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Japanese foods--menrui

torakris

By torakris
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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melonpan

melonpan

Posted
Posted
I couldn't agree with smallworld more.

Three years ago, an acquaintance of mine living in Kagawa prefecture, the birthplace of Sanuki udon, sent me a box of frozen Sanuki udon packs.  That was the beginning of my love for this particular type of udon.  In fact, I don't want to eat any other type of udon any longer.

so for optimum effect, which do you think would be better to buy at the store: dried sanuki noodles or frozken packs?

ive seen them at the store, but didnt give it much thought until i browsed this thread today...

so the special thing about the noodles is that they are extra firm? i like that.

i think i am too americanised. i find soba, udon, etc japanese noodles at restaurants too soft for my taste. at ramen ya i ask for extra hard noodles... and when i cook instant ramen, i like to have that extra CRUNCH!

maybe sanuki udon is right for me.

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

I absolutely recommend frozen ones, although I have never tried dried ones.

How do you say 'koshi ga tsuyoi' コシが強い in English? Just 'hard' is OK? torakris, helen, or anyone?

My blog
MomOfLittleFoodies

MomOfLittleFoodies

Posted
Posted

My favorites seem to somen and udon. I'll eat udon in any way it's put in front of me. The Buddhist temple my DH's family goes to here in the Bay Area has a yearly udon feed... mmmmmm.

I like yakisoba and ramen as well. The last year I was in college (in SoCal), there was this little ramen shop that opened up down the street from my dorm, and I ate there a lot. I just bought 6 servings worth of fresh yakisoba noodles (UFO brand) when I went to the big pan Asian market.

Cheryl

Cheryl

smallworld

smallworld

Posted
Posted
i think i am too americanised.  i find soba, udon, etc japanese noodles at restaurants too soft for my taste.  at ramen ya i ask for extra hard noodles...  and when i cook instant ramen, i like to have that extra CRUNCH!

maybe sanuki udon is right for me.

Melonpan, you are not too americanised. You are right- those noodles should be fairly firm. Restaurants who serve them soft just aren't doing it right.

You should definitely try sanuki udon, and also when cooking other Japanese noodles ignore the instructions, test often, and drain them when they're still a little too hard.

How do you say 'koshi ga tsuyoi' コシが強い in English? Just 'hard' is OK? torakris, helen, or anyone?

I think "firm" or "firm texture" works fine. But specificly for pasta and noodles, "al dente" is better.

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I too love noodles with a bite to them, all of my noodles...

My husband prefers them soft.... :angry:

As to dried - vs- frozen noodles, I think it can also depend on the brand, so you might want to try a couple and find ones you like.

I really like frozen noodles but you have to be careful of freezer burn and watch them like a hawk when cooking them them because they can go from perfect to mush in seconds.

I tend to use more dried ones because of a lack of freezer space, though the dried ones give you a litle more leeway in cooking, for some reason the frozen have a better bite to them.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted (edited)
I think "firm" or "firm texture" works fine. But specificly for pasta and noodles, "al dente" is better.

Thanks, smallworld.

As you say, 'firm' sounds more appropriate than 'hard'.

I found an interesting passage from a page of Tameshite Gatten's website:

http://www.nhk.or.jp/gatten/archive/1999q1/19990106.html

Q3: How the Yamanashi specialty "houtou" differs from "udon"?

A3: In making "houtou" noodles, no salt is added to the flour.

When flour is kneaded with water, adding salt makes the koshi of the noodles stronger. On the other hand, houtou is made by simmering raw houtou noodles in dashi (soup stock), so it would become too salty if salt were added to the flour.

Sanuki udon, which is known for having strong koshi, has more salt content than udon in other regions.

Definition of "koshi":

One feels that noodles "have koshi" (koshi ga aru) if they have a moisture content gradient of about 80% on the periphery and 50% near the center.

Edited by Hiroyuki (log)
My blog
  • 2 weeks later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

one of my favorites, houtou (a speciality of Yamanashi), sort of a noodle hotpot.

gallery_6134_91_1099181378.jpg

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

AmyDaniel

AmyDaniel

Posted
Posted

Ohhhh, that looks gooooooood!!!

Kristin, can you give us a recipe??

Also, a few weeks ago at a place on 13th St. and 7th Ave. (Miyagi), I had a rather expensive bowl of noodles called ishikarinabe ($16!!). It was expensive, I think, primarily because of the amount of seafood in it. It was good, though - does anyone have a recipe for this dish?

Amy

Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted
Also, a few weeks ago at a place on 13th St. and 7th Ave. (Miyagi), I had a rather expensive bowl of noodles called ishikarinabe ($16!!).  It was expensive, I think, primarily because of the amount of seafood in it.  It was good, though - does anyone have a recipe for this dish?

