Japanese udon noodles. Udon - what is it? Japanese motifs in your kitchen

12.06.2014

Udon- This is a noodle that has become a tradition in the diet of the Japanese.

History of udon noodles

Noodles are a national product and one of the cultural elements of Japan, second only to rice in popularity. The Japanese learned about noodles as early as the 8th century AD, having borrowed a recipe from the Chinese. In the annals, she was called sakubey, muginawa or tabata ( Chinese names noodles of that time).

The word udon comes from the South Chinese word for wonton (semi-circular dumplings commonly used in soups). This type of noodle became popular in Japan during the Edo period (17th-19th century).

The appearance of udon is associated with the Buddhist priest Kukai, who brought from China the recipe for making this noodle, “food for the mind, spirit and body.”

Composition of udon noodles

Udon(jap. 饂飩 or うどん) - thick noodles from wheat flour (sometimes with the addition of bean or buckwheat) from 2 to 4 mm in diameter, which is typical for Japanese cuisine. The dish is ready in a couple of minutes.

The color of udon can start from white to off-white. The texture is soft and elastic. Mostly served as noodles in broth or soup. Udon is eaten both hot and cold, in the heat. Traditional additions to this noodles are: green onion, tempura, shrimp, tofu, kamaboko (fish fingers), mirin (rice wine) and soy sauce. The broth is added from meat, mushrooms or fish.

The taste of the broth, the type of udon, and the additions vary by region. But mostly, dark brown broth (added with dark soy sauce (koikuchi shōyu)) is used in eastern Japan, and light brown broth (added with light soy sauce (usukuchi shōyu)) is used in western Japan. For example, in the production of noodles fast food, the filling of the boxes will be different for the east and west.

Types of udon noodles

Here are some types of udon noodles (there are about 30 in total) that are served in different prefectures of Japan:

Dangojiru (dangojiru)- flat and thick noodles. Looks like dumplings. In fact, a dish with such udon is a soup with dumplings.

Inaniwa-udon (inaniwa udon)– thin udon noodles. Lives in Akita Prefecture.

Ise-udon (ise udon)- thick noodles. Eaten in Mie Prefecture.

Kansai udon (kansai udon)- soft noodles of medium thickness. Distributed in the Kansai region.

Bean-style curry – medium thickness udon from the city of Biei (Biei; Hokkaido).

Kishimen (kishimen)- flat noodles. They eat it in Nagoya.

Sanuki- thick and hard noodles. Served in Kagawa prefecture.

Suba (suba)- medium thickness noodles. It is made with the addition of vegetable ash to the flour.

Hoto (hōtō)- flat and wide noodles. It is prepared with vegetables and often pumpkin in Yamanashi Prefecture.

Today I propose to cook traditional Japanese udon noodles. Udon is an iconic component not only in Japanese cuisine, but also on the menu of most peoples of Asia, as well as one of the easiest types of noodles that you can cook at home.

Basically, udon is thick. wheat noodles. Its composition is extremely simple - water, flour and a pinch of salt.

What is the highlight, you ask? The highlight is in the making! The dough is practically not kneaded and allowed to rest well before proceeding with the formation of noodles. In the process of infusion, the dough becomes very tender and moderately elastic. The Japanese say: Properly cooked udon will be as soft and tender as your earlobe.

Today I propose to learn how to cook udon noodles at home according to the traditional Japanese recipe. I will reveal to you the secrets of the Japanese kneading technique, as well as share ideas on how to make udon colorful! Let's start?!

Prepare the ingredients according to the list.

A serving of classic udon for one person consists of: 100 grams wheat flour, 45 milliliters of water and 5 grams of salt. When increasing the number of servings of noodles, proportionally increase the amount of all ingredients.

I’ll also say right away that the usual for us “Here by eye”, “And so it will do” and the classic “What ... I don’t know how to mix water with flour ?!” here will not pass, I checked!

The Japanese are clear. A little more flour - the dough will be tougher than necessary. A little more water - and from its own weight, the noodles will stretch with endless threads and completely refuse to maintain the size and width you specified.

So arm yourself with scales and measuring cups and get ready delicious noodles udon at home.

Measure the water room temperature and dissolve the salt in it.

