Japanese Noodles
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Vol. 32 No. 2 July 2018 Kikkoman’s quarterly intercultural forum for the exchange of ideas on food 4 THE JAPANESE TABLE CLOSE-UP JAPAN: Gyoza Pot Stickers — Japanese Noodles 5 JAPANESE STYLE: Udon Kanten by Ayao Okumura TASTY TRAVEL: Hakata Mizutaki There are a variety of noodles to be discovered in Japanese cuisine, — and each type has its own distinctive history and characteristics. 6 In this second installment in our series on the world of Japanese MORE ABOUT JAPANESE COOKING: noodles, Food Forum introduces udon wheat noodles. Avocado-Soy Milk Tofu Odamaki-mushi Savory Steamed Egg Custard with Udon — 8 KIKKOMAN TODAY: Kikkoman Panel Discussion: In Praise of Washoku Japanese Noodles Udon Previously we presented somen sauce eventually came to be made in the strong umami of its dashi, noodles, traditionally made by with a dashi broth of katsuobushi made of a complex blend of high hand-stretching. Udon noodles, by dried bonito flakes and soy sauce; quality kombu from Hokkaido contrast, are usually knife-cut. Like noodles dipped in this sauce and katsuobushi, along with somen, udon is made by kneading were called hiyamugi, and were other dried fish flakes such as wheat fl our with salted water into garnished with either chopped mackerel and mejika, a species a dough; this is then rolled out into green or long onion and a touch of of bonito. This combination of a sheet with a long wooden rolling ground mustard paste. kombu’s glutamic acid with the pin to a thickness of only three to The manner of eating hot inosinic acid element of the dried four millimeters, about 0.15 inch. boiled udon noodles arose in a fish flakes increases the overall The sheet is folded to a width of Zen temple in Kyoto during the umami of the soup by seven or some 15 centimeters, or about six early 1300s. These noodles were eight times, compared to dashi inches, then cut into three to four cut wider than hiyamugi so as made with kombu or katsuobushi millimeter-wide strips of noodles not to become too soft in the hot alone. Seasoning this umami-rich with a large cleaver-like blade called water. Later, in the early 1600s, broth with usukuchi light color an udon-kiri. Today, the udon-making people began to pour a hot savory soy sauce, plus a small amount process is predominantly automated, soup over their boiled udon. This of mirin, produces a very elegant yet many restaurants in Japan still soup consisted of dashi made soup which makes the udon make it by hand. There are many from katsuobushi seasoned with noodles taste even better. forms of udon: it is available fresh- either the taremiso or with what In Osaka, udon has evolved made, pre-cooked, frozen and dried, was at that time expensive tamari over the years, resulting in a and it varies in width. soy sauce. By the late eighteenth variety of recipes. Tamago-toji century, however, ordinary soy udon is similar to egg-drop soup, Eating Udon sauce was used in the soup. and is garnished with chopped The origins of udon in Japan green onion. Similar to this is date back to knife-cut noodles Soup and Toppings introduced from China in the During the late eighteenth and early 1200s; these were about early nineteenth centuries, two millimeters (0.08 in.) wide udon became a popular fast food and were called kirimugi, “cut in the city of Osaka, then the wheat.” Kirimugi noodles were commercial center of the country. usually boiled, rinsed and cooled, Noodle makers there have long then eaten by dipping in a cold mixed both local and regional clear sauce called taremiso, made Japanese wheat to make special by mixing miso with water, udon flour, but what has always boiling it down and then straining distinguished udon in Osaka is Udon noodles are available in various forms: (from left) it through a cloth. That dipping its delicious soup. The secret lies Dried, pre-cooked, frozen and fresh. 2 From left: Cutting udon dough with an udon-kiri; tamago-toji udon; nabe-yaki udon; kama-tama udon. savory steamed egg custard with Osaka, cooked rice is added to the staple there that people even eat boiled udon, called odamaki- pot along with the noodles. it for breakfast. Kama-age udon mushi (see p. 7). Traditionally, Udon-suki evolved as a sort of is traditionally eaten straight out this involves pouring beaten eggs family-style version of nabe-yaki of the hot water in which it is mixed with dashi six times the udon. It is generally eaten with boiled, simply dipped in a sauce amount of egg over a bowl of udon several people serving themselves seasoned with soy sauce. One and other ingredients and steaming from a large shallow pot that is quick dish is hot kama-tama it. Kitsune udon with abura-age heated up right on the table, on a udon, mixed in a bowl with raw