Japanese foods--menrui

[Pouncy]

I pretty much eat udon and soba for lunch at work. The udon I buy in refigreated packs and cook in the microwave at work with frozen chopped veggies, adding a healthy shot of soy sauce with whatever flavour packet it has. Our favorite at the noodle shop down the street is nabeyaki udon.

The soba I like to eat cold, tossed with Thai peanut sauce and steamed broccoli.

I'm looking forward to trying all these noodle variations when we make it to Japan at the end of the year!

[Sencha]

Today, just some simple chasoba. I had been so hungry through the day (I shouldn't have skipped meals), so when I got the chance to get home and eat, I went for chasoba! Simple and tasty!

[handmc]

On my flight to Korea and back there was a show about hot and spicy foods.

One of the places showed this Noodle shop that served the "hottest ramen" in Japan. A soup based of what appeared to be chili pepper powder oil and broth was mixed with Ramen. The the scene cut to lines of people waiting to eat this soup that was so hot the people were sweating into thier soup while they ate it.

Naturally, I want to learn to make this molten soup if possible.

Anyone have a recipe?

[Hiroyuki]

On my flight to Korea and back there was a show about hot and spicy foods.

One of the places showed this Noodle shop that served the "hottest ramen" in Japan. A soup based of what appeared to be chili pepper powder oil and broth was mixed with Ramen. The the scene cut to lines of people waiting to eat this soup that was so hot the people were sweating into thier soup while they ate it.

Naturally, I want to learn to make this molten soup if possible.

Anyone have a recipe?

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Do you remember the name of the ramen shop? Was it Jigoku Ramen Hyottoko, located in Ebisu?

http://www.hyorori.net/ramen/shop.asp?shop=174

Unfortunately, this shop closed in 2003.

There are other ramen shops that claim that theirs are the hottest, like Kita Kitsune in Yushima

http://portal.nifty.com/koneta04/11/29/01/

I searched for a recipe, but in vain.

I think that most sensible way to make such a ramen is to get the hottest instant ramen you can find and put as much chili pepper powder as you want...

[handmc]

The shop featured was the Kita Kitsune in Yushima. Thanks for help. It looked like they made thier own chili oil first then added it and more chilis to the broth. I will give that a try and if I don't kill myself with the heat I will report back.

[Cheeko]

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

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I think I've found a new favorite...This is one dish I must learn to make!!

I know its quite expensive, but when I REALLY, REALLY need to try a food and its pull date is at least 30 days, I use a deputy service and order non-meat items like fresh ramen, udon and kishimen. I will be placing an order for houtou noodles as soon as squash comes into season here. I know I am playing russian roulette, but I will die with a smile on my face

There are a few places here in the US where they sell imported "fresh" noodles that have been frozen for shipment. Unfortunately, that too is expensive (they have to ship overnight) and a lot of times, the noodles don't survive the freezing process, especially ramen which ends up like a giant, melting blob of dough.

[torakris]

Cheeko,

You won't be disappointed, houtou is really a wonderful dish that I make a couple times a winter. I love the combination of miso and kabocha, I'm not sure why I don't do it more often..

[fenyx66]

I went to Morioka city in Iwate Prefecture this weekend for a short vacation and I got to try two different local noodle dishes. One is Ja Ja Men, Udon noodles topped with sliced cucumber, sliced negi and a special miso paste. My friend said it was a special nikku itame miso, or meat miso. It was really good, I bought a package of it at the train station. The noodles were served cold. We also added a little sesame oil to spice it up, a little vinegar, and I added some extra miso. I really liked this dish. After eating this, we cracked an egg on our plate and then the staff took it and added a hot broth and made a soup right on our plates and brought it back. It was good.

The second dish was Morioka Reimen. I think these noodles were made of potato starch, that's if I understood a staff member talking to my friend. Maybe somebody can confirm that. The noodles were served in a cold sweet and spicy broth with half a boiled egg, kimchi, a pineapple slice and some cucumbers. I ate this twice, it was also very good. So if you are ever in Morioka, I recommend eating this.

There was a third noodle dish popular in the area called Wanko Soba. My friend has a soba allergy so we didn't pursue it. Maybe someone else can comment on it though.

