Udon

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Udon Sunday January 15

Over winter break, I learned that my former host family's father -- Nakayama -- is actually quite a chef. He taught me how to make udon, which is called udon in English. Udon are the thick Japanese noodles, not the thin ones (soba). I don't know if udon should take a plural verb like that, but it seems to be holding up all right so far.

The resulting lumps of dough


Rolling out the dough


Folded & cut into 1/8" strips

We made these noodles from scratch, and today, you will too.

Ingredients

• 600g All-Purpose Flour
• 30g Salt
• Corn Starch
• Soumen Sauce*
• Scallions
• Raw Ginger

Preparation

1. Measure the first two ingredients and mix in a large bowl. Because we're making noodles here, and not stirfry or something, exact measurements are recommended.
2. Add 250mL of water to the bowl and begin to mix it with your (washed) hands. Mix in the bowl until you have a lump of dough that takes up all of the flour-salt mixture in the bowl.
3. On a flat, clean surface, sprinkle corn starch to keep everything dry. Knead the dough on the surface. The goal is to make the dough more flexible and well-mixed.
4. After about 15 minutes of kneading, cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
5. Knead again for 10 minutes, and then cover the dough for another 10 minutes. You should notice that after uncovering the dough it has naturally become softer.
6. Overkneaded dough will result in tougher noodles, so when everything is well-mixed and soft (you'll see what I mean naturally), flatten out the dough as much as possible on the surface using your hands. Try to make it even.
7. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough further. It should be a few millimeters thick when you're finished. Take a look at the picture. Spread some corn starch on the surface.
8. Fold the dough to a size so you can cut it with a kitchen knife. Cut the knife into 1/8" inch strips and unfold. As you unfold, make sure to separate the noodles if they are at all stuck together.
9. Add the noodles to boiling water. Cook for seven minutes.
10. While the noodles are cooking, mince the scallions and use a grater to make ginger "paste". Open the container of soumen sauce if you haven't already.
11. Do not drain the noodles. Remove from heat and place the pot in the center of the table on which they are to be served.
12. Mix 1 part soumen sauce to 1 part water, and fill each person's soup bowl with this mixture. Each person can add ginger or scallions as they see fit, and everyone can help themselves to the noodles.

Notes

* Soumen sauce is very similar to soy sauce, but weaker. It should look like the same bottle, except that it'll be called soumen sauce, or tsumen, or something like that.