Udon noodles with spicy beef

It’s a conundrum. For the first time in years, I have had Saturdays free to myself - no ferrying the children to sports activities and no dinner parties to prep for. With all this free time, I have been cooking more at home, and it’s just a shame that because of #Lockdown2.0, we haven’t been able to invite friends over. I went to Stroud farmers market for the first time in ages - still the same stalls that I remember, but with the addition of a new indoor food market called Five Valleys. My friend Ori Hellerstein (The Artisan Baker) moved his production there in August so we picked up a Painswick sourdough and a joint of silverside from his neighbours (Waghornes) for our Sunday lunch. This recipe is simple Japanese cooking, good for quick midweek supper, using up leftovers. At this time of year, I crave heartier, slow-cooked food but don’t enough time to cook it and sometimes want something that delivers on comfort without being too heavy. This recipe brings together an autumnal combination of beef, onions and cabbage, served on top of a bowl of chewy udon noodles.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

Spicy beef

1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used rapeseed oil)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 red onion - sliced into half moons
100g Savoy cabbage (about 3 leaves) - finely shredded
100g left over roast beef (increase that to 150g if using raw beef) - finely shredded
50g barley miso
50g gochujang paste
250g water

Tsuyu broth

700g dashi stock
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce

To finish

180g dried udon noodles (or 400g if using vacuum packed cooked noodles)
1 spring onion - finely sliced
1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Nanami togarashi

METHOD

1. Cut the onion in half through the root then peel it but leave the root on

2. Slice the onions into fine half moons

3. Soften the onions in the vegetable oil and sesame oil for 5 minutes, with a lid on so that they sweat

4. Finely shred the cabbage and add to the onions

5. Finely shred the beef and add to the pan with the miso paste, gochujang and water

6. Simmer for 10 minutes

7. Make the tsuyu broth: add the dashi, mirin and soy sauce to a pot and heat until it is steaming but not boiling

8. While it is heating, finely slice the spring onions and set aside along with the sesame seeds and togarashi

9. Taste the tsuyu - you can add more mirin if you like it sweeter or more soy sauce if you like it saltier, but remember that the beef is already quite salty and will mix in with the broth

10. Cook the udon until it is tender, then drain and cover with the tsuyu broth. Top with the spicy beef and garnish with spring onions, sesame seeds and togarashi, if you like it even spicier