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The Noodlemaker
October 22, 2008 | 32 Comments
Last Sunday, I visited Himeji Castle (a World Heritage site) in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan with my colleague and his family. On the main street in front of the castle, a short walk from the Himeji JR Station, is a Udon Noodle restaurant. It held special significance for my colleague and his wife as it was a favorite haunt when they were dating.
I was taken in the moment I saw the chef making fresh noodles through the window. The kids were equally fascinated.
The front of every store or restaurant in Japan has a little cloth hanging displaying a snapshot of the wares on offer. Freshly made udon (wheat noodles) – rolled out for each order. It was a charming little place with seating for maybe 20 guests.
The menu was painted on wooden strips and hung on the back wall. We placed our orders and watched the chef perform his magic. He took out a ball of dough and started stretching it at incredible speed.
He does this by rolling a bit, then rolling the dough back to drape it over the rolling pin, then unfurling it out back onto the board, stretching it with each motion, then repeating the whole exercise. Watch this.
The layers of dough are always in contact, but nothing sticks, and the end result is a perfectly even circle – 2.5 ft round and 1/4″ thick.
Then he lays them in pleats and uses a heavy duty cutting contraption to make 1/4″ cuts to get long strands of square Udon.
He dunks the noodle in boiling water for couple of minutes and it’s perfectly done. It is then doused in a broth and served hot with various toppings, or chilled (which is how many Japanese prefer it in summer).
Fresh udon is a truly fantastic gastronomic experience for a really small price – around 7 U.S. dollars. Slurping is encouraged ‘cos it means you’re enjoying your meal. I was enjoying mine so much, that I forgot to take a picture. It looked something like this.
(Pic courtesy Wkimedia Commons)
- Jai
Filed Under: how to make noodles, Japan, NaBloWriMo, noodles, Photo Essays, TRAVEL, udon, Wheat
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32 Comments
That is such a beautiful post
Wonderful post! I many times liked to know how they make noodles. Thanks Jai!
Oh boy! I love udon in the fresh! Almost any type of fresh noodles win hands down actually.
I have seen this on TV and was totally amazed. Will come back to check out your video too.
That’s awesome. What a fascinating process. Even with the video, it’s hard to tell how he accomplishes that perfect dough.
Wish I could taste it!
Fresh is perfect. I’ve seen noodle making process on TV. Thanks for making me recollect it!
BTW,
Jai & Bee, Please collect the award at my blog. U deserve it!
http://ramya65.blogspot.com/2008/10/hard-working-food-blogger-award.html
Thanks,
Ramya
We forgive you for not taking pictures. Well you did have fun in slurping
What a lovely post. Amazing how he can keep on rolling without sticking the layers together. Love the balck and white photo’s with the ‘movement’ captured in them.
Noodles. Now yer talkin’! But really what I love is the fragrant steam in my face.
Fragrant steam in his face?
Anyways, I can’t tell how or why the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin. Now that Jai has seen and slurped, I vote that he makes a video – in slow motion please – that tells us all the secrets of udon making. All those in favor say aye! (Gosh! This is better than a tag or a meme even!)
Love the video! These guys are the true artists.
Hmmm..i can feel the steam here on my face…just a wonderful post Jai….
Aye
Interesting! The pleating and cutting must have been fascinating too!
That is a treat to the eyes Jai. For a person who can never make a perfectly round chapathi, this is a miracle.
My question to you is, for a vegetarian do they have many options? Like what kind of broth were your noodles dunked in?
ha ha, when the food is delicious we forgot everything
This is such a treat. Nothing beats the taste of freshly made noodles.
That’s two ayes. We need more, people!
Simply lovely.
Aye aye aye ( that makes it 5)
Aye Aye from me tooo…
Aye Aye Aye (Count: 10)..:) the bowl looks so appetizing!
Siri
Very cool!
The broth- it was vegetarian? Did they have a vegetarian broth on the menu or did you have to request for it specially?
Now I’m starving!
Great post, nice to see something I’ve always wanted to see.
A master at work – truly fascinating. Thanks for sharing the experience with us. That board and rolling pin must be permanently coated with flour and oil in just the right combination to keep the dough from sticking and that dough must be just perfect to keep it from sticking to itself.
Jai – how many times a day do you suppose he repeats that process? He could probably do it in his sleep.
Ha – I wonder if he ever eats udon or do you suppose he’d rather eat anything BUT after preparing those fresh noodles day in and day out?
Great photos, and what fun to watch the master at work! And I love udon noodles. We ate bowls just like this all over Japan.
I see you DID stop for noodles; well it would be hard to be in Japan and not. Great that you found one where they are making homemade ones, and I see from the menu that rice balls(omusubi) are a bargain at only 110 yen (probably for 2). There ARE bagains in Japan!
Lovely photos. I only wished I could expand them and read all the menu choices.
If you’re still in Japan I recommend you try to find the obaasan (granny) style of big mochi with chunky not-too- sweet bean paste inside. They are a great treat, also made at small shops.
[...] with all five senses connected, charged straight to my mind’s eyes a few days ago when I read Jugalbandi’s piece about fresh Japanese udon noodles. Yes, udon and egg noodles are technically unlike [...]
Here’s a little tid-bit I got from one of my students who happened to be a CEO at a famous Udon factory in Shikoku. Udon was brought back from China(possibly by Kobodaishi, the same guy who imported kanji) and originally made at Manno Pond in Shikoku because of the ready availabilty of water, and locally grown wheat. It was originally won-ton, but in Japan they stretched out the noodles, dropped the filling and put it in the soup instead, I guess. The name evolved from won-ton to WU-don, and then udon. Now in Shikoku (old name Sanuki) Sanuki Udon claims to be the birthpalce of the noodle, and it is the most typical local dish.
It is kneaded by stepping on the carefully wrapped dough. Too bad you didn’t see that part. If you’re ever in Kotohira you can attend a class at a little factory there at the foot of Konpira-san and cut your own noodles, then cook and eat them.
Oh, really nice pictures. I attempted to make soba noodles recently and this does open some recent wounds mind you.
Wow, I luuuuuuv udon. I wish I could have a bite right now. Love the sound of sipping those thingies …. argh,…. meee jealoussss…
[...] the city of Himeji, which is about couple of hours west of Kyoto and Osaka, in Hyogo Prefecture. A satisfying Udon lunch preceded the walk to the [...]