Japanese curry noodle soup is a personal favorite. It is low-heat spicy, and manages to be both warming and soothing. Real comfort food. You don’t have to trawl all over town to find Japanese curry, this will taste right made with any mild curry powder. Traditionally the soup should be quite thick, so only add just enough hot broth to cover the noodles before adding the curry sauce, and add more to taste. It’s super simple to make. You can make it with chicken, as here or with tofu, but it does use three pots. We promise the taste is worth it, but check out Ann’s tips for both a quicker version and a vegetarian one. #cookfromthebook
AuthorAnn Ogden GaffneyJapanese curry noodle soup is a personal favorite. It is low-heat spicy, and manages to be both warming and soothing. Real comfort food.
In a small bowl, mix the curry powder with 1-2 tablespoons of stock and blend into a loose paste. Mix in the grated ginger, honey and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Toss the chicken together with the cornstarch until thinly coated. Set aside. Discard any remaining cornstarch.
Heat the oil in a wide Dutch oven over a medium high heat. Add the chicken and brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and sauté until the onion starts to wilt. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and gently cook the vegetables for 8 minutes or until they are almost soft stirring from time to time.
Add the curry paste and cook for a minute then add ½ cup of the stock. Raise the heat to bring the soup to a low simmer. Cook until a thick sauce forms and the vegetables are tender about 15 minutes. Add a little of stock if the sauce gets too thick.
Bring the remaining stock to a boil. Taste for salt and add the scallions. Cook for 2 minutes. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls. Ladle the hot stock over the noodles, just enough to cover, then ladle the chicken and vegetable curry on top of the noodles. Eat immediately.
For a vegetarian version, substitute firm tofu cut into a ½” dice for the chicken and add it in step 4 after you’ve added the stock and brought the curry to a simmer. To add the cornstarch: at the end of step 3, sprinkle the cornstarch over the vegetables and stir in to mix. Cook 30 seconds then add the curry paste.
For speed and ease, in step 5, mix 4 cups of stock directly into the curry sauce and bring to a boil. It’s not traditional, but it saves a pan. And instead of using dried soba or udon noodles, use either packaged soft udon noodles that can be micro-waved, or Thai rice sticks that just need covering with hot water until they soften. This will save you a pot to wash.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, mix the curry powder with 1-2 tablespoons of stock and blend into a loose paste. Mix in the grated ginger, honey and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Toss the chicken together with the cornstarch until thinly coated. Set aside. Discard any remaining cornstarch.
Heat the oil in a wide Dutch oven over a medium high heat. Add the chicken and brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and sauté until the onion starts to wilt. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and gently cook the vegetables for 8 minutes or until they are almost soft stirring from time to time.
Add the curry paste and cook for a minute then add ½ cup of the stock. Raise the heat to bring the soup to a low simmer. Cook until a thick sauce forms and the vegetables are tender about 15 minutes. Add a little of stock if the sauce gets too thick.
Bring the remaining stock to a boil. Taste for salt and add the scallions. Cook for 2 minutes. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls. Ladle the hot stock over the noodles, just enough to cover, then ladle the chicken and vegetable curry on top of the noodles. Eat immediately.
For a vegetarian version, substitute firm tofu cut into a ½” dice for the chicken and add it in step 4 after you’ve added the stock and brought the curry to a simmer. To add the cornstarch: at the end of step 3, sprinkle the cornstarch over the vegetables and stir in to mix. Cook 30 seconds then add the curry paste.
For speed and ease, in step 5, mix 4 cups of stock directly into the curry sauce and bring to a boil. It’s not traditional, but it saves a pan. And instead of using dried soba or udon noodles, use either packaged soft udon noodles that can be micro-waved, or Thai rice sticks that just need covering with hot water until they soften. This will save you a pot to wash.