To make multi-colored udon, add a little more food coloring to the water. I have natural dyes: green tea, turmeric and beet broth.

To prepare the beetroot broth: cut the beetroot into small pieces. Add a cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and, reducing the heat, simmer for 20 minutes.

The liquid will boil down almost twice, and you will get a concentrated broth of dark red color. Measure out 40 ml of decoction and mix it with 40 ml cold water. Use the resulting mixture to make pink udon.

Measure the flour and pour in the prepared salt water.

Mix the ingredients, forming the mass into a ball. It is not necessary to purposefully knead the dough, just knead lightly to form a homogeneous dough.

Place the dough in a sealed bag. if you have big package on the clasp - use it, if not - use any suitable large size bag.

Remove most of the air from the bag and close tightly. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

You need to knead the dough with your feet. According to connoisseurs, this is the only way to achieve its correct consistency.

Cover the dough bag with a towel and start kneading the dough. There is no need to be zealous here: gently stepping over the test, go back and forth. As soon as you feel that the ball has become flat, that's enough. The process takes about 30 seconds, no more.

Take the dough out of the bag and shape it into a ball. Then place it back in the bag and knead again. In total, the process must be repeated 3 times.

After such a short kneading, you will immediately see how the dough has changed. For comparison: in the photo is the dough Before kneading.

And immediately after kneading.

After kneading the dough, form it into a ball and be sure to let it rest in an airtight bag for another 2-3 hours.

Dust your work surface with starch. Place the rested dough in the center and flatten it out.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3 mm. You can choose any shape, but if it is a square, the udon strips will be the same length.

Sprinkle the dough with starch and spread it over the entire surface with your hands. Fold one third of the dough towards the center.

Then another.

Turn the dough over, seam side down, and use a sharp knife to cut into strips of the desired width. Usually it is 2-3 mm.

Sprinkle the batter with a few pinches of cornstarch and mix, unraveling the strips of udon and rolling them in the cornstarch.

Homemade udon noodles are ready!

How much to store: the fresher, the tastier. Cooked noodles can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. Noodles can also be divided into portions, frozen in sealed bags and stored for up to 30 days.

How to cook: cook in boiling water for 4 to 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the noodles). It is better to cook frozen noodles a little longer - 12–13 minutes and slightly defrost before cooking, so the udon strips will retain their integrity. It is possible without defrosting - immediately throw the noodles into boiling water, but then during the cooking process, part of the noodles will break.

What to cook:, cook stir-fry, fry with vegetables, meat and seafood - there is a whole collection of recipes on our website! Choose a dish to your taste and cook with pleasure! Enjoy your meal!

Japanese cuisine is multifaceted. She gave the world a lot of simple and at the same time delicious meals. In this article we will tell you what it is - udon noodles, and consider the most delicious recipes her preparation.

Noodles in Japan are the second most popular after rice. It is made from buckwheat, rice, wheat and even bean flour.

Udon noodles do not exceed 4 mm in diameter. The shade of such noodles, depending on the flour from which it is made, may differ and range from white to gray. In our supermarkets, such a product can be found in the Japanese cuisine section.

According to tradition, such noodles are served with broth. You can eat it both hot and cold. It goes well with seafood, vegetables and meat.

The composition of udon noodles is simple - flour, water and salt. Flour is more often wheat, but sometimes other types are mixed into it, as if combining tastes. There are about 30 varieties of udon noodles in Japan!

Udon has no contraindications, contains vitamins B1 and B3, promotes weight loss and is perfectly digested by the stomach.

How to make your own Japanese wheat noodles

A great homemade alternative to store-bought noodles.

To do this, take:

• wheat flour (200 g);
• water (90 ml);
• salt (1 tsp).

In fact, udon is just plain thick noodles. It's just different from classical way cooking. In this case, you need to strictly observe the proportions. The Japanese people are very painstaking, so even 5 grams of excess flour can ruin everything. If you overdo it with water, the noodles will stretch a lot and lose their shape.

We take right amount water at room temperature, add salt and stir to dissolve.

If you want to make udon in different colors, you can use natural dyes such as beetroot juice.

It is added to water, but in proportion.

