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4.9 from 33 votes

Curry Udon

Curry udon is a spicy, mouth-watering noodle soup that's a lunchtime favorite across Japan. My Curry Udon from scratch comes together in about 20 minutes, balancing the umami from traditional dashi stock and the rich flavor of a slow-cooked pot of Japanese curry.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 727 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

Chicken
  • 250 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Curry Paste
  • 100 grams onion (½ medium onion, grated)
  • 60 grams carrot (½ carrot, grated)
  • 10 grams garlic (2 medium cloves, grated)
  • 10 grams ginger (grated)
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons Japanese curry powder (such as S&B brand)
Curry Udon Soup
  • 2 ½ cups dashi stock
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons chunou sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 100 grams onion (½ medium onion, sliced)
  • 240 grams fresh udon (450 grams pre-cooked udon or 150 grams dried udon)
To Finish
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • scallions (chopped for garnish)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season on all sides with ¼ teaspoon of salt.
  2. Set a large pot of water on the stove over high heat to boil the udon. If you are using pre-cooked frozen udon, you can skip this step.
  3. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil and then the chicken, skin-side down. Let the chicken fry undisturbed until the skin-side is browned (about 2-3 minutes).
  4. While the chicken is browning, grate the onion, carrot, garlic, and ginger. Then mix in the baking soda.
  5. When the chicken has browned on the skin-side (it's okay if the chicken isn't fully cooked), transfer it to a bowl while leaving as much of the oil behind in the pan as possible. Set the chicken aside.
  6. Add the grated vegetables to the pan you fried the chicken in. It will spatter, so be careful. Sauté this mixture until it has formed a paste and is caramelized (about 3 minutes).
  7. Boil the udon for 3 minutes less than what the package directions say. Udon tends to boil over, so be sure to keep an eye on it.
  8. Add the curry powder to the pan with the caramelized veggie paste and continue sautéing until the mixture is uniform in color and very fragrant.
  9. Add the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, chuno sauce, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pan with the curry paste. Return the chicken to the pan, and add the onions. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes, or until your udon is cooked.
  10. When the udon is done (3 minutes less than what the package directions say), drain the noodles and wash any extra starch off the noodles with cold water. Add the udon to the curry and simmer until the chicken and udon are cooked through.
  11. To finish the curry udon, turn down the heat to low. Ladle some of the hot soup into a bowl with the sour cream and whisk this together. Keep adding soup and whisking until the sour cream is warm. Pour this into the pan with the curry udon and stir-to incorporate.
  12. Serve the curry udon immediately, garnished with scallions.

Nutrition Information

Calories 727kcal (36%) Carbohydrates 63g (21%) Protein 38g (76%) Fat 38g (58%) Saturated Fat 15g (75%) Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 137mg (46%) Sodium 3037mg (127%) Potassium 969mg (28%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 17g (34%) Vitamin A 5388IU (108%) Vitamin C 12mg (13%) Calcium 208mg (21%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 727

% Daily Value*

Calories 727kcal 36%
Carbohydrates 63g 21%
Protein 38g 76%
Fat 38g 58%
Saturated Fat 15g 75%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 137mg 46%
Sodium 3037mg 127%
Potassium 969mg 21%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 17g 34%
Vitamin A 5388IU 108%
Vitamin C 12mg 13%
Calcium 208mg 21%
Iron 4mg 22%

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