Delicious Beef Udon Stir Fry, super fast and easy noodle recipe that you can make in 20 minutes! This udon recipe is simple but not bland, packed with Japanese flavour. Perfect dinner idea for busy weeknights!
This dish is also known as Beef Yaki Udon, one of the most popular Japanese stir-fries. Yaki Udon recipes are basically made with a choice of protein, vegetables, and thick chewy udon noodles.
Cooking method is very similar to other stir fry udon noodles recipes. I've already shared my Yaki Udon with Chicken and Prawn Noodles recipes a few months back, for my friends who want to make it with chicken or prawns.
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Ingredients you will need
This is a very straightforward recipe, you will only need 4 basic ingredients. Beefsteak, udon noodles, a choice of stir fry vegetables, and quick homemade stir fry sauce. Most of the sauce ingredients are pantry staples, except Japanese cooking wine.
- Beef: Use beef steak like, ribeye, sirloin, tenderloin, rump, or any of your favourite tender steak cut.
- Noodles: Udon is a thick chewy Japanese wheat noodles. You can buy staright-to-wok udon at most supermarket Asian aisle or fresh/frozen udon at Oriental Chinese and Korean grocery stores.
- Vegetables: I add pak choi, mushroom, and onion in this recipe. Pak choi is widely available in UK supermarkets and groceries.
- Stir Fry Sauce: Japanese mirin, light soy sauce and sugar are 3 key sauces to make the sauce. I add dark soy sauce for more colour and sesame oil to bring some toasty flavour. A dash of cornstarch is to thicken the sauce.
See the recipe card for detailed quantities.
How to make beef udon stir fry
- First blanch the udon noodles with hot boiling for 1-2 minutes to loosen up. Drain water out, rinse with cold water and set it aside.
- Gather all ingredients, cut the meat and vegetables. Whisk all the stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Season the beef slices with a tablespoon of stir fry sauce mix, mix well and set it aside.
- In a large wok/pan stir fry the beef slices for 2-3 minutes then push the beef to one side. Add garlic, onion, and stir for 1 minute. Follow with the mushroom and cook for another 1 minute. Next add the pak choi and stir it well for few seconds.
- Place the udon in the middle of the pan, pour the sauce in. Toss well, continue cook for another 1-2 minutes, until sauce and everything combine evenly.
- Turn off the heat and sprinkle chopped spring onions.
Variations and substitutes
- Udon - instead of ready-to-fry udon, you can use other noodles like Shanghai, Hokkien, or any thick egg/wheat noodles. Even ramen or yakisoba noodles goes well with this recipe too.
- Pak Choi - it can be substitute with bok choy, choy sum, kai lan, or your choice of stir fry vegetables.
- Add-ons - other stir fry vegetables like bell pepper, snap peas, carrots, baby corns, cabbage, etc, goes well with this dish. Japanese red picked ginger gives fresh taste to the dish too. If you have it in hand you can add this as a toppings or garnish.
- Steak - Instead of tender steak, you can swap with chicken, pork, or prawns. For vegetarians, swap with firm tofu or Quorn meat.
- Mirin - Japanese mirin has a unique taste and flavour but if you cannot get it, use Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry instead. For non-alcochol version, substitute mirin with rice vinegar and a dash of sugar for some sweetness.
- Chilli - Authentic Japanese yaki udon dishes are mild flavour in general. If you love to bring some heat to the dish, add some fresh chilli pepper slices in the stir fry or a tablespon of chilli oil in the sauce mixture. See my homemade chilli garlic oil on my website.
Cooking tips
- Cut the steak against the grain for tender result. If you are using cheaper cuts like chuck or flank steak, add a teaspoon of corn starch and half teaspoon of baking soda, together with a tablespoon of stir fry sauce. Let it sit aside and marinade for 15 minutes. This is the simple trick to keep the meat moist and tender in your fry dishes.
- You can blanch the udon noodles with hot water or prepare by the packet instructions but it's important not to overcook them. Rinse with cold water and drain the water out after boiling/blanching.
- Use large pan or wok to give enough heat to all ingredients evenly.
Frequently asked questions
What are udon noodles made of?
