Udon

A workout to make

Authentic udon dough is too stiff to knead by hand alone. Traditional udon-makers wrap the dough in plastic and knead it with their feet — the technique provides enough force without bruising. The result is dough with extreme gluten development that produces the signature firm, chewy bite (koshi) that distinguishes great udon.

Major regional styles

• Sanuki udon (Kagawa Prefecture) — the most famous regional style. Square-cut, exceptionally chewy, often served in a simple dashi.
• Inaniwa udon (Akita Prefecture) — thinner and smoother than Sanuki; one of Japan’s three great noodles by tradition.
• Mizusawa udon (Gunma Prefecture) — wide, flat, served cold with dipping sauce.
• Ise udon (Mie Prefecture) — soft (almost mushy) udon in a thick black soy sauce — a regional anomaly.
• Hōtō (Yamanashi Prefecture) — flat udon-like noodles in miso broth with vegetables.

Hot vs. cold

Udon is served two basic ways:

• Hot (kake udon) — in a bowl of hot dashi, with toppings on top. Comfort food in winter.
• Cold (zaru udon) — chilled noodles served on a bamboo mat with a small cup of cold dashi-soy dipping sauce. Summer staple; closely related to zaru soba.

Both methods showcase the chewy texture that hot soup doesn’t soften.

Tempura partnership

The natural pairing of udon and tempura is no accident — both rose to popularity during the Edo period (1603–1867) at street stalls catering to the rapidly urbanizing population of Tokyo. Tempura udon (with a tempura shrimp on top) and kitsune udon (with a sweet fried tofu on top) are still among the most-ordered combinations in Japan.

Difference from soba and ramen

Three Japanese wheat-noodle traditions, three different beasts:

• Udon — thick, white, mild, chewy. Wheat only.
• Soba — thin, brown, nutty. Buckwheat (with some wheat for binding).
• Ramen — thin, yellow, alkaline, springy. Wheat with kansui (alkaline mineral water).

Udon is the heaviest and slowest of the three; soba is the most refined; ramen is the most contemporary.