Serves 4
Active time: 30 minutes || Total time: 30 minutes
Some women have a ridiculous amount of shoes, but not me. I have a ridiculous amount of curry. I wouldn’t be caught dead using most spice blends, but I make an exception for curries. I love the nuances you get from country to country and even from region to region and using a premade blend saves you some space in your spice rack. (Unless, like me, you have to have 7 different kinds of curry powder.) That said, it’s worth it to mix up your own blend if you have the time and inclination. There is a definite thrill to be had from toasting and pulverizing your own seeds. In this recipe, however, you will receive no such thrill!
These noodles are inspired by the staple curry udon you can find in many Japanese-American restaurants. You can use whatever curry powder you have on hand, but I dig the distinctive notes of star anise, ginger, cinnamon and clove in S&B Oriental Curry Powder. They sell this kind in the racist ethnic aisle of most supermarkets, and in many Asian markets, but if you can’t find it then here’s a hack: add a pinch of cinnamon and ginger when you add the curry powder and throw a star anise into the sauce while it simmers. You’ll get a close approximation!
I make this recipe a lot, but probably never the same way twice. The basic idea is to saute the veggies and then make the sauce – then you mix everything together. Cooking the vegetables separately ensures that you cook them just right, never under or over cooked. You only have to use one pan and everything should be done within 30 minutes if you follow the directions. Hooray for modern science!
I boiled dry udon because it was all I had, but it’s great with big fat fresh udon, too. The recipe below is how I made it this week, but try some of these variations:
Shiitake & Red Bell Pepper (In honor of Amy)
Omit onions, use half the amount of broccoli
Saute 8 oz thinly sliced shiitakes for 5 minutes
Saute a thinly sliced red bell pepper for 5 minutes
Bok Choy
Use 2 lbs bok choy in place of the broccoli
Saute the bok choy stems for 5 minutes
Add the leaves and saute 3 minutes more
Tofu
In addition to the veggies, saute diced extra firm tofu with a pinch of salt and pepper and add it to the noodles.
8 oz dry round udon noodles
Olive oil for sauteeing (I use a spray bottle of oil)
1 pound broccoli florettes (6 cups)
Medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
Big pinch red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons curry powder (see note)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
You can also garnish with any of the following if you like:
Chopped fresh cilantro
Thinly sliced scallion or green onion
Basil chiffonade (or Thai basil if you can find it)
First boil water for the udon. Cook udon according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
Meanwhile, preheat a large pan over medium heat. Saute broccoli in a few sprays of oil and a pinch of salt for about 7 minutes. Keep covered while cooking, lifting the lid just to stir a few times. In the meantime, prep everything else.
When broccoli is done, remove from pan and set aside. Next saute onions in a bit of oil, with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes. You want them to retain some crunch. Remove from pan (transfer to the same bowl as broccoli to cut down on dishes). Now you’ll make the sauce in the same pan.
Saute the garlic and ginger in a little oil for about 1 minute. Mix in the red pepper flakes. Add the vegetable broth/cornstarch, the curry powder and soy sauce. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Let thicken a bit, for about 3 minutes. Mix in coconut milk and turn off the heat.
Add noodles to the pan and mix to coat. Then fold in the broccoli and onions. Divide between bowls and top with garnishes (if using) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Looks great! In addition to being well-stocked with shoes I have the Penzeys 8-jar curry box — http://www.penzeys.com/scstore/giftboxes/new/indianCurries8jar.html — and use the hot curry blend in particular in a lot of things, but have never tried it in a soup like that that I normally would put miso in. I’ll have to try it.
Super quick and delish! If you love Udon noodles then you have to try this.
Haha! It’s never easy to find a term to describe “ethnic” food. I LOVE CURRY and this looks badazz
I just love udon. And this includes tasty and super healthy broccoli. Thanks for the great recipe.
Darn. I just had udon with broccoli and Earth Balance for lunch. Which I would have made this as it looks so much better. I’ll have to try it for lunch tomorrow. Can’t wait. Thanks for the recipe.
What a beautiful picture!
Another yummy dish for us to try…ily
The noodles look so delicious. I am sure I’ll try it out soon.