Udon is made with wheat flour and water. One of the very few types of Asian noodles that doesn't contain egg inside. Soft, thick, chewy in texture and you can add in your stir fry and soups.
What does Beef Udon Stir Fry taste like?
Beef Udon has a sweet and savoury taste made with soy sauces, sugar and Japanese mirin. Loaded with juicy tender beef steak, crisp vegetables and thick chewy udon noodles. Very light, filling and satisfying noodle dish that both kids and adults can enjoy.
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Beef Udon Stir Fry Recipe
Stir fry beef steak with udon noodles, vegetables and flavourful stir fry sauce with Japanese mirin. Super fast and easy to make at home with minimum ingredients. Perfect for quick lunch or light dinner.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 709kcal
Ingredients
- 250 g Beef steak ( around 8.8 oz ) ( ribeye, sirloin, rump or any tender steak ) cut in thin slices
- 400 g Udon noodles ( around 14 oz ) See details in note
- 2 head Pak choi ( Or bok choy/choy sum ) Cut lengthwise or thin slices
- 100 g Mushroom ( around 3.5 oz ) ( button, shiitake, white or oyster mushroom ) cut thin slices
- 1 tbsp Garlic Finely chopped
- 1 Onion Cut thin slices
- 2 Spring onions Cut thin slices
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil or neutral flavour oil
Stir Fry Sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin ( Japanese rice cooking wine ) or Shaoxing wine
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce Or regular soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- ½ tsp Corn starch
Instructions
- Blanch the udon noodles with hot water for 1-2 minutes to loosen them. Drain and rinse with cold water and set it aside. ( Or prepare by the packet instructions. Make sure not to overcooked as you are stir frying them again. )
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, whisk and set it aside. Cut the beef into thin slices against the grain. Season with 1 tablespoon of stir fry sauce mix. Gather and prepare the vegetables.
- Heat the large pan or wok to medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoon of oil, stir fry the beef slices for 2-3 minutes. Push the beef to one side, add garlic and onion slices and stir for few seconds and follow with the mushroom. Cook for another 1 minute, then add the pak choi and toss it well.
- next place the udon in the middle of the pan, pour the sauce mixture in. Cook for another 2 minutes until the sauce and other ingredients combine evenly.
- Turn off the heat and sprinkle chopped spring onions. Transfer to serving plate and serve immediately.
Notes
- Udon Noodles - If you use pre-cooked or ready-to-use udon noodles, add hot boiling water over the noodles let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Then rinse with cold water. If you use fresh or frozen noodles, follow the packet instructions. To prevent the noodles from overcooked, rinse with cold water after boiling.
Instead of udon, you can swap with any thick egg or wheat noodles. - Steak - Use chicken, prawns/shrimp, or pork instead of beef steak.
- Vegetables - Other stir fry vegetables can be added or substituted. If you use hard vegetables like broccoli or tender stem broccoli, blanch them in hot water for few minutes before adding to stir fry.
- Mirin - Mirin is a Japanese sweet cooking rice wine, similar to sake. If you cannot get mirin, substitute with Chinese Shaoxing wine or dry sherry. For halal or non-alcohol cooking, you can use rice vinegar and a dash of sugar as substitutes.
- Salt & Pepper - As soy sauces already consist of salt intake, we don't usually add salt in this recipe. But you can make a taste test and add some salt or black pepper according to your taste.
- Adjust sugar - If you prefer your sauce sweeter, add extra sugar or adjust to your preference.
Nutrition
Calories: 709kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 2730mg | Potassium: 1827mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 25796IU | Vitamin C: 269mg | Calcium: 619mg | Iron: 5mg
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Jen says
Full disclosure: I've only made the sauce, and it's AMAZING. This is my go-to stir fry sauce now; it's been spectacular on all the vegetables and noodles I've tried. I like my sauce a little thicker, so I've started doubling the cornstarch. It's also good with chili paste/sauce if you like spicy. I use the dry sherry substitute, so the sweetness is a good level for us.
Thank you for the recipe! <3
Khin says
Glad that you enjoyed it, Jen. We love to add this sauce in other stir fry recipes too. Love the idea of adding chilli sauce. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Edith says
Delicious 😋 I always prepare a big batch as all members of my family hep themselves twice !
