This comforting Japanese Curry Udon will satisfy your craving for noodles in an instant. The thick, chewy udon noodles served in a rich, fragrant curry soup is simple enough to serve on a busy weeknight.
Curry Udon (カレーうどん) is a popular menu item in Japan, and has been for a long time. It is lesser-known compared to Curry Rice, but the flavorful curry sauce is just as fulfilling in a soup with udon.
To me, the chewy noodles have a special ability to soothe the soul. When you blanket it with a rich curry soup, you just want to grab your chopsticks and slurp away. Curry Udon is one of the most satisfying noodle soups. It’s easy to whip up in under 30 minutes, too! It’s rich and flavorful, with just a tinge of sweetness in each spoonful.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- protein of your choice – I used bite-sized pieces of thinly sliced pork loin that cooks in seconds; you can substitute chicken, beef, or seafood; for vegan curry udon, use tofu or shiitake mushrooms
- onion
- green onions (scallions) – for garnish
- udon noodles – read more about it below
- dashi (Japanese soup stock) – make Awase Dashi or use a dashi packet or powder; for vegans/vegetarians, make Vegan Dashi
- Japanese curry roux – use store-bought Japanese curry cubes or make your own; read more about it below
- soy sauce
How to Make Curry Udon
Make this satisfying noodle dish in under 30 minutes! Here’s an overview of the instructions:
- Make the dashi in a saucepan or pot.
- Stir-fry the onion and protein of your choice in a frying pan with neutral oil.
- Add the dashi and curry roux to the pan and simmer over medium-low heat.
- Boil the udon noodles in a large pot of water and drain.
- Serve the noodles in individual bowls. Pour the curry soup on top.
What is Japanese Curry Roux?
Japanese curry is quite different from Indian and Thai curries and is suited the Japanese palate. It is thicker, milder, and sweeter, with a stew-like consistency. It’s ideal for curry novices or those who prefer a gentler, sweeter flavor.
For this quick curry recipe, I take the convenient route with store-bought curry roux. Nowadays, you can even find the rectangular packages of Japanese curry roux at major American grocery stores. Look for it in the Asian or global food aisle.
It’s also possible to make your own from scratch! Homemade curry roux is easier to make than you might think and keeps well in the freezer. You need just five ingredients—butter, flour, Japanese curry powder, garam masala, and (optional) cayenne pepper. I recommend S&B brand curry powder for an authentic taste.
Which Udon Noodles to Use
Thick and chewy udon noodles are so delicious! You can choose from frozen, refrigerated, or dried udon noodles. However, I only recommend getting frozen udon noodles (choose one called “Sanuki udon”) or dried udon noodles as they have a better texture than refrigerated udon noodles.
You can also make homemade, fresh udon noodles from scratch! It’s easy and fun, and the delicious handmade noodles are far superior to store bought.
Make Cold Curry Udon in the Summertime!
In the middle of summer, try Cold Curry Udon! It’s a refreshing main course to enjoy during warm weather.
Other Delicious Curry Recipes
Curry Udon
Video
Ingredients
- ½ onion (5.7 oz, 162 g)
- 2 green onions/scallions (for garnish)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 6 oz thinly sliced pork loin (cut into bite-sized pieces; you can substitute your choice of protein)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 3 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 2 cubes Japanese curry roux (2 oz, 50 g; or make homemade Japanese Curry Roux)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 servings udon noodles (1.1 lb, 500 g frozen or parboiled udon noodles; 6.3 oz, 180 g dry udon noodles)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Break the boxed roux into cubes and use 2 cubes Japanese curry roux (keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator/freezer for 1–3 months). Prepare 3 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) using your preferred method.
- Thinly slice ½ onion and 2 green onions/scallions. Set aside the green onions for garnish.
- Preheat a medium pot or Dutch oven (I used a 2.75 QT Staub) over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add 1 Tbsp neutral oil. Next, add the onion slices.
- Sauté the onion slices for 2–3 minutes. Then, add 6 oz thinly sliced pork loin that you‘ve cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook the meat until it‘s barely pink. Next, add 1 Tbsp sake.
- Add the dashi to the pot and cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.
- When simmering, skim off the scum and fat from the stock with a fine-mesh skimmer and continue to cook.
- Meanwhile, start boiling a large pot of water for the udon.
- After 5 minutes of simmering the stock and meat, turn off the heat. Next, put a cube of curry roux in a ladleful of hot stock.
- With chopsticks or a spoon, dissolve the roux cube completely in the ladle, then release it to the soup. Repeat with the next cube. Tip: You don‘t want to eat a chunk of undissolved curry roux, so take your time to dissolve it completely.
- Add 2 tsp soy sauce and mix well. Turn off the heat and cover with the lid to keep it warm.
- When the water is boiling, cook 2 servings udon noodles according to the package instructions (for this Sanuki udon, I heated the frozen noodles in boiling water for 1 minute).
To Serve
- Drain the noodles and divide into two bowls. Pour the curry soup over the udon noodles. Top with the green onions and serve immediately.
To Store
- Keep the leftover curry soup in a glass airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month. Defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours and reheat in a pot. I recommend cooking the udon noodles just before serving.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 13, 2012. A video and new photos were added in May 2020.
Really yummy. Dashi flavor is a bit strong for me- but I’m white. Will probably cut it some next time since it’s just not a flavor I’ve acquired 🙂 otherwise so good
Hello Olivia! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and for your feedback!🤗
Happy Cooking!
