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Beef Udon
4.8 from 452 votes

Beef Udon

Beef Udon is a Japanese noodle soup featuring tender slices of beef simmered in a savory dashi-based broth with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Served with thick udon noodles and garnished with green onions and optional fish cakes and mitsuba, it balances mild sweetness and umami. The dish offers comforting warmth and satisfying texture from hand-cut toppings and chewy noodles.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 579 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

For the Broth from Scratch
  • 2½ cups dashi use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi, Japanese soup stock
  • 1½ Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ⅛ tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
For the Udon Noodle Soup
  • ½ green onion white part only; or use 2 green onions, aka Tokyo negi, naga negi, long green onion
  • 4 prigs mitsuba optional; for topping, Japanese parsley
  • 1 green onion for topping, or scallion
  • 4 lices Narutomaki optional, fish cakes
  • 6–8 oz beef chuck or slice your own meat, thinly sliced, or ribeye as alternative
  • 1 Tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 ervings udon noodles (1.1 lb/500 g frozen or parboiled udon noodles; 6.3 oz/180 g dry udon noodles)
For Serving
  • Japanese seven spice optional, aka shichimi togarashi
For the Broth with Mentsuyu (Optional)
  • ⅓ cup mentsuyu concentrated noodle soup base
  • 2⅓ cups water
  • 1 Tbsp mirin

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Gather all the ingredients. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the udon noodles. Once boiling, keep it covered on low heat until you‘re ready to cook the noodles.
To Make the Broth from Scratch
  1. First, make 2½ cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) of your choice. (To make udon broth with mentsuyu (noodle soup base), see the instructions at the end of the recipe.) Here, I‘ll show you how to make a quick dashi using a dashi packet (you can find it on Amazon). In a medium saucepan, add 2½ cups or 600 ml water and 1 dashi packet. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.
  2. Simmer for 2–3 minutes. Then, squeeze the liquid from the dashi packet and discard the packet.
  3. Add 1½ Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sugar, and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and mix it all together. Cover the pot with a lid to prevent evaporation and keep it hot. Remove it from the heat and set aside.
To Prepare the Ingredients
  1. Cut the white part of ½ Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) diagonally into ½-inch (1.3 cm) slices. Set aside.
  2. Thinly slice the leaves and tender stems of 4 sprigs mitsuba (Japanese parsley)(optional).
  3. Cut 1 green onion/scallion into thin slices. Transfer the green onion slices and mitsuba to a small plate or bowl for topping the soup later.
  4. Diagonally cut 4 slices narutomaki (fish cakes). Then, cut 6–8 oz thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) in half, about 1½ to 2 inches (3.8-5 cm) wide.
To Cook the Beef
  1. Heat the frying pan on medium heat. When it‘s hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil and the Tokyo negi.
  2. Sauté the negi until golden brown and tender. Then, add the meat and cook until it‘s no longer pink.
  3. Add 2 tsp sugar and 1 Tbsp soy sauce.
  4. Stir-fry the meat until it is well coated with the seasoning. Remove from the heat.
To Boil the Udon Noodles
  1. Cook 2 servings udon noodles in boiling water according to the package instructions. For frozen udon noodles, boil from frozen for 1 minute to reheat. Drain well and rinse quickly with water to remove the excess starch.
To Serve
  1. Divide the well-drained udon noodles into individual serving bowls and pour the hot broth over the noodles to cover.
  2. Place the stir-fried beef, narutomaki, green onions, and mitsuba on top. If you like it spicy, sprinkle shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on top. Enjoy!
To Store
  1. You can keep the stir-fried beef, udon noodles, and broth separately in airtight containers and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Make the Broth with Mentsuyu (Optional)
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine ⅓ cup mentsuyu (concentrated noodle soup base), 2⅓ cups water, and 1 Tbsp mirin and mix well. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cover with a lid and turn off the heat. The udon broth is now ready to use.

Nutrition Information

Calories 579kcal (29%) Carbohydrates 59g (20%) Protein 32g (64%) Fat 23g (35%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Polyunsaturated Fat 5g (29%) Monounsaturated Fat 9g (45%) Trans Fat 1g (50%) Cholesterol 72mg (24%) Sodium 976mg (41%) Potassium 353mg (8%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 7g (14%) Vitamin A 107IU (2%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 35mg (4%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 579

% Daily Value*

Calories 579kcal 29%
Carbohydrates 59g 20%
Protein 32g 64%
Fat 23g 35%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g 29%
Monounsaturated Fat 9g 45%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 72mg 24%
Sodium 976mg 41%
Potassium 353mg 8%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 7g 14%
Vitamin A 107IU 2%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 35mg 4%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.