BEEF UDON (Best Japanese Cuisine To Start With)

On chilled evenings and nights, when you are craving a satisfying meal that will keep you warm and at the same time fulfill your appetite, then this beef udon will be perfect for it.

Beef udon is popular in Asian countries during every season, with hot broth in the winter and cold broth in the summer.

In Japanese cuisine, beef udon is known as Niku udon. This dish, for most people, is tagged as a comforting dish as the udon noodles are served with a hot broth that has a soft taste of spice with enough beef meat and a lot of side dishes.

The udon beef has three contents: broth, thick noodles, and beef. This seems a simple and bland dish, but it has a depth of balanced flavors, like the kick of tender beef with chewy noodles and a lot of hot soup topped with caramelized green onions.

To be honest, this is all you need for a relaxing evening by yourself.

You can use any kind of beef cut here, but make sure to use authentic Japanese ingredients (which can be bought from Japanese-based stores) so that you can taste the true and balanced flavors right from the bowl.

Here is more knowledge about beef udon that will be helpful while you are about to try this dish:

What is udon and what is it made up of?

Udon is Japanese noodles that are especially chewy, white in color, and 3–4 millimeters thicker than most other noodle types.

Typically, they are served with a dashi broth that is made with seaweed and shredded tuna in water.

These chewy noodles are traditionally made with wheat flour, salt, and enough water to make it into a dough. Later, they are cut into long and thick stripes having either a round or flat shape.

Due to their neutral flavor, they can absorb a variety of flavors and can be served with any type of broth.

Is Niku udon made only with beef?

The Japanese name Niku udon for this dish doesn’t ultimately translate to beef; however, the real meaning of Niku is “meat”.

So, this means that you can use any kind of meat, like beef, chicken, or pork, as a topping on the udon broth, but the most flavorful and tasty meat has been beef throughout the years.

What is the difference between udon and ramen?

While the type of flour used in the making of ramen and udon is similar, there are still visible differences that one can surely notice. The ingredients are a little bit different, and the texture and taste also differ.

These are some of the slight but main differences:

• The egg is used in the making of ramen noodles but the udon doesn’t have any egg in them.
• The ramen is thinner and wavy while the udon is thick and straight.
• The udon absorbs more flavor but the ramen isn’t flavor absorbent
• The ramen noodles come with lots of bold flavor choices, on the other hand, the udon is served with light and subtly flavored broths.
• The udon is chewy even after cooking while the ramen gets soggy.

Which is healthier, udon or ramen?

You could wonder if they would be equally healthful if the only variation in the dough was one egg, but that is not the case.

The udon is much healthier than the ramen as it has simpler ingredients with no complicated toppings, unlike the ramen, but if closely compared with the ramen, the udon has a low amount of sodium.

However, ramen contains “Kansui,” which is a highly alkaline solution added to it to give ramen its unique flavor.

How to cook beef udon?

INGREDIENTS:

• Beef meat (cubed)
• Pack of udon noodles
• Shallot
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Scallion
• Coconut oil

For marination/ sauce:

• Pepper and pink salt
• Peanut oil
• Sesame oil
• Dark soy sauce
• Soy sauce
• Oyster sauce

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and put aside.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Take Beef meat and sauce (save some for later use) from the prepared ingredients and add meat and half sauce to a bowl for at least 30 minutes so that it gets marinated properly.

• In a pot, boil the water and add the pack of udon, meanwhile cutting your vegetables.
• After marination, add cooking oil to the pan and let it heat up; into the oil add beef, and cook until the beef gets tenderized. Check if the udon is done, run it under cold water, and let the water ooze.
• In another pan, add the vegetables and leftover sauce together, and stir it completely.
• When the vegetables are half done, transfer them to the beef pan, mix and cook until caramelized and tendered.
• In the same pan, add the boiled udon and stir to mix the ingredients all together.

• Dish out in the bowl, on the side, keep the beef and top the bowl with crunchy scallions and sesame seeds.

How long should udon cook for?

The timings are based on the type of udon you are about to use. If using semi-dried noodles, boil them for about 7–9 minutes. If you have frozen pre-packaged noodles, then it will hardly take 1-2 minutes for a good boil.

However, if you have your hand on completely dried udon noodles, then behold, 10 to 12 minutes are needed for them to cook through. When there is no hardness in the udon noodle when you bite into it, the cooking is complete.

How to know if udon noodles are ready?

Check the timings after you’ve cooked it for the desired amount of time. Test by taking a single noodle from a pot and then plunging it into cold water; if there is no hard core and it is tenderized from the inside on biting, then it is ready.

Also, the noodle’s texture will be slippery, chewy, and not entirely soft.

You can also watch the video below to get an idea about the noodles:

What is the udon broth called?

Dashi broth is the traditional name for udon soup.

It can be easily made with Japanese soup stock, and then some of the basic Japanese condiments like salt, sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil are added.

However, making the udon broth from scratch requires a “katsuobushi” (a can of shaved and preserved tuna) and ‘kombu’ (a seaweed type called kelp in the English language). Boil them together in water until the flavors of both ingredients are released.

What is the pink and white thing in udon?

The white thing with a pink swirl on the inside is a type of fish cake made using surimi (a fish paste).

Traditionally this is called ‘Narutomaki’ and is used as the topping in the noodle dishes like soba and udon. The pink spiral comes from dying the white surimi with red color thus changing into pink.

The color of this topping is chosen as pink (actually red) and white because these are considered auspicious colors in Japanese culture. These fish cakes are famous for being used on special or celebratory occasions in Japan.

What other toppings can I add to udon?

If you are not a fan of chewy, rubbery, or mild-flavored toppings, you can always go for the options listed below. These toppings can be combined for a creamy, crunchy, and juicy combo in every bite, or you can eat it as it is:

• Soft boiled eggs
• Fried tofu
• Bonito flakes
• Dried seaweeds (wakame)
• Deep fried tempura

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

The beef udon is a delectable dish that can be endured every other day without worrying about weight gain because the udon is made with wheat flour and the beef is considered naturally fit.

Let us look at more information on the nutrition it has:

NUTRITIONAL VALUE	PER SERVING
Calories	638kcal
Total fat	11mg
Cholesterol	74mg
Sodium	2825mg
Potassium	1235mg
Total carbohydrates	87g
Potassium	49g

This proves that udon and beef are great for the heart and overall health, to keep you fit and maintained.

SUMMARY:

• The beef udon dish is the easiest and quickest meal to make in under half an hour.
• You don’t need to make the udon noodles from scratch as you can buy them from a Japanese-based grocery store.
• For authentic Japanese-style beef udon, you should be using real Japanese ingredients from a store near you.
• If you don’t have ingredients for dashi broth, you can opt for Hondashi which is a powder form of it.
• The internal temperature of beef should be checked with a meat thermometer, if the reading is 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit then it is ready to be served.

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