This beef udon noodle soup, or niku udon, is so easy to make, and it will make you feel like you went out to a Japanese restaurant—in your own home!
BUilding on Our Popular Gyudon!
Our Gyudon recipe (a beef rice bowl with tender fatty beef, onions, mirin, and soy sauce) is one of the most-cooked, most-saved recipes on our blog. It’s fast, easy, and satisfying, and this recipe we’re sharing today is basically a noodle soup version of that dish.
The savory beef and onion mixture is served over udon noodles in a tasty dashi stock (we use instant dashi granules to make things super easy), with lots of scallions. It’s the perfect warming and satisfying bowl of noodles for a cold day, and just as easy to make as the rice dish.
Kaitlin is a big fan of udon noodle soups, so when the craving strikes, this recipe is about the easiest one to pull off!
The Type of Beef to Buy
You can find thinly sliced beef at many Asian markets, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean grocery stores. We have even seen it at our local Costco (both fresh and frozen), where we bought the beef we used today.
People usually buy this type of beef (or lamb, or pork) to use in hot pot and shabu shabu, but you can also use it for dishes like Gyudon, Pho, or even our Spicy Beef Salad.
On the label, you may see the words, “for Hot Pot.” It’s also a little similar to the thinly shaved beef used in something like a Philly cheesesteak, so if that’s what you can find, feel free to use it here.
If you can’t find this type of thinly shaved beef, you can make some yourself by freezing a piece of ribeye or chuck until firm but not totally solid, and then using a sharp knife to thinly shave pieces against the grain.
Choosing Udon Noodles
Fresh or frozen udon noodles are best here, with a preference for frozen udon if you can find it. It has the best texture and also fewer preservatives.
Fresh udon noodles have acidic ingredients added to them to prolong shelf life, ingredients like malic acid, lactic acid, and acetic acid.
We’ve found that these can give the noodles a sour taste, interfering with the flavor of the dish, which is why if we can only find fresh udon noodles, we boil them in a separate pot of water to neutralize that sour flavor a bit. If using frozen udon, you can actually boil it directly in the soup.
If you can’t find either fresh or frozen udon, you can use dried noodles. They don’t have quite the same thickness and bounciness of the fresh/frozen kind, but will do in a pinch or if you don’t have an Asian market near you and need to order noodles online. If using dried noodles, you will also need to boil them in a separate pot of water, or your soup will become starchy.
On to the recipe!
Beef Udon Recipe Instructions
Prepare your dashi stock by bringing 4 cups of water to a simmer in a medium pot and adding the dashi powder. Keep covered at a low simmer. If using prepared dashi stock, you may need to add salt to taste. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
Heat the neutral oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, and cook the sliced onions for about 8 minutes, stirring often. Add the beef and sugar, and cook until the beef is slightly browned. Add 1 tablespoon mirin, ½ tablespoon soy sauce, the oyster sauce, and ½ cup of the dashi stock. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes to reduce the stock to a thin sauce.
Meanwhile, to the remaining dashi stock in the pot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon mirin and ½ tablespoon soy sauce.
Add the noodles to the boiling water, and cook according to package instructions. Divide the noodles and dashi stock amongst 2 bowls. Top each bowl with half of the beef mixture and scallions. Serve immediately.
Another Serving Tip!
Try poaching an egg to serve alongside your udon. Open it up to let the egg yolk run, and dip your beef into the egg yolk. It’s delicious!
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Recipe
Beef Udon (Niku Udon)
Ingredients
- 4 cups water (plus more for boiling noodles; alternatively, use 4 cups prepared dashi stock)
- 1½ tablespoons instant dashi powder (if not using prepared dashi stock)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 medium yellow onion (thinly sliced)
- 8 ounces very thinly sliced beef (fatty beef chuck or ribeye for hot pot/shabu shabu)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin (divided)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (divided)
- 1 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 14 ounces fresh or frozen udon noodles (or 7 ounces dried udon noodles)
- 2 scallions (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Prepare your dashi stock by bringing 4 cups of water to a simmer in a medium pot and adding the dashi powder. Keep covered at a low simmer. If using prepared dashi stock, you may need to add salt to taste. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
- Heat the neutral oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, and cook the sliced onions for about 8 minutes, stirring often. Add the beef and sugar, and cook until the beef is slightly browned. Add 1 tablespoon mirin, ½ tablespoon soy sauce, the oyster sauce, and ½ cup of the dashi stock. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes to reduce the stock to a thin sauce.
- Meanwhile, to the remaining dashi stock in the pot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon mirin and ½ tablespoon soy sauce. Add the noodles to the boiling water, and cook according to package instructions. Divide the noodles and dashi stock amongst 2 bowls. Top each bowl with half of the beef mixture and scallions. Serve immediately.
