Easy Spice Curry Udon with Shirodashi, made with SN1

Shirodashi and spices go beautifully together. A spice curry udon whose savoury depth lingers on and on.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK [Spice Curry Spice Pack] Symphony No.1 (SN1) — a spice curry udon.

With shirodashi (a light dashi-based seasoning), even a proper spice curry udon is something you can throw together and enjoy at lunchtime 👨‍🍳 If you like curry udon in a restaurant but have given up making it at home because shop-bought curry roux sits heavily, this is the one to try 🍜

Inspice spice curry spice packs have almost no heat, so they suit children too.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN1 / starter spices (the whole-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• SN1 / powder spices (the ground-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• Udon: 2 portions
• Shirodashi broth: 1000ml (dilute your shirodashi with water according to the instructions on the bottle)
• Onion: 1
• Negi (spring or Japanese onion): 1 (use whichever negi you like)
• Thin-cut pork offcuts: 200g
• Garlic (grated): 2 tsp (1–2 cloves)
• Ginger (grated): 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you like. For this recipe we recommend light sesame oil)
• Potato starch slurry: 2 tbsp of potato starch dissolved in 60ml of water
  
  

Beyond that, prepare whatever toppings you like. In the photograph we used katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), chopped negi and kamaboko (steamed fish cake).

Preparation

• Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order
  
• Cut the onion into wedges
• Chop the negi finely.
  
• Cut the pork into pieces that are easy to eat.
• Splitting the cardamom in the starter spices (the whole-spice sachet) lengthways with scissors or a knife lifts the aroma

Method

1. Put the “oil: 3 tbsp” into a pan over a low heat, and once the oil is warm, add the starter spices (the whole-spice sachet).
   
   
2. When you hear the “mustard seeds (the small black ones)” start to crackle, add the grated garlic and ginger and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring them through the spices.
   
   
   
3. Add the onion, stir it thoroughly through the spices, then turn the heat to high and cook it properly, adding a splash of water as you go, until it is soft and translucent.
   
   

   The onion does not need to go as deep a golden brown as it would for a spice curry, but if you want the sweetness and depth of the onion, take it all the way to deep golden brown.

   
   
   
4. Once the onion is deep golden brown (below is after about 10 minutes of cooking), turn the heat down to low, add the pork and salt: 1 tsp, then turn the heat to medium and fry everything together.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Once the meat has turned white all over, add all of the powder spices and stir them in, thinking of it as cooking the powder spices themselves.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Add the chopped “negi (keep a little back to serve)”, fry briefly so it settles into everything, then add the “shirodashi broth: 1000ml” and “sugar: 2 tsp” and bring it to the boil.
   
   

   This is a good moment to start preparing the udon according to the instructions on the packet. We suggest cooking the noodles separately rather than adding them straight into the curry pan: put the noodles into a bowl when you are ready to eat, then pour the spice curry udon broth over. That way you can cook fresh noodles and reheat the broth whenever you fancy it over the following days.

   
   
   
   
7. Add the “potato starch slurry: 2 tbsp of potato starch dissolved in 60ml of water”, stir it in to thicken the broth, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.
   
   
8. Taste it at the end and adjust the salt. If it needs more sweetness, try adding another 1 tsp.
   
   

And that is it. As with any spice curry, the cassia (cinnamon) and the cardamom are not normally eaten, so take them out when you come across them.

Pour the spice curry udon broth over the bowl of noodles, add whatever toppings you like, and enjoy.

Buy the spice packs here

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the usual sources of heat — chilli, cayenne pepper or chilli powder — so please add heat to your own taste.