Niku means beef in Japanese, and it represents the Japanese way of preparing their beef with unique techniques and flavours. That being said, the Japanese often have their niku with rice, udon and even soba.
Of course, you don’t have to go all the way to Japan to get your hands on the amazing Japanese niku. Here’s a simple way to make niku udon so you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home. You can always replace the udon with you Japanese noodle of your choice like soba or ramen.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of beef, thinly sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried bonito, shaved
- 8 cups of water
- 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
- 2 pieces of kombu, about 6 inches in size
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of usukuchi soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of sake
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of Mirin
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 4 bricks of frozen udon
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
Instructions:
- Combine 8 cups of water and kombu in a bowl and leave it to infuse for 30 minutes. Bring the kombu water to a boil over medium heat. Remove the kombu pieces and add about 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add in the bonito flakes and stir. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce to low heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove any foam that develops on the surface. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Strain the soup and discard the dried bonito.
- Add sugar, sake, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, and grated ginger in a bowl then add the shaved beef pieces and allow it to marinate for 10 minutes.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Without using any oil, add the marinated beef, spreading it out to cover the entire pan. Continuously stir until most of the marinade has evaporated, and meat is browned for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Place the previously prepared broth under medium heat and add in the mirin, 1/2 cup of usukuchi soy sauce and salt to taste. Mix it well and let it boil. Once boiling, remove from heat.
- To defrost the frozen udon, bring a pot of water to boil and add in the udon. Once the noodles are tender, drain and place it into 4 separate bowls. Place the beef on top of the udon and pour the soup in. Serve immediately.
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