Vegan Curry Udon | ビーガンカレーうどん

The best homemade curry udon made completely from scratch with 100% plant-based ingredients. Packed with fiber, protein, and chewy noodles for a healthy & comforting Japanese classic.

If you’ve never had curry udon before, it’s basically the best of both worlds — chewy udon noodles meet a deliciously rich Japanese curry broth. It’s basically Japanese curry rice, but with a soup-like curry perfect for soaking noodles in. I’m a huge soup noodle fan, and this is hands-down my favorite way to enjoy noodles (although this spicy miso ramen is a close runner-up). And probably my favorite way to enjoy curry. (But if you’re in the mood for rice, this Japanese Curry or Jackfruit Curry are great options too).

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE CURRY UDON FROM SCRATCH

While this may look like a lot of ingredients, don’t be intimidated! There are 11 necessary ingredients, and the rest of the add-ins (i.e. veggies and protein) are up to you:

• Oil ⟶ I typically use olive oil since I like the flavor, but you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or even vegan butter
• All Purpose Flour
• S&B Curry Powder
• Vegetable Broth ⟶ I keep a jar of veg bouillon in my fridge that I can just mix with some water when I need veg broth (cuts back on packaging too!), but you can also make your own at home and adjust salt to taste
• Applesauce
• Tomato Paste
• Japanese Worcestershire Sauce ⟶ Some contain fish so check the ingredients if you want to make it vegan. I use Bull Dog Chuno Sauce.
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Udon Noodles ⟶ use dry udon (usually a bit thinner) or thick fresh udon (can be found at most Asian grocery stores)

These are the basic ingredients you need to make the curry sauce, and now you can throw in any additional veggies/protein that you want! I like using carrots, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, and tofu or soy curls, but you can also add potatoes, eggplant, tofu katsu, or anything else you think would taste good 🙂

TIPS & TRICKS FOR HOMEMADE CURRY UDON

stir constantly ⟶ and don’t turn the heat up too high (medium low heat is best) as roux burns very easily. This is a time-consuming step but essential to build the rich flavor of the curry.

cook until the roux turns light brown ⟶ The roux changes color as it cooks, from white to blond to brown. Darker roux has better flavor but doesn’t have as much thickening power. For Japanese curry, cook the roux to a light brown color (about 15 minutes of cook time).

the roux will solidify as it cools ⟶ The roux will be quite runny when you take it off the heat, but it firms up as it cools.

make sure the roux is fully dissolved ⟶ While I usually just add the roux into the pot and let the heat dissolve it, if you want to ensure even blending of the roux you can take some of the liquid from the pot out into a bowl and mix the roux into the liquid, then add the roux mixture back to the pot.

add more or less broth as desired ⟶ This recipe makes a fairly thick curry (it thickens as it cools), so feel free to add more vegetable broth if you want a soupier curry.

veggies will melt if they overcook! ⟶ As a general rule, add in veggies in order of their cooking times: for example, add onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes first, and once they’re tender add in zucchini and mushrooms. Add leafy greens like kale and spinach at the end. Tofu can be added at the end as-is, or you can pan fry tofu cubes/slices and top the curry with them.

If you like a little extra spice, you can top your curry udon with shichimi togarashi, a Japanese chili pepper blend.

SUBSTITUTIONS

For optimal results, I recommend following the recipe as written, but I understand that some of you may not have access to certain ingredients or have specific dietary restrictions. These are my suggestions if you need to substitute anything, but please report back with any other changes you try!

• All Purpose Flour ⟶ If gluten-free, this gluten-free all purpose flour works wonderfully. I do not recommend whole wheat flour as it will alter the flavor.
• Curry Powder ⟶ I highly recommend S&B curry powder for the most authentic flavor, but if you can’t find it then replace with your favorite curry powder.
• Vegetable Broth ⟶ replace with water but add salt, about 1/2-1 tsp, adjust to taste
• Applesauce ⟶ grate an apple into the curry or add 1-2 tbsp of sugar, adjust to taste
• Tomato Paste ⟶ replace with ketchup (will be slightly sweeter)
• Japanese Worcestershire Sauce ⟶ If you can’t find Japanese Worcestershire sauce, you can try subbing with a vegan Worcestershire sauce and adding more sugar to achieve the right sweetness.
• Udon Noodles ⟶ For gluten-free replace with rice noodles or any other noodles of choice. Soba and ramen noodles also work well in this curry.

HELPFUL COOKING TOOLS

• Large Pot ⟶ I use a Staub Cast Iron Cocotte for all my soups and stews. 
• Wooden Spoon ⟶ to stir the roux

STILL HUNGRY?

Check out these other delicious curry dishes!

• Japanese Jackfruit Curry
• Japanese Curry with Lentils
• Peanut Butter Miso Curry
• Peanut Curry
• Red Lentil Green Curry
• Curried Split Pea Soup

If you try out this Vegan Curry Udon, don’t forget to tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking and/or leave a comment down below and let me know how you liked it! It always makes my day to see you recreate my recipes 🙂 Happy cooking!

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