1. Measure the flour, pour salted water into it and start kneading the dough, when it becomes uniform, place it in a bag removing air. Then leave for 30 minutes.
2. Next, spread a towel on the floor, put a bag of dough on it and cover it again with a towel. Kneading udon with your feet! This is how, according to professionals, you can achieve the desired result.
3. Carefully moving, you need to go in one direction and then in the other direction along the dough until it becomes flat. This process will take no more than half a minute.
4. Next, we take it out of the bag, give it a round shape, put it back in the bag and knead it in the same way. You need to repeat three times.
5. After kneading is finished, place it back in the bag and let stand for about 3 hours.

You can start cooking.

1. The table can be sprinkled with a small amount of flour or starch. We put the dough and roll it out with a thickness of about 3 mm. It is better that the edges of the cake are square, then the noodles will turn out even.
2. Sprinkle the surface of the cake and spread the starch over it evenly. Then fold one edge to the middle, then also the other. Lay the dough seam side down and cut into strips about 4 mm wide.
3. When ready, mix the strips with your hands. Wheat noodles are ready!

5 udon noodle recipes

You have learned how to make your own udon. Now consider five recipes for dishes that will decorate any table.

Udon noodles with chicken and vegetables

This recipe is not only delicious, but also incredibly healthy, because it contains a whole list of vitamins.

We will need:

• 200 g noodles;
• 1 sweet pepper;
• 1 carrot;
• 200 g chicken fillet;
• 1 onion;
• A couple of green onion feathers;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 2 tsp soy sauce;
• ½ tsp ginger.

Cooking progress:

1. Peppers and carrots are cut into strips, onions are cut arbitrarily. Garlic must be squeezed out with a press. Chicken fillet cut into small cubes. Ginger rubs on a grater.
2. On the fire, heat a saucepan with a dense bottom, pour vegetable oil. Garlic and onion are fried until a blush appears. Then pour the carrots, peppers and chopped green onions, fry.
3. The chicken is then fried. It must be constantly stirred. When it is almost ready, add ginger and soy sauce. Pour about a glass of clean water there. The saucepan is covered with a lid and then everything is stewed over low heat, stirring constantly.
4. When the water is almost completely dried out, turning into a thick sauce, turn it off and put it aside.
5. Now let's get to the noodles. We put a saucepan with water, add salt to it, boil - put udon in it for about 4 minutes. Ready? Excellent! We wash and filter the noodles, wait until the excess moisture drains.

Udon is poured into a pan in which meat and vegetables are already cooked. Udon noodles with chicken and vegetables are ready!

Cooking with pork

We leave the ingredients from the previous recipe, but instead of poultry meat we take 200 g of fresh pork.

Cooking progress:

1. Vegetables are cut into strips. Fry the meat in a pan, when a golden crust appears, pour the vegetables there and continue cooking, stirring over medium heat.
2. Water, soy sauce and starch are mixed in a separate container. Let it sit for about five minutes.
3. Add the resulting sauce to the pan with meat and vegetables, and as soon as it starts to boil, put the noodles in the same place. Everything is thoroughly mixed and fried for just a couple of minutes.

Pork udon noodles are ready!

With seafood

This recipe is also simple to execute, but the taste of this dish will be remembered for a long time.

So, let's prepare:

• mixture" Seafood Cocktail» by weight at your discretion;
• champignons;
• a small ginger root;
• a few cloves of garlic;
• 1 onion;
• ½ bell pepper;
• carrot;
• some celery;
• hot peppers;
• soy sauce;
• sesame oil (dark).

Progress:

1. Chop the ginger and garlic into a deep frying pan. Vegetables need to be cut into strips, and onions with celery into half rings. FROM hot pepper you need to be more careful and it is better to cut it into thin rings to taste.
2. If the mushrooms are small, you can put them whole, but if they are large, cut them into strips as well.
3. Everything is poured with a few tablespoons of oil and fried.
4. Literally a minute later we put seafood there.
5. Next, pour in the soy sauce and put the udon.
6. Everything is well mixed.

According to the same scheme, you can cook udon only with shrimp or any other seafood.

The most important thing is not to overcook the noodles, because then they will lose their structure, and the dish will not be so appetizing.

Soup with udon noodles and mushrooms

The fact that meat goes well with udon noodles, we have already said. But with it you can cook a fantastically delicious soup!