deep-fried tofu seasoned with soy portable cooking element. After egg and soy sauce. Grated daikon sauce, sugar and dashi is an Osaka the soup is warmed, ingredients radish and soy sauce alone are specialty. Other popular dishes like shrimp, chicken, grilled enough to make a fi ne complement include udon topped with beef anago, deep-fried tofu dumplings, to chilled udon. Particularly or covered in curry. Udon topped nama-fu (wheat gluten), yuba popular in Kagawa Prefecture are with sliced tamago-yaki rolled tofu skin, vegetables and various self-serve shops, where diners can omelet, sweet simmered shiitake mushrooms are added, followed select toppings for themselves mushrooms, slices of kamaboko by pre-cooked udon noodles, from assorted ingredients, such as fi sh cake and chopped green onion resulting in a nutritionally well- tempura, to add to their bowl of is another variation. There is also balanced meal. freshly boiled udon. an udon dish where the broth is thickened with kudzu starch. Regional Variations Udon is enjoyed throughout Japan, Udon Hot Pot but its cooking styles and soup During the 1850s, nabe-yaki udon fl avors tend to differ by region. In was served from itinerant stalls in general, the soup is lighter in color Osaka. Udon noodles and assorted in the western part of the country cover A bowl of hot kitsune udon with abura-age deep-fried ingredients were cooked with and darker in the east and north. tofu seasoned with soy sauce, sugar and dashi, and dashi broth in shallow single- Distinctive to the Nagoya area in chopped green onion. serving iron pots over a charcoal western Aichi Prefecture is miso- Author’s profile Ayao Okumura, Ph.D. was born in 1937 in stove. These days, restaurants nikomi udon, served in a thick Wakayama Prefecture. A former professor at Kobe serve nabe-yaki udon in lidded soup made with Hatcho miso Yamate University, Dr. Okumura is a specialist in earthenware pots, with more fermented from locally grown traditional Japanese cuisine. He is currently part-time professor at Osaka City University extravagant toppings than in the soybeans, to which chicken and Graduate School, lecturing on the establishment past, such as shrimp tempura, egg are added. It is served bubbling and structure of Japanese food culture; as owner chicken, grilled anago conger hot in an earthenware pot. of cooking studio Douraku-tei, he is known for his eel, sweet simmered shiitake On the island of Shikoku, authentic reproductions of historic Japanese dishes and menus. His various publications include Nippon mushrooms and kamaboko. Kagawa Prefecture is famous for men shokubunka no 1300 nen (“1,300 years of At one particular restaurant in Sanuki udon, which is such a Japanese noodle food culture,” 2009; revised 2014). FOOD FORUM July 2018 3 CLOSE-UP JAPAN Traditions and trends in Japanese food culture From left: A plate of yaki-gyoza; gyoza pan-fried in oil and then lightly steamed. Gyoza Pot Stickers Gyoza pot-stickers are popular in cook them up. Gyoza fi llings vary, Japan, and they can be found but the classic recipe involves fi nely everywhere, from specialty and Gyoza might be minced pork, shredded Chinese Chinese restaurants to ramen shops, cabbage or cabbage, long onion, while frozen or chilled ready-to-cook considered one of Chinese chives, soy sauce, garlic and gyoza are sold in supermarkets and Japan’s staple foods sesame oil mixed and wrapped in convenience stores. Japanese gyoza dumpling skins. Yaki-gyoza are generally refers to pan-fried yaki-gyoza, pan-fried in oil then lightly steamed, but steamed mushi-gyoza and boiled and eaten dipped in soy sauce with sui-gyoza are also popular. fi lling. Pan-fried gyoza eventually a splash of vinegar and/or a dash of Gyoza dumplings originated in became the mainstay, and today are rayu chili oil. China, where they are called jiaozi integral to contemporary Japanese Regional gyoza variations include and are usually eaten boiled or food culture. In fact, gyoza are so Kyushu tetsunabe gyoza, fried and steamed. They are a common side common in Japan, they might be served in a cast iron pan; Osaka dish there, so these dumpling skins considered one of the country’s hitokuchi gyoza bite-sized are thick and fi llings consist mostly staple foods; certainly they are a dumplings; and hanetsuki gyoza, of vegetables. After the Second universal favorite, often eaten as a fried with an extra-crispy crust. Two World War, returning Japanese who main dish with rice and soup or as an Japanese cities—Utsunomiya in had been living in northeast China accompaniment to ramen noodles. Tochigi Prefecture and Hamamatsu introduced the dumplings to Japan, While ready-made wrappers are in Shizuoka Prefecture—are both where they eventually acquired sold in supermarkets, and a variety renowned for their gyoza.