Udon soup has a delicate flavor. It is light and mild but still very savory.
The base of the soup is made of either bonito, kelp broth, or both.
And you add some soy sauce, sake, and mirin.
Udon soup has a nice aroma too,
So it enhances the taste of udon noodles or other toppings.
1. Do you know why udon soup is special?
In the summer of 2019, my wife and I took a ferry to Shikoku Island.
We had a road trip there.
And I had the best udon ever in Sanuki…
Want to know more about udon?
I will be your guide for udon because…
2. I am Hagrid of udon academy
Did you know udon soup has 3 primary types?
They have their own characteristics of the taste, color, and ingredients.
These 3 types were developed in different regions in Japan,
3. Kanto-style udon, Kansai-style udon, and Sanuki style udon
They are names of regions. Kanto region is in the east part of Japan and the capital of Japan, Tokyo, is located there.
Kansai region is in the west part of Japan and Osaka and Kyoto are located there.
The Sanuki region is located on Shikoku Island. Actually, Sanuki was a historical name of modern Kagawa Prefecture.
4. Basically, udon soup is made of soup stock, soy sauce, sake, and mirin
But the philosophy about soup stock makes a difference.
5. The soup of Kanto-style udon is saltier and has a brown color.
The reason why Kanto-style is saltier is because dark soy sauce is used when you make this region’s udon soup.
Kelp and bonito are used for this soup stock, but the taste of bonito is very distinctive for Kanto-style soup.
Bonito is the leading actor of the Kanto-style udon soup.
6. The soup of Kansai-style udon is less salty and has a light yellow color.
It is said that Kansai-style udon soup is thin. People there want to taste the soup stock more than the soy sauce.
You use light soy sauce to make Kansai-style soup.
The soup stock is made up of the harmony of kelp, bonito, and dried sardine.
Since you only use a little bit of soy sauce, the soup is transparent.
7. The soup of Sanuki-style udon has a delicate taste and a light yellow color
Dried sardine is the leading actor of the Sanuki-style udon soup.
And kelp, bonito, and scallops are the supporting actors.
This soup has a nice delicate seafood flavor.
It comes from dried sardines.
8. There are other udon soups like miso udon and curry udon
The udon soups that we talked about were the big 3 of the udon world.
But wait, there is more…
9. Houtou has a miso based udon soup
It has flat udon noodles, pumpkins, potatoes, mushrooms and meat in it.
Houtou is a specialty of Yamanashi Prefecture.
Long ago, the powerful Japanese feudal lord, Takeda Shingen, picked houtou for field rations in the Warring States period.
Houtou is good for digestion and has a lot of nutrition.
So it was perfect for the battlefield.
When you make the soup of houtou,
You use soup stock made of either bonito, kelp broth, or both,
Like the big 3 udon soups.
However:
You use miso instead of soy sauce.
10. Miso nikomi udon soup uses miso instead of soy sauce too
Miso nikomi udon is a specialty food of Aichi Prefecture.
Dark brown miso, called haccho miso, is used in order to make miso nikomi udon.
It is always served in a clay pot, so you can keep your miso nikomi udon hot for a long time.
Noodles for miso nikomi udon are really thick and hard.
They are served al dente.
You don’t use salt when you make noodles, so these noodles don’t have as much bounce and chewiness as other udon noodles.
It is said houtou is the origin or miso nikomi udon.
11. Curry udon is another popular type of udon
It is a type of udon where you add some curry roux into the udon soup stock.
2 popular dishes in Japan are combined.
It is also called curry nanban.
For curry udon soup, You use soup stock made of either bonito, kelp broth, or both,
And soy sauce, mirin, sake, and curry roux .
Due to Covid, a lot of good ramen restaurants have closed
It makes me feel very angry.
I used to eat ramen out frequently,
But in this situation,
Ramen shops have started to shorten the hours, limit the number of customers, or even closed their shops.
It has affected the industry so much.
I am afraid good ramen will be gone
But meanwhile, you still can enjoy ramen in the comfort of your own home.
Here are some of my recommendations for ramen lovers.
1. Sapporo Ichiban Shio Flavor
MY THOUGHTS OVERALL ★★★★☆
In truth, Sapporo Ichiban delivers a good quality shio ramen experience.
Actually, it is very difficult to find good shio ramen.
Do you know why?
Because it is very difficult to make it since it is very simple.
There are many good shoyu and miso flavored instant noodles out there.
But I feel specifically, the shio flavor market is monopolized by Sapporo Ichiban.
Think about this for a moment having good shio ramen for your dinner with your favorite ramen toppings.
Now, you want some, don’t you?
2. Nissin Raoh Shoyu Flavor
MY THOUGHTS OVERALL ★★★★★
It is nearly impossible to make restaurant quality noodles at home without the right tools and equipment.
How can you beat that?
Using Raoh’s shoyu flavour will help you achieve this easily. This is top-notch ramen hands down!
One pinnacle of instant noodles is the soy sauce flavor. It is expensive compared to regular ones but let me tell you, it deserves every single penny.
In a nutshell, I loved every bit of it.
...And I am sure you will too.
3. The problem here is that no toppings come with these packets.
Here are some topping options and recipes for you.
Green onion
4. Have you ever faced these issues...
A lack of large, high-quality soup bowl sets at home?
Are you still struggling with...
😢 ...small bowls that aren’t large enough for soups, noodles and toppings.
😢 ...spillage every time you eat out of your bowl.
😢 ...low-quality tableware and utensils that don’t compliment your food.
Look no further,
Our best-selling bowls are here to fix all the issues you face with small, inefficient tableware.
After struggling with spillage and leakage during dinner time,
We decided to introduce APEX S.K’s large soup bowls to the market.
Want to hear why some people absolutely love our ramen bowls?
"These are perfect for homemade ramen soup nights! The bowls we have at home are not large enough and my wife has been trying to look for larger bowls. I'm so glad I stumbled upon these. They made a great Christmas gift for the whole family. Everybody was so excited and we can't wait to put them to use on our next ramen night."
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"The shape, the color, and the overall appearance of the bowl was exactly what I was looking for - the shape, the color"
Check our sets on Amazon..
About the Author
Kei is a self-proclaimed ramen lover, blog writer and founder of "Apex S.K. Japanese tableware".
"I am from Ibaraki, Japan.
Ramen is great! It can bring you a sense of happiness and satisfaction that no other food can. I have been eating ramen for 30 years.
If there is no ramen, my life would be miserable.
Ten years ago, I worked as an office worker. The job was really stressful - excessive working hours, low wages, unpaid overtime work, and constantly being yelled at by my boss.
I was new and alone, no girlfriend, no friends, and felt very lonely.
My only oasis was the ramen shop near the office. For me, the ramen chef there was literally an angel. I saw a halo on his head. (No joke)
Tonkotsu shoyu ramen was my all-time favorite. He made ramen with broth chock-full of umami flavor, nice chewy handmade noodles, and tender chashu.
My greatest dream is connect people with ramen through my blog. I want to share a lot of interesting and funny stories and ramen trivia with you.
Knowing more about ramen can help you appreciate your ramen and make it taste extra delicious."
Did you know that we offer more than just a ramen blog?
We also have an exclusive collection of ramen-inspired t-shirts and hoodies that any true noodle lover will adore.
Head over to ApexRamen and check it out for yourself
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