For him we need:

• pork;
• noodles;
• carrots and onions;
• champignons (canned);
• vegetable oil;
• salt;
• spices.

Work process:

1. Pork is cut into strips and cooked for about 15 minutes.
2. Mushrooms, carrots and onions are also cut and fried.
3. Add the noodles to the pork broth. After that, we put the pre-fried vegetables in a saucepan with soup. Spices can be very different, but a mixture of vegetables or “five peppers” is best.
4. Next, the soup is boiled for 5-7 minutes. Everything, the soup is ready, you can serve it to the table.

Chicken hearts with Japanese noodles

A recipe that will decorate any table and will definitely please guests.

For him you will need:

• ½ kg chicken hearts;
• 1 colored pepper;
• 1 onion;
• about 300 g of noodles;
• 50 g soy sauce;
• 1.5 tsp starch;
• 4 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
• a pinch of seasonings;
• 50 ml of rice wine;
• salt, ground pepper and some sugar;
• green onion.

Cooking process:

1. Hearts must be washed, cleaned and dried, then fry for 10 minutes in a pan.
2. Vegetables are cut into small pieces.
3. When the hearts are ready, they need to be removed from the pan and send the onion there for 5 minutes, and then also remove it from the pan into a separate container.
4. Simmer vegetables for about 8 minutes, if necessary, add oil. After the pepper is ready, the previously removed ingredients can be returned to the pan.
5. Starch is diluted in 70 ml of water. The resulting liquid is sent to the pan, where spices and rice wine must also be put. Everything is mixed well and a green onion is placed a few minutes before readiness.
6. Hearts are ready. Serve them with udon noodles.

Here are some simple but incredibly delicious recipes you can cook with Japanese noodles. Once you try it, you won't be able to refuse such a dish!

(Japanese うどん, rH. Udon) is a noodle that, along with Ramen noodles, shares the palm in popularity in Japan. Although Udon is considered a Japanese noodle, it, like Ramen, has Chinese roots. Before the Heian era (Jap. 平安時代, rH. Heian jidai) 794-1185 wheat and the method of obtaining flour from it were unknown in Japan. Historical records mention a Japanese Buddhist monk named Kobo Daishi Kukai (774-835 AD) who went to the mainland to China to study in 804. This monk's name, Kukai (空海, rH. Kūkai), literally means "sea of ​​emptiness". Subsequently, Kukai became a major religious and public cultural figure in Japan and founded the Shingon Buddhist school (Jap. 真言宗, rH. Zhēnyánzōng). In addition to knowledge about the teachings of Buddhism, he brought with him wheat seeds and a method for making flour from it, and then noodles.

Udon noodles were made in Japan before the other popular buckwheat noodles, Soba. Outwardly, Udon is a thin flat noodle of light yellow or gray color. The composition of the noodles includes three components - wheat flour, salt, water. The salt content can vary from 2% to 6%. Salt strongly affects the formation of gluten, which in turn affects the elasticity of the dough. During the cooking process, up to 90% of the salt is washed out.

Most often, Udon is served as a hot soup, i.e. boiled noodles are drenched in hot dashi-based broth and flavored soy sauce and mirin rice sweet wine. This winter version is called Nurumugi (Jap. 温麦, rH. Nurumugi). These soups are served with various toppings (additives) depending on the season and region. It can be green onion rings, tempura (both classic shrimp and its variations), tofu cubes (including fried ones), Shichimi Togarashi (a spicy Japanese spice mix with sesame and chili) is offered as a condiment.

In summer, chilled udon noodles are popular, a variant called Hiyamugi (冷麦, rH. Hiyamugi). Udon noodles also go well with Japanese curry. Udon noodles are often used as a substitute for Ramen or Soba noodles in dishes.

Types of udon noodles

In Japan, whose quality standards are considered reference, there is a clear classification of all types of noodles, in which its parameters (width and thickness) and names are indicated. All types of noodles are numbered from 1 to 30, the higher the number, the thinner the noodles.

The thickest udon noodle is number 7. It does not have its own name. Its width is 4.29 mm and thickness is 3.21 mm.

No. 8 Udon noodles also have no name, their width is 3.75 mm and the thickness is 2.81 mm.

