The noodles were created in China but became popular around the world when Marco Polo took the recipe to Italy. In Japan, noodles arrived through Buddhist monks and became one of the most consumed foods in the country. There, the Japanese created their own types of pasta, such as udon, ramen, soba and soumen. Udon was the best known in Brazil until the ramen boom occurred, with the emergence of numerous houses specialized in the dish. See below the characteristics of the main Japanese noodles found in Brazil.
Udon
It is a thick pasta, with a very white thread, made with wheat flour. It has a mild flavor but its consistency is firm. It is usually served with hot and thin broths based on dashi, mirin (culinary sake) and soy sauce, accompanied by tempura, boiled egg and chives. It is also used in the preparation of sukiyaki, where it is finished cooking in the sauce of the dish, gaining color and flavor.
Windows (or ramen)
With finer threads than udon, it is also made with wheat flour but contains egg and alkaline water, which gives it a yellowish tone and elastic consistency. Its most common form of preparation is with hot broth made from pork, chicken or fish and seasoned with a sauce (miso, soy sauce or salt) that gives the soup the flavor. The thickness of the dough can vary according to the chosen broth. Traditional accompaniments are seaweed, chashu (pork), nori (seaweed), boiled egg and chopped chives. It can also be served with cold broth or even without broth.
Room
Dough of dark threads, resulting from the preparation with buckwheat. This pasta is quite versatile, and can be served hot, in a soup made with fish broth, soy sauce and mirin, or cold, accompanied by a separate sauce. Zaru Soba (photo) brings the pasta on a mat accompanied by a cold broth, with chives, grated turnip and wasabi.
Soumen
Made with wheat flour, water and salt, it has light and very fine threads. Soumen is usually consumed in the summer, cold and even cold, accompanied by a sauce tsuyu with chives and myoga, the flower of a plant of the same family as ginger, very aromatic. It is also often used in light soups such as miso soup.
Most
Another type of noodle widely used is the Harussame, a clear noodle made from starch, such as mung bean or potato starch, which can be eaten cold or hot.
still has the Hiyamugui, similar to soumen but with a little thicker thickness and the itokonyaku, a noodle made from konjac (Japanese tuber), with a gelatinous texture and widely used in diets because it has few calories.
Want to know more about Japanese noodles? For this month, more than 100 homes across Brazil, including stores and restaurants, are offering the product with sales of different types of pasta as well as related items, such as sauces, ready-to-eat broths and seasonings used in its preparation. Japanese cuisine restaurants are also offering special dishes or highlighting noodles on their menus. It’s the “Men Matsuri – The Month of Japanese Noodles” promoted by Jetro. “With the Brazilian summer approaching, this is a good opportunity to try the brothless or chilled versions of these dishes,” says Hiroyuki Saito, Foreign Trade director at Jetro (Japan External Trade Organization), a Japanese foreign trade promotion agency that promotes the event. Click here to view participating houses.
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homemade ramen recipe (pulp)
By Daniel Hirata, do Hirá Ramen Izakaya
(Yield 2.5 kg of dough. Preparation 2h + 1 night to rest)
Ingredients
– 600 ml of water
– 16 g of salt
– 30 g of sodium bicarbonate
– 1 this
– 2 kg of wheat flour
Preparation
In a container, mix water, salt, baking soda and egg. Put the flour in a large bowl and add the mixture. Mix well and let it sit for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and cut into strands (you can use a noodle machine if you like). Let it rest overnight.
At your service
Cook the ramen in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and serve with the broth and toppings.
To prepare the broth for Shoyu ramen, click here.
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Curiosities
• Ramen became popular around the world with its instant version created in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, who wanted to produce a practical food that would be ready with just the addition of hot water.
• The first instant ramen created was “chicken ramen”.
• In Japan, specialty stores for the dish produce their instant version so they can be enjoyed anywhere, with surprising results.
(Photos: Marcelo Katsuki/Folhapres, Rubens Kato, Tales Hideki, Piyano, Kazoka, Ahirao and Bonchan/Disclosure)
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