Amy

I posted a reply on

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...79entry751579

My blog
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Ohhhh, that looks gooooooood!!!

Kristin, can you give us a recipe??

Amy

It is really just a big miso soup with noodles...

I saute pork and some vegetables (you can use almost anything but but kabocha squash seems to be a must) then add some dashi and simmer until not quite tender. Then add the noodles, this might be the hardest part to find they are a very flat wide udon like noodle. look for kishi-men in an Asian store. Simmer until the noodles are cooked (if they are dried noodles, you will probably have to boil them first). Add things like scallions and aburage (tofu pockets) at the very end when you mix in the miso.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

melonpan

melonpan

Posted
Posted

found many types of sanuki udon (frozen type) and bought one... delish!

i have bought a packet of dry sanuki udon and will post eventually when i get the chance to try it out.

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
  • 4 weeks later...
melonpan

melonpan

Posted
Posted

spotted at the supermarket last weekend:

<center><img src="http://www.rawbw.com/~coconut/eg/04/041202umeSoba.jpg"></center>

torakris, this image is for you! (sorry about that blasted flash) :biggrin:

i now regret that i didnt buy this. the more i think about it the more i wish i could taste it. but perhaps it is better i didnt buy it. the soba will probably taste just like normal, the ume is just there for the color...

on the other hand, what if it is just a tad tart?

dang!

"Bibimbap shappdy wappdy wap." - Jinmyo
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
spotted at the supermarket last weekend:

<center><img src="http://www.rawbw.com/~coconut/eg/04/041202umeSoba.jpg"></center>

torakris, this image is for you!  (sorry about that blasted flash)  :biggrin:

i now regret that i didnt buy this.  the more i think about it the more i wish i could taste it.  but perhaps it is better i didnt buy it.  the soba will probably taste just like normal, the ume is just there for the color...

on the other hand, what if it is just a tad tart?

dang!

cool!

I have never seen that one before, I will be on the look out for that. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

  • 1 month later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
and here are English instructions for soba making:

http://www.jinjapan.org/nipponia/nipponia2.../appetit01.html

This is the recipe that I REALLY want, but the link doesn't work.

Sorry about that, Nipponia changed addresses not too long ago so none of the former links work.... :angry:

here is the new one:

soba from scratch

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

chefzadi

chefzadi

Posted
Posted
and here are English instructions for soba making:

http://www.jinjapan.org/nipponia/nipponia2.../appetit01.html

This is the recipe that I REALLY want, but the link doesn't work.

Sorry about that, Nipponia changed addresses not too long ago so none of the former links work.... :angry:

here is the new one:

soba from scratch

Thank you. Excellent site.

I can be reached via email chefzadi AT gmail DOT com

Dean of Culinary Arts

Ecole de Cuisine: Culinary School Los Angeles

http://ecolecuisine.com

  • 1 year later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Two new noodles I picked up today in the Hakone area:

Sakura (cherry blossom) soba

gallery_6134_1960_668.jpg

and Ume (pickled plum) udon

gallery_6134_1960_5810.jpg

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

ken212

ken212

Posted
Posted

Kristin,

How was the ume udon? How much was it?(YEN)

I love umeboshi in all forms... except umeshu (too sweet)

But that ume udon looks really tasty.

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Kristin,

How was the ume udon? How much was it?(YEN)

I love umeboshi in all forms... except umeshu (too sweet)

But that ume udon looks really tasty.

The ume one was quite cheap, only 500 yen for 800g. The sakura one on the other hand was 600yen for only 300g.

I haven't eaten the ume one yet but we had the sakura one on Sunday. There was a definitely noticeable sakura taste (good taste) when the noodles were eaten plain with no tsuyu but once you dipped them in the tsuyu they tasted no different than any other soba...

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted

I guess it's just too hard to add most things to noodles without having them fall apart. I bought some purple sweet potato somen recently, so I'll be curious to see how that works.

The pink noodles are very pretty though - wouldn't they look good with pale green wasabi noodles...

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

* New Year foodblog

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Those noodles were gorgeous!

gallery_6134_2590_37996.jpg

300g isn't enough for the 5 of us, so I also cooked up a back of black bean udon, this tasted no different from any other udon....

gallery_6134_2590_13133.jpg

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
They are really beautiful, worth seeking out, and if they have a good ume flavor, I bet they'd go well with richer side-dishes too.

sorry, this was a picture of the sakura noodles.

I will report back about the ume ones after we try them. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

  • 2 months later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I am always on the look out for quick but good lunches for myself when the kids are in school. Last week I picked up this:

gallery_6134_2590_9286.jpg

Cold tan tan men with a spicy sauce and nikumiso, you can add anything you want to it. I found the noodles to not quite be enough for my appetite so the second time I added a large handful of bean sprouts.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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