This is my Brothy Beef Udon recipe with soy caramelized steak and onions in beef broth. It comes together in less than 20 minutes and is one of the most comforting dishing you'll see this week! The dish is inspired by Japanese Niku Udon, a beef udon dish served on chilly days to warm you up. I hope you love this dish as much as I do!
If you're looking for more udon noodle recipes, then you've got to try my take on the viral mapo tofu udon!
For more weeknight easy recipes, check out my pork belly udon carbonara, creamy udon with mushrooms, or my spicy peanut butter noodles!
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Why you'll love this recipe
Made by someone you can trust: for those of you who are new here, my name's Emily and I'm an ex-chef, turned food content creator/recipe developer. I adore testing and creating new recipes and sharing them with you. I don't use AI, I take inspiration from magazines, travel, restaurants, books, friends, and turn my thoughts into dishes that I think you'll love and want to make over and over again. So, I hope you love this dish, if so, then check out more of my recipes to make in the future!
Quick: this beef udon comes together in less than 20 minutes. Perfect for a speedy weeknight dinner but also great if you've got friends round and want to impress!!
Customisable: want to add in some veggies or extra protein, go for it! Pak choi, tofu, cabbage, mushrooms, they can all be fried with the beef and onions or boiled with the udon noodles.
Ingredients and substitutions
Steak: I'm using sirloin steak here, but feel free to use ribeye or any other cut you love.
Soy sauce: light soy sauce gives us a lovely salty flavor to marinate the beef in.
Sesame oil: feel free to use peanut oil if you're allergic to sesame oil or omit if you'd like!
Rice wine vinegar: this adds acidity and helps tenderise the meat.
Fish sauce: not only does this add salty seasoning, but a depth of umami that takes the steak marinade to the next level.
Sugar: to balance out the flavors and help caramelize the steak and the onions, sugar is a great addition. Feel free to swap out for honey!
Onion: we're using white onion for this recipe, but feel free to use shallots or red onion if that's all you've got.
Garlic: no beef udon is complete without garlic. We want to use the fresh stuff and thinly slice it, not mince it or grate it.
Udon: chewy thick udon whether it's fresh, frozen, or in a packet, is delicious.
Beef broth: I use 1 beef stock cube with 500ml water, but feel free to use homemade beef broth if you'd like!
For the full ingredients list with measurements and instructions, scroll down this blog to the recipe card.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Place your steak into the freezer for around 30 minutes to an hour to freeze slightly (it makes it easier to slice thin slices).
Once your steak is hard but not totally frozen, slice thinly into strips.
Step 2: Transfer the beef into a bowl and add in the light soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Stir to combine and set aside while you fry the onions and garlic.
Step 3: Place a large frying pan/skillet on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the sliced onions and garlic. Fry until caramelised (for around 8 minutes). You want parts of the onion to catch to create a slightly charred effect.
Step 4: Next up, add the beef into the pan and fry on high heat for 3-5 minutes until the beef is seared.
Step 5: Meanwhile, prepare your udon noodles according to packet instructions.
Heat up your beef broth in the microwave or on the stovetop until simmering.
Step 6: Time to assemble! Divide your udon noodles into two bowls, then top one half of each bowl with the caramelized beef mixture. Garnish with sliced scallions and a grind of black pepper. Enjoy my friend!!
FAQs
This is my favorite trick for getting really thin, even slices at home without a meat slicer. Freezing it for 30 minutes to an hour firms the steak up just enough that it holds its shape while you cut, so you get those lovely thin strips that cook in seconds and soak up all that marinade.
I like using a cut like sirloin or rump for this; something with good flavor that's still tender when sliced thinly and cooked quickly over high heat.
You can, if you want to lean more traditional! I've used a simple beef stock here to keep things quick and accessible, since dashi isn't always something people have on hand, but a dashi-based broth will give you a more classic, delicate niku udon flavor if that's what you're after.
I know fish sauce isn't in every traditional beef udon recipe, but I add it here for an extra layer of umami alongside the soy sauce, it rounds out the marinade beautifully. If you really don't have it, you can leave it out, though the flavor will be a touch less deep.
The beef and onion mixture keeps well in the fridge for a day or two, but I'd recommend cooking your noodles and broth fresh just before serving, since udon noodles don't hold up well once they've been sitting in broth.
Yes, this scales up really easily; just make sure your pan is large enough to caramelize the onions properly without overcrowding, since that step really needs the space to work.
You can, though it will change the character of the dish a bit; if you want to try it, I'd suggest thinly sliced chicken thigh, which will stay juicy with the same quick, high-heat cooking method.
For sure, I'd recommend swapping out the steak for sliced mushrooms, the beef stock with vegetable stock, and omit the fish sauce.
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Brothy Beef Udon
Ingredients
For the beef
- 250 g sirloin steak placed in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before slicing into strips
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the other elements
- 1 white onion halved and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 2 udon packets (200g each of cooked udon in packet)
- 500 ml beef broth
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 scallions finely sliced
Instructions
- Place your steak into the freezer for around 30 minutes to an hour to freeze slightly (it makes it easier to slice thin slices).
- Once your steak is hard but not totally frozen, slice thinly into strips.
- Transfer the beef into a bowl and add in the light soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and a grinding of black pepper. Stir to combine and set aside while you fry the onions and garlic.
- Place a large frying pan/skillet on medium/high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Once hot, add in the sliced onions and garlic. Fry until caramelised (for around 5-8 minutes). You want parts of the onion to catch to create a slightly charred effect.
- Next up, add the beef into the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes until the beef is seared. Then reduce to low until you're ready to serve.
- Meanwhile, prepare your udon noodles according to packet instructions.
- Heat up your beef broth in the microwave or on the stovetop until simmering and add in the 1 tablespoon light soy sauce.
- Time to assemble! Divide your udon noodles into two bowls, then top one half of each bowl with the caramelized beef mixture. Garnish with sliced scallions and a grind of black pepper. Enjoy my friend!!
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