Udon, noodle made from wheat flour that are often eaten in Japan

Udon is made by kneading wheat flour in salt water and boiling the noodles.

There are cases where you put it in a bowl and sprinkle it with hot dashi soup, or you eat it after chilling it with water and dipping it in cold dashi soup.

Along with ramen and soba, it is a noodle that Japanese people often eat.

There are standing udon shops on the premises of train stations, and you can often see people eating udon while waiting for the train. In addition, there are restaurants specializing in udon noodles in the town, and it is a menu that is always found in ordinary restaurants.

What is Udon and can I eat it?

Materials of Udon

Wheat flour, soy sauce, dashi, mirin, and toppings
Please see “Meal description”.

Udon has various menus, hot, cold and stir-fried

Udon is noodles made by adding salt water to wheat flour, rolling it into thin strips, and cutting it with a kitchen knife. Udon was introduced from China more than 1000 years ago, and it is said that it evolved independently in Japan and took its current form 400 years ago.

There are three ways to eat udon. The most orthodox is to put boiled noodles in a bowl, put the ingredients on it, and then add hot dashi soup. Usually, “udon” refers to this hot soup noodle. Summer in Japan is hot, but this hot udon is served all year round, including summer.

There are various types of hot udon noodles, depending on the toppings. Let me introduce the main ones.

Kake udon　Only green onions. The cheapest udon noodles.

Kitsune udon　Udon with deep-fried tofu boiled with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and green onion. It is named Kitsune udon (fox udon) because deep-fried tofu is a favorite of foxes.

Tanuki udon　Udon with tenkasu and green onions. Tenkasu is only the part of the tempura garment.

Kizami udon　Udon with chopped deep-fried tofu and green onions.

Niku udon　Udon with beef boiled with soy sauce and sugar, and green onions.

Chikara Udon　Udon noodles with roasted rice cakes and green onions on top of the udon noodles.

Curry udon　Udon with a slightly thick curry-flavored soup stock.

The second way to eat it is to wash the boiled udon noodles with water, drain the water, and then soak it in a cold dashi soup.

Cold udon is a menu from spring to autumn, but more stores offer it all year round. There are various types of toppings as well.

Zaru udon　Eat cold udon in cold soup stock. The only ingredient is green onions.

Tenzaru　Zaru udon with shrimp and vegetable tempura. Udon and tempura are eaten in the same cold dashi soup.

The third way to eat is to stir-fry boiled udon with meat and vegetables, which is called “Yaki udon (stir-fried udon)”. It is not on the menu of udon specialty restaurant, but can be found in popular restaurants, university cafeterias, and food stalls that serve yakisoba.

Try to eat Udon!

How much ?

$ 3～9

Where can I eat Udon ?

Udon specialty restaurant chain

There are several restaurant chains that specialize in udon. Here you can taste authentic udon noodles. Various types of udon are available, so it is recommended for those who like udon. The self-service method allows you to choose from a large selection of udon types and sizes, warm or cold noodles, toppings, and side menus.

• Marugame Seimen: There are about 1000 stores in Japan.
• Hanamaru Udon: There are about 500 stores in Japan.

Food court Udon shop

There is always a udon shop in the food court of a shopping center. This is a self-service method, you can order at the counter, receive the finished food and bring it to your seat by yourself. When you finish eating, please return the tableware to the return port. The taste varies from store to store.

Standing Udon shop

It is a stand on the premises of the station that serves udon and soba noodles. You can satisfy your hunger at a low price, but the taste of udon is inferior to that of udon specialty restaurants and food court udon shops. If you buy a meal ticket at the ticket machine and put it out at the counter, udon will be served in about 1 minute.

Precautions when eating Udon

For gluten-free people

Udon is a noodle made from wheat flour. Please do not eat.

For vegetarians

Udon has many menus that do not use animal ingredients. However, please note that bonito flakes are used for the dashi stock.

For Muslims

Udon usually does not contain pork-based ingredients. Mirin used in dashi soup contains alcohol, but dashi soup does not contain alcohol because it evaporates during the process of making dashi soup.

Japanese writer’s comment for Udon

You can also buy ready-to-eat udon noodles at food supermarkets and convenience stores. For cold udon, udon that can be eaten as it is is sold as chilled food. Cup noodles are convenient for warm udon noodles.

Sprinkle the powdered soup in a small bag inside the cup on the noodles, pour boiling water over it, and eat it in 3 to 5 minutes. Nissin Foods’ “Donbei” of Nisshin Foods and “Akai-kitsune” of Toyo Suisan are popular products, and the prices are around $ 1.5.