Name: Yoshida no Udon (Hard, Thick Udon with Cabbage and Simmered Meat)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour; 220 ml water; 20 g salt; 1.6 L water; 30 g niboshi (dried sardines); 4 dried shiitake; 5 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp miso; 2 tbsp mirin; 0.25 head cabbage; 300 g thinly sliced beef or pork; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 spring onion; 3 tbsp chilli flakes; 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 0.5 tsp ground sansho; 2 tbsp neutral oil

Ingredients

4servings

Noodles
plain flour · a flour that cooks up firm, if you can choose500 g
water220 ml
salt20 g
Broth
water1.6 L
niboshi (dried sardines) · heads and guts removed30 g
dried shiitake4
soy sauce5 tbsp
miso2 tbsp
mirin2 tbsp
Toppings
cabbage · cut in large pieces0.25 head
thinly sliced beef or pork · traditionally horse meat300 g
soy sauce · for the meat3 tbsp
sugar · for the meat2 tbsp
spring onion · sliced1
Suridane
chilli flakes3 tbsp
toasted sesame seeds2 tbsp
ground sansho0.5 tsp
neutral oil2 tbsp

Steps

Soak the niboshi and dried shiitake in 1.6L water for 30 minutes, simmer gently for 10, then lift them out.
⏲ 10 min
Dissolve the salt in the water, pour it into the flour and bring it together. Wrap it in plastic and tread on it or knead it hard until it is firm and smooth. Rest it for 30 minutes.
⏲ 30 min
Roll the dough about 4mm thick and cut it the same width, so the strands are nearly square in section.
Simmer the meat with the soy sauce, sugar and 3 tbsp water until the liquid has almost gone.
⏲ 8 min
Warm the oil in a pan, take it off the heat and stir in the chilli, sesame and sansho. This is the suridane.
Season the dashi with the soy sauce and mirin and whisk in the miso. Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts.
⏲ 4 min
Boil the noodles in plenty of water for 12-15 minutes. Bite one: take them out while the centre is still firm.
⏲ 14 min
Put the noodles in bowls and pour the broth over. Top with cabbage, the simmered meat and spring onion, and serve the suridane alongside.

Variations

Tsukemen. The noodles on a large plate, dipped in a warm broth. The usual way to feed guests at home.
Hiyashi. Cold noodles in a cold broth.
Yumori. The noodles served in their own cooking water, with katsuobushi and a splash of raw soy sauce.
Kinpira. Some shops add burdock kinpira on top.

Tips

The noodles should be hard enough that you bite through them. Take them out while the centre is still firm.
Knead the dough hard. Treading on it is fine.
Cut them thick and square. They twist loosely as they boil.
Boil the cabbage. It goes on wilted, not raw.
Season the broth with soy sauce and miso. Both are made from soybeans, so it is called the "cousin broth".

More detail and the reasons why (2)

The far end of the same noodle. Japanese Wikipedia names the hard, very springy noodle as the dish's defining feature: ordinary udon can be severed with the tongue or the lips, but this one has to be bitten through. It also sets it apart from hōtō, Yamanashi's other flour dish, which needs no gluten spring. Put it beside Ise udon, boiled for more than 25 minutes to give its spring up on purpose, and you can see how far one udon can split into two textures.
Wheat where rice would not grow. The northern foot of Mount Fuji is cold and its volcanic soil holds water badly, so wheat was the staple. According to Wikipedia, while the women were busy with silkworms and weaving the men took over the cooking and made udon for lunch, and kneading the local flour with a man's strength is what produced this hard, thick noodle.

The basics behind this dish

Cooking basics →

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