• 4 ²⁄₃ cups (1.1 kg) water (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the udon; once boiling, cover and keep on low heat until ready to cook the noodles.

• 5 cups (1.2 kg) dashi stock, Japanese soup stock
• 3 Tbsp (48 g) soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp (32 g) mirin
• 2 tsp (8 g) sugar
• ¹⁄₄ tsp (1 g) Diamond Kosher salt

Prepare the broth: make dashi, then season with soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and kosher salt; cover and set aside to keep hot.

• 1 Tokyo negi (long green onion), white part only or 4 green onions
• 2 green onions, for topping
• 8 sprigs mitsuba (optional), for garnish
• 8 slices narutomaki (fish cake) (optional)
• 12 oz to 1 lb (340 to 450 g) beef ribeye, thinly sliced

Prep toppings and add-ins: slice Tokyo negi (white part), thinly slice green onion, slice mitsuba, and diagonally slice narutomaki; cut beef into shorter pieces if needed (about 1½–2 inches wide).

• 2 Tbsp (26 g) vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp, 1 tsp (17 g) sugar
• 2 Tbsp (32 g) soy sauce

Cook the beef: heat a frying pan over medium heat, add neutral oil and Tokyo negi, sauté until golden and tender, add beef and cook until no longer pink, then add sugar and soy sauce and stir-fry until well coated; remove from heat.

• 4 pack udon noodle

Cook the udon in boiling water according to the package (frozen udon: boil from frozen for 1 minute); drain.

• shichimi togarashi (optional), for serving

Assemble: divide noodles into bowls, pour hot broth over, top with beef, narutomaki, green onion, and mitsuba, and sprinkle with shichimi togarashi if desired.