this dish, I recommend you try my recipe for stir-fried vegetables with noodles like in a restaurant
Unlike other Japanese noodles whose recipes come directly from Chinese cuisine like rāmen or yakisoba, udon are generally considered traditional Japanese noodles, (click here for my full article on udon noodles).
We therefore favor the taste of authenticity and for maximum pleasure: use Japanese brand sauces (If it’s impossible, don’t worry, the beef udon in the photo are made with Chinese brands and they were delicious)
Well… after writing that I’m dreaming of wagyu beef udon… oops Goes off to cook
The main ingredients of beef udon
Light soy sauce: mainly brings saltiness to the recipe
Dark soy sauce: brings depth to the taste, it’s really essential to have the full “experience” of the deliciousness that is beef udon.
Normally, you can find it in all Asian shops but you can sometimes spot it in supermarkets. My article on types of soy sauces goes into more detail about the difference with dark soy sauce.
Mirin: a key element in Japanese cuisine, it’s a variant of sake that’s very low in alcohol (14%) but much sweeter. I have a full article on the subject.
If you can’t drink alcohol, no worries! Replace it with half a tablespoon of powdered sugar, you’ll lose a bit in taste but it will still be delicious. Alternatively, you can buy it on Amazon.
Tips for beef udon noodles
Patience is the mother of caramelization: Trust me, it’s worth waiting at the last step for everything to be well caramelized.
If you make these beef udon noodles several times and in one of them you’re impatient, you’ll see the difference right away.
It’s one of my favorite dishes, that’s why I absolutely want you to get the same taste as me. So, patience.
Make sure the wok/oil is hot before adding the meat. You need a nice sear to make the dish successful
Don’t hesitate to boil longer in the second step if the udon block hasn’t separated well, it’s quite important for the texture and final result of the dish to have beautiful, very long noodles
Pre-cooked Udon are best suited for this recipe, buy them here on Amazon
If you want to learn more about udon, I’ll redirect you to my full article on the subject. Where to buy them? How to use them? I answer all these questions! And if you don’t know which soy sauce to buy, here’s my article on dark soy sauce and light soy sauce
Matériel
- 1 Wok
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 2.5 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
- 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
- 0.5 teaspoon rice vinegar
NOODLES
- 200 g thinly sliced beef
- 1 sliced onion
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 4 leaves sliced Chinese cabbage (white parts separated from green)
- 2 stems green onions sliced into 1 cm pieces
- 200 g pre-cooked Udon noodles
Procédé
- Marinate beef strips for 10 min in one tablespoon of dark soy sauce200 g thinly sliced beef
- Cook the udon noodles for 2 min in boiling water and then rinse with cold water200 g pre-cooked Udon noodles
- In a bowl, mix the sauce ingredients2.5 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, 0.5 teaspoon rice vinegar
- In a pan over high heat with a little oil, stir-fry the beef for 5 min then set aside
- Sauté the garlic for 2 min until it browns3 cloves minced garlic
- Add the onions and white parts of the cabbage, stir-fry for 5 min1 sliced onion, 4 leaves sliced Chinese cabbage (white parts separated from green), 2 stems green onions sliced into 1 cm pieces
- Add the green parts and green onions, stir-fry for 2 min
- Add the noodles and meat, stir-fry for 3 min
- Add the sauce and reduce while stirring for 5 solid minutes