Sauce is so tasty! I put bok choy, ted peppers, onions, mushrooms and green onions
Keren says
I doubled the recipe but I've noticed it missed a bit of flavor so I added some oyster sauce and it come out very good.
Khin says
Sounds delicious with extra oyster. Thank for trying it out and sharing your feedback with us, Keren.
Melinda says
Second time I’ve made this and will keep it in my dinner rotation. Very easy to make. I recommend have all ingredients cut and ready when you start cooking because things move quickly with this recipe.
I thinly sliced some carrots and added to the pan with the onions. I find it easier to remove the meat from the pan while the other ingredients are cooking and add it back in with the noodles. I like the sauce but wanted a little more to coat all the ingredients. It would be easy to double the sauce
Khin says
Thanks for trying out this recipe and sharing your feedback, Melinda. Sounds so good with extra vegetables.
Shelley says
Very good recipie. I added broccoli for crunch. Sauce is very good. I reduced the sugar to half tablespoons. Will cook this again.
Khin says
So glad that you tried out this recipe, Shelley. Love it with broccoli too! Thanks for sharing feedback.
Mo says
First time making this recipe. It was delicious and I got my entire family tell me this needs to be in the dinner rotation. Thank you.
Khin says
I am so pleased that you and your family enjoyed this recipe, Mo! Thank you so much for taking your time and sharing the feedback.
Sarah says
I made this, did not try it lol but my husband ate it & had second servings. I used beef tenderloin that I defrosted and cut against the grain, thinner slices. I didn't have the Japanese mirin so I used dry sherry. Will be making this again, ty!
Sharon says
I made this, and it was delicious. I did add ginger and I used Napa cabbage for my leafy green vegetable. Also added mung sprouts. This was very tasty and I’ll make it again.
Khin says
Thanks for trying out this recipe, Sharon. Glad that you enjoyed it.
David says
May I ask, what is dark soy sauce ???? I can't find it anywhere..
Khin says
Hi David, it's a thick darker colour soy sauce and is less salt content than regular soy sauce. You can find it in Lee Kum Kee, Amoy, Kikkoman, Blue dragon brands, etc on Amazon online or Chinese/Oriental grocery stores. You can omit it if you cannot get it easily. The noodles colour might is slightly pale if you don't add dark soy sauce. Hope this helps.
Jen says
I used sirlion steak and Baby bok choi, carrots and pea pods. It was great and I plan to make it again
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, Jen! Thanks for trying out!
Alejandro Torres says
Very good recipe, I went for shrimp instead of beef, and it was delicious anyways! It's easy and Yummy.
Khin says
Thank you so much for sharing with us Alejandro 😊
Catharine says
Soooo Delish & Easy & a 1 Pot Meal 🙂
Marinating is the key for sure ! I thinly sliced Flank Steak from partially frozen & then marinated for 2hr in a zip bag at room temp in the sauce mixture . I used Chinkiang Vinegar instead of Mirin & Brown Sugar for sweetness. I found I used all the sauce for the marinate process so at the end I poured extra soy on the dish .
Shiitake Mushrooms are so flavourful & Bok Choy is healthy . Ready to use Udon Noodles are super easy ~ I just rinsed them w kettle water in a colander !
Keeping everything in the Wok the whole time is brilliant !!
Khin says
So glad that you enjoy this recipe, Catharine! This is also our favorite easy one-pan dinner. Thank you so much for trying out and sharing feedback.
May says
My husband don't eat beef. So I made it with chicken. It was very good. We loved this sauce.
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it, May! Thanks for sharing feedback with us.
Vicky Ryan says
This was delicious. But the prep time took me 45 minutes. But I added lots of veggies! I could not find prepared udon noodles so I had to boil mine. This was an extra step.
Khin says
I am so glad that you tried it out and enjoyed it. Thank you so much for taking time and sharing lovely feedback.
Johnny says
It’s easy to make. I will try this for sure. Can I use chow mein noodles for this recipe if I could not find udon noodles.
Thanks
Khin says
Hi Johnny, definitely you can try with chow mein or any egg/wheat noodles for this recipe. Hope you enjoy it.