Udon #9 noodles are also unnamed, 3.33 mm wide and 2.50 mm thick.

Udon #10 noodles 3.00 mm wide and 2.25 mm thick. It is used in Okinawa soba (沖縄そば, rH. Okinawasoba) as a substitute for soba noodles. This is a noodle dish seasoned with broth.

Udon noodles #12 2.50 mm wide and 1.88 mm thick. It is used in Okinawa soba (沖縄そば, rH. Okinawasoba) or Kitakata Ramen (喜多方ラーメン, rH. Kitakata ramen) as a substitute for Soba or Ramen noodles, respectively.

Udon #14 noodles are 2.14mm wide and 1.61mm thick. It is used in Sano ramen broth noodles (さのラーメン, rH. Sano ramen) or Kitakata Ramen (喜多方ラーメン, rH. Kitakata ramen) as a substitute for Ramen noodles.

Udon noodles No. 15 without a name, its width is 2.00 mm and its thickness is 1.50 mm.

Udon noodles No. 16, its width is 1.88 mm and its thickness is 1.41 mm. It is used in Shirakawa ramen broth noodles (しらかわラーメン, rH. Shirakawa ramen) or Champon (ちゃんぽん, rH. Chanpon).

Udon in Japanese cuisine

In Japan, udon noodles are sold in several types.

chilled noodles(Jap. チルド麺, rH. Chirudo men) - fresh noodles already boiled. Sold chilled, rolled into a "ball" or "ball", usually 1 serving. For which it is also called "udon balls".
Ready-to-use product. You can pour the broth or fry. Or reheat and season with sauce.

Raw Udon(Japanese 生うどん, rH. Nama udon) is also fresh Udon noodles, but not yet cooked. The freshest product great taste but is stored for a very short time. It goes on sale in a vacuum package.

Half-cooked udon(Japanese: 半生うどん, rH. Hansei udon) is the state of noodles in which the moisture content is no more than 33%. It's not dried noodles, but it's not boiled either. Semifinished. May keep longer than raw udon.

Dried Udon(Jap. 干しうどん, rH. Hoshi udon) is a common noodle sold in stores. It is stored for a long time, before use, the noodles need to be boiled for 3-4 minutes.

Frozen Udon(Japanese: 冷凍うどん, rH. Reitō udon) - This variation involves boiling the noodles and then freezing them. The product must be thawed before use.

Instant noodles(Jap. 油揚げ麺, rH. Aburaage men) - sublimated noodles familiar to Doshirak lovers. Added sauce and poured boiling water.

The most popular traditional Japanese noodle dishes are:

Udon in Chinese cuisine

AT Chinese cuisine Udon wheat noodles are called Wu Dong Mian (Chinese 乌冬面, pinyin Wu Dong Mian) - they are made, just like in Japan, from wheat flour, salt and water (wonton wrappers are made from the same dough) . By the way, it was the pronunciation of the word "wonton" in Cantonese that gave the name to udon noodles.

In China, udon noodles are often fried, which is more in line with local culinary traditions. Stir-fried Udon dishes are similar to the popular Chow Mein (Chinese: 炒面, Pinyin Chaomian) fried noodle dish. All kinds of toppings are added to the noodles - meat (including poultry and offal), seafood and fish, vegetables (including leafy ones), mushrooms, tofu, etc. etc., and season various sauces, of which there are a great many in the Middle Kingdom. These are salty, and sweet, and sweet and sour, and spicy sauces. In general, the chef's imagination is limited only by the presence of food in the refrigerator.

Noodles with broth are prepared according to recipes adopted from Japanese cuisine and adapted to Chinese traditions.

Udon in Korean cuisine

Udon noodles are also used in Korea. Udon noodle soup is called Udong (Korean: 우동), from the Japanese transliteration "udon". And the noodles themselves are called udong myeon (Kor. 우동면), and these noodles are considered garak guksu (Kor. 가락국수) or “thick noodles.”

Its main consumers are the Chinese ethnic communities in Korea. Dishes that are cooked in Korea with udon noodles either came to Korea during the Japanese occupation, or are Chinese Korean dishes. Udon noodles in Korea are most popular in street fast food - so to speak, Japanese Korean-style noodles. Such noodles can be tasted in numerous eateries, they are called Bunsik (Kor. 분식) in Korea, or in street tents or carts Rojanmachha (Kor. 포장마차) in South Korea. Udon can be tasted at numerous Japanese restaurants.

