Japanese noodles
Traditional and inventive Japanese cuisines make for a delectable palate. There are primarily four types of Japanese noodles that you can find in supermarkets, health food stores, or Asian stores in the United States.
Variety of Japanese Noodle Dishes:
Soba :
Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). They are as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot or cold dishes and with a choice of toppings (vegetable or shrimp tempura, pork, etc.). The most basic soba dish is Zaru soba noodles are boiled , cold soba noodles are eaten with a soya sauce (tsuyu), wasabi, nori seaweed and negi (Japanese leek). The water used to boil the noodles (soba-yu) is mixed with tsuyu, which they drink after the meal. Other delicious Soba dishes are noodle soups garnished with rich toppings such as Kitsune Soba, Tanuki Soba and Tsukimi Soba.
Udon:
Udon noodles are traditional Japanese noodles made by kneading wheat flour, salt, and water. Udon noodles are are white,thicker and slippery (about 4-6 mm wide) than Soba noodles. Soba noodles can also be served hot or cold with delicious toppings. Udon can be eaten hot or cold and can be cooked in many ways. You might have seen udon noodles in hot soup. Cold udon noodles are also popular in summer. Cold udon noodles are eaten by dipping into dipping sauce. Noodle dipping sauce (mentsuyu) can be purchased or can be made by mixing soy sauce, mirin, and Japanese dashi soup stock. Serve cold udon with choice of topping -usually tempura shrimp or vegetables. and often served in individual casseroles called donabes which are usually one pot meals.
There are several ways to prepare Udon. This recipe shows three of them:
Kitsune Udon (Fox Udon)
Tanuki Udon (Japanese racoon Udon)
Tsukimi Udon (”Viewing moon” Udon (the yolk of an egg represents the moon))
Ramen :
Ramen Noodles are delectable Chinese style noodles cooked in a soup with various toppings.Ramen Noodles is one of the many popular dishes that were originally introduced from China but It have become a very popular dish in Japan, adapted to the Japanese taste.
Ramen noodles are about as thin as spaghetti and are served in a soup garnished with delicious toppings(negi (leek), shinachiku (seasoned bamboo shoots), nori (dried seaweed), yakibuta (pork ham), boiled egg,etc),that varies based on region, city and even specific vendor. Ramen’s popularity stems in part from the fact that it is so inexpensive and widely available, making it an ideal option for budget travelers. In addition to freshly prepared ramen at Ramen restaurants (ramen ya), supermarkets and convenience stores offer a large selection of instant ramen bowls.
Though ramen can be considered a one dish meal, gyoza are a common side dish offered at ramen at Ramen restaurants (ramen ya). These Chinese style, pan fried dumplings are eaten with a soya and vinegar sauce. Shichimi (red chili mix) is usually available on the table to be added according to taste.
Ramen can be classified according to its soup base. The most popular ones are:
shio ramen (salt flavored soup)
shoyu ramen (soy sauce flavored soup)
tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup)
miso ramen (miso flavored soup).
Tonkotsu ramen soup is creamy white, and miso ramen soup is brown. Popular Ramen dishes with rich toppings are Chashumen(a ramen dish that features barbecued pork as toppings), Tanmen, Wonton ramen etc.
Somen:
Somen noodles are also made of wheat flour, salt, and water; however, sesame or cottonseed oil is added to somen. like Udon noodles. But these noodles are much thinner than Udon noodles. Cold somen noodles are served with a light flavored dipping soup(tsuyu), and toppings. Mix toppings in the dipping soup and dip a small amount of somen noodles in the soup to eat. The sauce is usually a katsuobushi based sauce that can be flavored with Welsh onion, ginger, or myoga. In the summer time s?men chilled with ice is a popular meal to help stay cool. S?men served in hot soup is usually called “nyumen,” and is frequently served in the winter much like soba or udon.
Tags: Japanese cuisines, Japanese food, Japanese Noodle Dishes, Japanese noodles, Noodle, Ramen, soba, somen, Udon, ypes of Japanese noodles
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