Hi Nami,
i made this curry udon today without meat and it was delicious and so easy! Will definitely make it again 🙂 🙂
Hi Raz! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the curry Udon! Happy Cooking!☺️
I was craving curry udon, and it turns out it’s a lot easier than I realized! Everything turned out great. I did add some carrots that I had and needed to get rid of. They do make things a little sweeter, so I’ll buy the spicier roux next time.
I live in Japan, but am still learning Japanese and the badics of Japanese cooking. I find your website to be an invaluable resource! Thanks for the recipe!
Hello, Rachel! Wow. We’re happy you liked Nami’s recipes and our website. Thank you very much for your kind feedback.
We hope you enjoy living in Japan and trying various foods!
Happy Cooking!
I didn’t have the right soup base, so I used better than boullion veggie and added trader Joe’s umami seasoning. It was a hit.
Hi Jen! We are glad to hear it worked out well for you!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us. Happy Cooking!
Hi Nami,
Thank you for this recipe! I would like to add some vegetables into this dish. What do you recommend? I currently have these in the fridge: white mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. Would any of them go well with this dish?
Hello Sarah! You can include all of the vegetables you listed. Simply add them after step 5 and continue to simmer until all of the vegetables are tender.
We hope that you like the dish!
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami,
How do you recommend salting this dish while using your homemade curry roux?
I never salt it when using commercial roux, but made it with the homemade roux for the first time tonight. I made a portion for one, but added two blocks of roux cause I like the extra flavour punch (I do this with commercial roux as well as its fine). I tried to follow your recommendation from the roux recipe to add 2 tsps of salt per block, but it made the curry udon much too salty.
I feel like 1 tsp or maybe a bit of extra soy sauce would have been sufficient. What do you think?
Also, any ideas for how to incorporate the apple and honey flavours from commercial roux into curry udon when using the homemade roux?
Thanks for all your great recipes.
Hello Stephanie, thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipes.
If you are cooking for one serving, using 2 teaspoons of salt might make your dish a bit too salty. If you prefer a stronger soy sauce flavor, we suggest using half a teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of soy sauce first and then checking the flavor.
When it comes to salt, it is a matter of personal preference, so we recommend adjusting the amount to your liking. 😉
Additionally, please keep in mind that Udon noodles already contain salt, which can make the dish saltier compared to having it with steamed rice.
To include apple and honey in the curry, you can add them during step 7. You can also find other personalized secret ingredients in this post: https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/.
We hope this information is helpful!
I tried making my own curry roux using recipe from this site but my curry powder did not have ginger or turmeric. If I want to use fresh ginger and fresh turmeric for this recipe, how much in grams should I use for each?
Hello, Ikee. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipes.
We haven’t tried making curry powder with fresh ingredients before, so we’re not sure how much you’ll need. But using the general calculation, you can try 2 tablespoons of fresh Ginger. (This should be equal to 1/2 teaspoon of Ginger powder), and 3 tablespoons of fresh Turmeric (which is equivalent to 1 tablespoon) in this homemade Japanese curry powder recipe.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-curry-powder/
We hope this helps!🙂
Tried this recipe today and actually used leftover turkey as my protein. Yesterday I smoked a whole turkey and used your miso glaze recipe. Today I turned it into the soul. It was so good!
Hello, Nick! Wow! What a beautiful photograph of your Curry Udon!
It looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipes and sharing your ideas with us. It brightened our day!
I used to make a lot of curry and freeze the leftovers, but I’ve since started using the retort pouches, it’s a lot easier making individual servings with rice or udon or instant ramen. Just boil the ramen and squeeze the pouch in and top with some spring onions or pickled radish.
Hi monkeyrotica! Thank you for sharing your cooking tip with us.🙂
It is stupid how tasty this is. I halved the recipe to make a single serving and now I regret it.
I should have doubled instead…
Hi Sam! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed the Curry Udon! Happy Cooking!😊
Hi, would it be possible to make a big batch of the curry without the udon and freeze it for future use? So I can just defrost the curry and add the udon.
Hi Carol! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Yes, you can freeze curry soup for later use.
We hope you enjoy Curry Udon!
I’d like to make this with frozen shrimp, should I defrost and cook them with the onions and then remove them before adding the dashi (to avoid overcooking) or just add them at the end?
Hi Chris! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
If you are using frozen shrimp, we recommend adding it at the end to avoid overcooking.
We hope this helps!
I may have missed it somewhere but can I make this with leftover curry? What do I do with the chunks of veggies and meat? Should I strain it out? Thanks in advance!
Hi Cathy! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
If you are using leftover curry, you can add Dashi or water as you like to dilute the leftover curry, then pour it over cooked udon. We usually serve it with chunks of veggies and meat together.
We hope this helps!
I have a location place near me that does Pork Curry Udon soup that they claim has miso broth. Do you think it’s close to your recipe with miso paste added to the dashi?
Hi Bryan! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Without tasting the Pork Curry Udon soup, It’s hard for us to tell if that will be the same flavor. But Miso is sometimes added to the curry to bring up the Umami. So it might work.😉
had fresh ramen noodles sitting around so I made it into curry ramen! Very tasty, I had to sub chicken stock paste for the dashi since I didn’t want to make a trip to the store. I think I could add plain nut milk and make it creamier for a richer meal but this is tasty on its own.
Hi Izzy! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us.
We are glad to hear it worked out well and enjoyed the Curry noodle.😊