[Hiroyuki]

I went to Morioka city in Iwate Prefecture this weekend for a short vacation and I got to try two different local noodle dishes.  One is Ja Ja Men, Udon noodles topped with sliced cucumber, sliced negi and a special miso paste.  My friend said it was a special nikku itame miso, or meat miso.  It was really good, I bought a package of it at the train station.  The noodles were served cold.  We also added a little sesame oil to spice it up, a little vinegar, and I added some extra miso.  I really liked this dish.  After  eating this, we cracked an egg on our plate and then the staff took it and added a hot broth and made a soup right on our plates and brought it back.  It was good.

The second dish was Morioka Reimen.  I think these noodles were made of potato starch, that's if I understood a staff member talking to my friend.  Maybe somebody can confirm that.  The noodles were served in a cold sweet and spicy broth with half a boiled egg, kimchi, a pineapple slice and some cucumbers.  I ate this twice, it was also very good.  So if you are ever in Morioka, I recommend eating this. 

There was a third noodle dish popular in the area called Wanko Soba.  My friend has a soba allergy so we didn't pursue it.  Maybe someone else can comment on it though.

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What a coincidence!! I learned about ja ja men only this morning from the TV news program called Zoom-In Super. The reporter ate it exactly the way you described. It must be the authentic way to eat that particular men.

[torakris]

I have never figured out why Morioka is famous for both reimen and jajamen, to me they are both Korean dishes., tough my Korean friends told me jajamen is aactually Chinese in origin. In college my Korean friends would make jajamen at least once a week for me, I even picked up some instant versions in the US this summer and brought them back to Japan.

wanko soba for those that are unfamiliar with it. I am not really a big soba fan and am in no particular hurry to give this a try.

[Hiroyuki]

I learned from the TV program that jajamen originates from this Chinese dish.

You can learn how jajamen is eaten from here, although it's in Japanese only.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

[SheenaGreena]

I notice, that whenever I cook soba noodles, they always break up and end up in tiny pieces an inch or two long. I always add them to boiling water, turn the heat down to a low boil, and take them out at around 3-5 mins.

I buy a korean brand of noodles, they suggest to cook them for 5-6 mins, but I always find that that is way too long. Is it the brand of noodles that I buy or is it the way I cook them? I also don't stir the noodles a lot when I am boiling them. I feel that if you stir too much, it might add to them breaking up in tiny pieces

[Syrah]

I am far from an expert but,

having only recently gotten into the soba noodle world, I followed my packet instructions. They said to boil water, add noodle, stir until come to boil again and cook on low three minute. I did it, and the pickiest eater in the world loved them for his lunch. I tasted one and it was fine.

I'm not sure what brand I have though.

[SheenaGreena]

that sounds like what I do, it must be the brand I buy. Maybe it doesn't help that I've had these noodles for a year?

[Syrah]

that sounds like what I do, it must be the brand I buy.  Maybe it doesn't help that I've had these noodles for a year?

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I may go check what brand I have. I bought carrot ones too, but these are the plain.

ETA they are Zaru Soba a product of Taiwan.

Edited June 27, 2007 by Syrah (log)

[SheenaGreena]

carrot soba noodles? that sounds fantastic

[Syrah]

carrot soba noodles? that sounds fantastic

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They are Sing-lin corporatation, also made in Taiwan.

[SuzySushi]

The traditional Japanese way of cooking soba is to bring the water to a boil (like spaghetti, soba should be cooked in a large pot with lots of water), add the soba, return to the boil, add 1 cup cold water, return to the boil again, add 1 cup cold water again, return to the boil, and repeat if the soba is not done to your liking. (I test 1 noodle by breaking off a tip to make sure the core is not raw.)

The process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the brand and thickness of the soba. The reason for adding the cold water is to keep the pot from boiling over; I also think that it lowers the heat just enough for the soba to cook through without the outside getting gummy first.

If your soba is falling apart, it may be an inferior brand. Check the ingredients label to make sure the first ingredient listed is buckwheat flour -- not wheat flour or yam flour.

[SheenaGreena]

The traditional Japanese way of cooking soba is to bring the water to a boil (like spaghetti, soba should be cooked in a large pot with lots of water), add the soba, return to the boil, add 1 cup cold water, return to the boil again, add 1 cup cold water again, return to the boil, and repeat if the soba is not done to your liking. (I test 1 noodle by breaking off a tip to make sure the core is not raw.)

