Curry Udon

Today I decided to crack out an old favourite; Curry Udon.

While living in Japan, there were some days where you wouldn't go out and eat in the beautifully tasty and beautifully cheap restaurants. Usually due to a bad weather, very very little money or that need to be creative...and what better place then the kitchen. On such occasions, one would just go to their local Japanese supermarket and pick up a pre made curry kit of carrots, onions and potatoes, similar to Ireland's stew kits found in Dunnes Stores.

This recipe is great because you can use any left over vegetables and it will still taste amazing.

It is very straight forward and will make a huge batch, so plenty for lunch the next day, for seconds...and sometimes thirds. :)

So, let's get to it!

Serves 3-4
200g pork (I used pork neck, but any cut of pork will work for this)
2 small potatoes, cubed
1 onion, sliced in half and again into thin slices
1 carrot, cut in half lengthways, then cut into slices
3-4 chinese cabbage leaves finely chopped (optional)
1/2 pack Japanese curry roux(I used House Vermont Curry with apple and honey)
500ml dashi stock, using instant dashi
3-4 packs of vacuum sealed udon noodles (dried noodles will also work well with this recipe)
200ml boiling water
2 scallions, finely chopped to garnish
pickles, to serve (fukujinzuke pickles are most common with Japanese curry http://www.japancentre.com/items/1217)



Method.

1. Freeze the pork for 3 hours, or until partially frozen. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the pork into 5cm pieces.

Freezing the meat makes it easier to slice thinly

2. Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan and gently fry the onions, carrots and potato for 3 minutes. Transfer to the dashi stock.

3. Add another 1tbsp oil to the pan and fry the thinly sliced pork in batches until just brown. Add to vegetable and dashi stock.

4. Allow the dashi to simmer for 10 minutes over a medium-low heat. This fully cooks the meat and vegetables while allowing the flavours to infuse. (skim off any scum that surfaces from the pork)

5. Add the curry roux 2 cubes at a time, allowing for them to dissolve and thicken the mixture. Slowly add 200ml boiling water to the curry mixture until you get the preferred consistency

Add boiling water in small amounts to avoid making the curry watery

6. Add the udon packets and gently break apart with chopsticks. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

  

7. Serve in deep bowls and garnish with chopped scallions. A small saucer of pickles on the side makes a nice addition, but not 100% necessary (it's going to taste brilliant even without them!)

いただきます!! (Itadakimasu- Let's eat; I humbly receive)