It's been raining here in Calgary and my boyfriend was craving for something with curry. I usually put coconut milk and chicken whenever I make curry. But this time, it's different! I'm using dashi stock to be consistent with the udon soup, and cubed chuck beef. You can put whatever meat you like. Compared to other traditional noodle soup stocks, this will have a slightly thick consistency.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 packs udon
3/4 cup butter
1 lb chuck/stew beef
2 large onions, diced
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
Curry base:
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp turmeric
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp Worsterchire sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
(you can also use 4 cubes of
curry roux instead)
Mentsuyu (Noodle soup stock):
8 cups water
1/2 sheet kombu/dried kelp
15g (a large handful or half a pack) katsuobushi/dried bonito flakes (more if you like a more fishy taste)
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
Toppings (optional):
egg
green onions
carrots
bean sprouts
enoki mushrooms
bamboo shoots
corn
cheese
naruto/fish cakes
nori seaweed
Procedure
1. We need to prepare the kombu for the dashi first. Add 8 cups of cold water and 1/2 sheet of kombu in a pot. Leave it to soak for at least 1 hour, up to 8 hours.
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| I have a whole sheet of kombu here divided into halves to fit into a 16 cup pot because I'm serving for 8. |
2. In another pot, melt 3/4 cup butter and sautee the beef in medium-high heat.
3. Once the beef browns, add the onions and continue sauteeing until the onion becomes translucent.
4. Lower the heat and mix all the powder ingredients, Worsterchire sauce and ketchup.
5. Add about 2 cups of water enough to cover the beef and bring to a boil.
6. Turn the heat on the lowest setting and slow cook the beef for 2 to 3 hours until tender.
7. Back again to the dashi, bring the kombu water to a boil. Once there are tiny bubbles forming at the bottom of the pot, add the katsuobushi.
8. When the water starts boiling, turn off the heat and immediately remove the kombu. (Leaving the kombu for too long will result to a bitter taste.)
9. Run the dashi stock through a very fine sieve to get a clear broth.
10. Add the soy sauce and mirin to make the mentsuyu.
11. When the beef has cooked, add the menstuyu to the curry beef.
12. Boil the udon until it's cooked.
13. Assemble the udon! Add the udon and soup to a bowl and add whatever toppings you like, and enjoy!
You can also use the curry base and mentsuyu to make curry ramen, but with less flour to lessen the thickness of the broth.