I love how this recipe can be so versatile!
This look phenomenal–just perfect for an easy weeknight meal! 🙂
This looks really good! I wonder how it would taste with Soba noodles. (they are my fave!)
got halfway through and realized no coconut milk…
just added some more veggie broth and voila!
This came out great- used whole wheat angel hair (really trying to avoid white pasta), broccoli, baby bok choy and shitakes. Yum!!
I made this for dinner last night and it turned out amazing! Garnished with scallions and cilantro, talk about WOW! Thanks, Isa!
love, love, love! i can’t wait to make this. saved it to my online cookbook (http://cookmarked.com). i bet my broccoli-hating, curry-loving beau will enjoy this too!
Great- added carrots and put it over millet. Thanks!
Looks Delish!
Lovely!
I just discovered your blog (looking for a vegan soy-free sloppy joe recipe) and I have to say that I am completely inspired. Everything I’ve read looks incredibly delicious and I just don’t know where to start cooking! Thank you for the work you are doing!
godDAMN that’s good noodles. did half broccoli half mushrooms. and added some chili garlic sauce.
Sounds like a kitchen-friendly dish and one that’s tasty too! I love the suggestions in your variations. Veggies just seem to always taste so good when they’re thrown in an Asian dish.
For a twist on the ethnic/racist isle – I was at the Oriental food market near my folks’ and they have an ethnic isle too – it was full of pasta and tomato sauce.
Yeah it’s always a surprise what you find in the ethnic aisle! The weirdest is when there’s Goya black beans in the ethnic aisle but other black beans in the beans aisle. Uhhh….
This is awesome! I made it tonight with some extra broccoli, and soba noodles in place of the udon. It was awesome. I usually do a version of the ol’ soba noodles ‘n greens with sesame oil and garlic, but this was welcome change of pace… and I have plenty of leftovers.
haha! love the racist aisle comment. coincidentally, i also love curry. glad to find your site!
Great recipe! Made it with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms, thak you for the creative idea!
Can someone help me here? I made this last week, and my sauce was a little soupy–it never really got thick. What consistency should the sauce be–like a gravy? What could I do to make it more thick?
Just finished eating this dish. Yum! I used a flat spaghetti type noodle instead of Udon and as a vegetarian I can recommend Parmesan cheese. Great match.
@Subliminalpanda:
Use thick coconut milk and/or let it thicken longer.
delicious! made this with a few modifications (based on what i could find in the supermarket). the consistency of the sauce was great and everything mixed together perfectly. i’m going to try to find a more complex curry mix though–i just used hot madras curry powder. i’ll have to go to a better grocery store and experiment with some different kinds.
Good recipe. I just made it for lunch today! I added some red and yellow bell peppers (because they needed to be eaten) and it tasted great! I like how ‘light’ tasting this is compared to an ultra-thick Thai coconut curry.
Sooo happy to stumble upon a chefie that loves curries as much as I do. (I’ll make you) love me, Curry!
This was delicious! I made it for dinner tonight, and I added chopped cashews – yum!
So so good my 3 yo who’s very picky ate 2 servings of the noodles.
Big hit
Just made it with some substitutions based on what was in the kitchen, but it was fantastic! I only used 1 1/2 cups water + vegetable bullion because almost every sauce recipe I have ever had to thicken never does. The 1 1/2 came out perfectly for me, it coated but wasn’t thick or sticky. Had to sub almond milk for the coconut (none in the kitchen) but it still had a great flavor!
This was good too, thanks for the recipe !!
I suppose it’s time for me to chime in and say that this is one of my most favorite and delicious meals. I eat this regularly, and in several incarnations–using rice and lentils, with different noodles or various vegetables, in massive quantities to share, etc. I made what seemed to be way too many noodles for game night with my friends and all was well, since we gobbled it up. I’m so stoked I came across this dish. Makes great leftovers, too!
This is an EXCELLENT recipe. I made it with bok choy instead of broccoli, because that’s what I had in the fridge. I also added mushrooms. The broth is absolutely delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
Just made this last night – the shitake and red pepper variation . excellent! added some mae ploy red curry past to the broth. I will definitely make this again. Thanks!