The process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the brand and thickness of the soba. The reason for adding the cold water is to keep the pot from boiling over; I also think that it lowers the heat just enough for the soba to cook through without the outside getting gummy first.

If your soba is falling apart, it may be an inferior brand. Check the ingredients label to make sure the first ingredient listed is buckwheat flour -- not wheat flour or yam flour.

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ingredients: wheat flour, buckwheat flour, yam, salt

must be the brand then

[lemoncoke]

I was just at this website that had a guide on how to make soba noodles. They also great a great description of how to cook the soba, and how to choose the noodles.

Great site!!

Just hungry Soba noodle basics

Edited June 27, 2007 by lemoncoke (log)

[shinju]

The traditional Japanese way of cooking soba is to bring the water to a boil (like spaghetti, soba should be cooked in a large pot with lots of water), add the soba, return to the boil, add 1 cup cold water, return to the boil again, add 1 cup cold water again, return to the boil, and repeat if the soba is not done to your liking. (I test 1 noodle by breaking off a tip to make sure the core is not raw.)

The process takes about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the brand and thickness of the soba. The reason for adding the cold water is to keep the pot from boiling over; I also think that it lowers the heat just enough for the soba to cook through without the outside getting gummy first.

If your soba is falling apart, it may be an inferior brand. Check the ingredients label to make sure the first ingredient listed is buckwheat flour -- not wheat flour or yam flour.

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It has to be the brand. Normally soba should have greater proportion of sobako to flour by at least 2-1 or greater.

ingredients: wheat flour, buckwheat flour, yam, salt

must be the brand then

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It has to be the brand. Normally soba should have greater proportion of sobako to flour by at least 2-1 or greater.

When making dried soba, I normally just follow the direction on the package which usually goes like this - after full boil, drop soba, stir once and lower heat, and cook 5 minutes.

Now, with fresh soba, there are many variations such as:

full boil, drop soba, cook 2 minutes only

full boil, drop soba, add cold water, etc, etc

to full boil, drop soba, start checking after one minute - this is the method I use when making my own from fresh.

[JasonTrue]

Maybe it's misguided, but I always pay the premium for soba made in Japan, preferably yamaimo soba. I've never been terribly impressed by the ones that came from China or Taiwan, though, of course, even the Japanese packaged ones are not as good as te-uchi soba.

I also look for noodles that have buckwheat as the first ingredient.

In Japan at FoodEx I once had a sample of packaged soba that were semi-fresh and sold refrigerated (they had a couple of weeks shelf life) that were surprisingly good... wish I could get them here, but for logistical reasons, that's rather improbable.

[SheenaGreena]

here's what I did with my soba noodles yesterday and you can see the brand off to the right...which is a pretty reliable korean brand. They are like the Kraft of Korea.

Jason, you're vegetarian, right? This would be a good korean dish for you and it's actually vegan. it's bibim guksu or bibim naengmyun

eta: you can tell in the photo that it's all broken up

Edited June 27, 2007 by SheenaGreena (log)

[Hiroyuki]

It must be the brand.

The water that is poured just when the water almost boils over is called sashi mizu or bikkuri mizu (lit. surprise water) in Japanese. My mother always added this water, and I often wondered why this was necessary. I learned later that sashi mizu is a remnant of the past, when it was difficult to control the heat because the main heat source was firewood. I don't put sashi mizu, just lower the heat, and boil for 4-5 min. as indicated on the soba pack.

[JasonTrue]

Ah, yes, I often order bibimnaengmyeon when in Korea... In the US I sometimes buy the frozen naengmyeon to make this, because soba have a very different texture to me than naengmyeon.

I also ate it on my last trip to Korea:

bibim naengmyeon

here's what I did with my soba noodles yesterday and you can see the brand off to the right...which is a pretty reliable korean brand.  They are like the Kraft of Korea.

Jason, you're vegetarian, right?  This would be a good korean dish for you and it's actually vegan.  it's bibim guksu or bibim naengmyun

eta:  you can tell in the photo that it's all broken up

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