The most popular udon noodle dishes in Korean cuisine:

• (kor. 짬뽕) – spicy soup with noodles, vegetables and meat (or seafood). This dish came to Korea from Shandong cuisine (PRC), popular in Korea and Japan.
• (Kor. 자장면) is a dish of udon noodles generously seasoned with a sauce based on Chungjang black bean paste (Kor. 춘장), as well as diced pork (optionally seafood) and vegetables.

Fans of oriental cuisine are well aware of the existence of udon noodles. But often they do not understand exactly what kind of product it is, what benefits and what harm it contains.

What it is?

Udon is a noodle made from wheat flour, water and salt. No fats or eggs are added to the product. Classic noodles are 4-6 mm wide.

During the summer months, udon is usually served cold with plenty of cool sauce.

In winter, noodles are an integral part of many warming dishes, such as the traditional Japanese hot dashi.

Beneficial features

Easy digestion of complex carbohydrates

Udon has a unique combination of two qualities. This is an abundance of complex carbohydrates and ease of digestion.

Complex carbohydrates have a host of health benefits:

• contribute to weight loss;
• help prevent cardiovascular diseases;
• prevent type 2 diabetes and help in its treatment (it is for this reason that complex carbohydrates are allowed to be included in).

However, complex carbohydrates have one unpleasant property. They are often quite difficult to digest. Not every stomach is able to take them in in large numbers.

Udon noodles are unique in this sense. It is digested not only easily, but very easily.

It is sometimes said that the easy digestion of vermicelli is due to the absence of fat in the product. Apparently, this is not entirely true. Recently, Japanese scientists have found that the ease of digestion of udon is due to the special dough kneading technology, which makes complex carbohydrates more accessible to digestive enzymes.

The presence of vegetable fiber

One serving of udon noodles (this is about 60 g of a dry product) contains 20% of the daily dose of vegetable fiber, which helps to lose weight, strengthens the immune system and the heart. And also has other important qualities for a person.

From this article you can get more detailed information about how much it should be consumed daily in order to lose weight and improve overall health.

A standard serving of udon noodles provides the body with 20% of the daily dose of thiamine (vitamin B1) and 15% of niacin (vitamin B3).

At the same time, udon is easily digested, and in moments of stress, many people begin to experience stomach problems. And light, but nutritious udon is just the kind of meal that can warm, soothe, and satisfy the feeling of hunger.

In moments of stress, it is advised to use hot soup with udon.

Useful properties have only traditional high-quality udon, created from whole grain flour. Today on the market you can find a variety of fakes that are cheaper, but are made from highly processed flour. This product has no useful properties.

Is there any harm to noodles?

There is no particular harm. But it is important to remember the following.

Udon is made from wheat flour, so it contains gluten. This circumstance must be taken into account by those people who are trying to adhere.

Udon is quite often confused with other Japanese noodle products: rice vermicelli, and itself, in which there is no gluten.

In addition, udon contains quite a lot of regular carbohydrates. Therefore, those who want to lose weight or diabetics should not “sit down” this noodle.

How to cook at home?

Udon can be fresh, frozen or dry. In our country, the latter option is most common.

Cook dry noodles like regular pasta in salted water. 10-12 minutes.

There is also a more complex way of cooking, which allows udon to absorb more liquid, become softer and more tender, but not lose its shape.

The method is this:

• after you put the noodles in boiling water, and it boils again, you need to pour a glass of cold water into the pan and wait for it to boil again;
• when it boils, add the next glass of cold water;
• repeat until the noodles are cooked.

Further cooked to readiness, udon can be used in a variety of recipes.

Very often used in combination with chicken or seafood.

Conclusion

Udon noodles are a light, pleasant-tasting product that is perfectly absorbed by the human body.

Real udon, made from whole grain flour, has a variety of characteristics. useful properties. For example, it calms well at the time of heavy mental stress, and also supplies the body with plant fiber.

However, it should be remembered that udon noodles contain gluten and quite a lot of regular carbohydrates, due to the presence of which it cannot be considered one hundred percent. useful product nutrition.