Udon Making in Kagawa

Raw egg, green onions, shichimi, and just a bit of tempura crispies are what I think of when I picture udon. It is one of my many favorite foods in Japan, but I have never tried making it. That is until I went to the udon prefecture of Kagawa. 

I went to the countryside of Kagawa, in Mitoyo City, to stay in an old kouminkan or folk house. It was a cutely decorated and nice and cozy house. I quite enjoyed the details. I was there for work and my job of the day was to listen closely to a Japanese chef and assist in chopping the veggies, mixing ingredients, and making udon! That’s right, udon!! Seeing as it was my first time ever, I was excited!

It doesn’t take much to make the noodles; it only requires three ingredients, wheat flour, salt, and water. Easy right? More so than I thought it would be!

We started by mixing the ingredients together in a bowl and then we put the dough in a bag. We sealed our bag, brought it over to the tatami room, and started stepping on our noodles! It reminded me of how some people step on grapes to make wine. After we spent a few minutes stepping all over our noodles, then we tested out stepping on each other’s noodles. Everyone’s noodles felt different and it was due to the fact that we all have different body weight. The more weight used, the tougher the noodles were. 

Photo credit: Attractive Japan 

Udon is difficult to knead by hand, so traditionally people stepped on the dough to make a soft, chewy texture! Back in the old days, they used to have children do the work! They would wear their school backpacks to give them some extra weight to knead the dough! There is no set time limit, and each shop used to knead for a different amount of time to create their own special udon noodles. It was a unique experience, but a lot of fun! 

Me stepping on my noodles.

After the kneading process, we let the udon sit for a bit while we prepared the veggies! We went to a local organic farmers market to pick out our ingredients together and took them home. Then we rolled our udon noodles out thinly and folded them to prepare them for cutting. We cut it into thin strips because the noodles tend to get larger while cooking. Instead of making regular udon, we put it into a hot pot with lots of delicious fresh veggies from a local organic farm. It was mind-breakingly delicious. I loved the chewiness of the noodles the paired perfectly with the hot bot broth. 

The chef also made some other dishes including salad, gratin, and a cream cheese soy sauce soybean sauce. The cream cheese mix may sound weird, but let me tell you, it was amazing! 

Aside from the amazing taste of udon, it was just a lot of fun to make and it is definitely something that I would like to try with my 9-year-old sister. I can just picture her going to town while stepping on the udon.

They are ready!!!

 Nowadays, many chain restaurants just use machines for their noodles, but it is still a fun way to learn about Japanese cooking and culture. And honestly, I loved being able to taste the difference between everyone’s noodles.

Did you know that Japanese udon noodles originally came from China? They actually became popular with the general public around the 1600s. So they have been popular for years! And why wouldn’t they be, they are filling, cheap, and delicious. They are starting to gain traction abroad as well. 

There are three locations in Japan famous for udon noodles including, Kagawa, Akita, and Nagasaki. They have different flavors in each location. Which one do you want to visit? Kagawa is specifically famous for sanuki udon; udon noodles served in broth and topped with green onions and an egg.

What noodles should I make next?