Japanese Beef Udon Soup

I don't get too experimental with meals very often, and unless I have any specific challenges to complete for this blog, I often rotate the same, or similar, meals on a weekly basis.

I was quite excited at the prospect of trying out some Japanese cooking when I received a parcel of ingredients from Japan Centre, as other than Miso soup and Udon noodles (which I used when I made healthy pot noodles), I've not eaten Japanese food, as far as I can remember. 

In the package I received the following :

• a bottle of Sake from Gekkeikan, house of the world's finest sake
• a selection of teas from Uji-no-tsuyu 
• Japanese spices from Shichimiya

After a spot of research, I decided that an Udon soup was the way to go, beefed up with slices of fillet steak spiced with Shichimi, a Japanese spice made from a blend of seven ingredients.

After making this amazing dish in under 15 minutes, I'm wondering why I don't make dishes like this more often, as it's the ultimate healthy fast food, and perfect for a lunch on a busy day.

Japanese Beef Udon Soup - serves 2

marinade

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Sake

1/2 tsp Shichimi 

170g fillet steak

tbsp sesame oil

600ml water

1 dashi bag

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Sake

75g button chestnut mushrooms, sliced

175g dried Udon noodles

bunch of spring onions, sliced

• make the marinade by mixing the soy sauce, sake & Shichimi together in a bowl
• add the fillet steak and toss to coat in the marinade
• refrigerate for a few hours or overnight
• heat the sesame oil in a frying pan over a high heat
• add the steak and fry for a couple minutes on each side
• set aside to rest whilst preparing the udon soup
• bring the water to the boil in a saucepan
• add the dashi bag and simmer for 2-3 minutes
• remove the dashi bag from the pan
• add the soy sauce, sake, mushrooms, noodles and 3/4 of the spring onions
• simmer for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are cooked through
• slice the steak
• divide the soup into two portions and top with the steak and remaining spring onions

left to right : dashi bags, matcha tea, sake, arare, tea selection, shichimi pepper, sansho pepper

For the chance to win a 4 night trip to Japan, with 11 runner up prizes, make sure you pop over to the Visit Japan Facebook page here.

this recipe was commissioned for Visit Japan