Thursday, July 11, 2019

Japanese Best Instant Udon noodle

One of soul food for Japanese food is Udon.
Udon is made from white wheat flour.

There are different levels of chewiness and thickness in Udon.
Besides, there are several types of soup. Some are weak and others are strong.
Each region has unique udon.

During summer, we dip cold udon in a cold soup
with seasonings such as green onion and graded daikon.

During winter, we have udon with a hot soup in the bowl.
There are many toppings such as dried tofu, tempura and vegetables.

Typical udon noodles in Japan


・きつねうどん(Kitsune-Udon) = fox Udon
This hot udon has deep-fried bean curd on the top.

Do you know why we call it "fox Udon"?


The answer is this:
We Japanese visit shrines of Oinari Okami, the Japanese fox god.
It is said that the god loves deep-friend bean curd, so
we serve it as offerings in addition to rice and sake.





・たぬきうどん (Tanunki-Udon) = Racoon Dog Udon
The Udon has bits of deep-fried tempura batter on the top
and have both cold and hot one.


There are various theories about the reason why we call it Tanuki-Udon.
One of the theories is that it has only tempura batter on the top.
Vegetables and seafood for tempura are called "Tane". 
Tempura batter doesn't have Tane, so "taking out Tane"is called "Tane-nuki" in Japanese.
Tane-nuki is abbreviated to "Tanuki" Therefore, the udon is called "tanuki."









My favorite instant noodles from Maruchan

Do you want to save your time cooking? Yes!
How about trying instant udon noodles?
I recommend easy, quick and tasty udon from Maruchan.

We are familiar with this logo,
 from Toyo-suisan corporate.



The red one is "Red Fox" (Akai Kitsune) udon.
The green one is "Green raccoon dog" (Tanuki) buckwheat noodle.

You can buy them at any convenience stores and supermarkets in Japan.
One udon is less than 200 yen.



There are many different flavors in different regions.
The black one is pork curry udon.
The red/white one contains rice cake on the top.



The left one is Miso-nikomi Udon, which means miso flavor simmered udon.
Udon in miso soup originally comes from Nagoya prefecture.

The right one is burdock tempura on the top.
burdock is gobo in Japanese, so it's called Gobotem Udon


History of Maruchan Udon



Kitsune-Udon cup was born in 1975.
It was the industry first instant Udon noodle in Japan.

1975 is when Shinkansen railroad service started from Tokyo to Hakata in Kyushu.




A new brand name of the brand was chosen and Akai-Kitsune Udon was born.
1978 is when Space invaders, an arcade game, became so popular among young people.




Midori-no-tanuki (buckwheat noodles) was born.




Interestingly, the company made different soup flavors in different regions.
For example, people in Kanto area prefer strong soup, 
while people in Kansai area like weak soup.

The following are limited to a specific region.
Travel around in Japan and find unique maruchan udon.







Ingredients for soup are different in terms of regions.




How to enjoy soup with dashi (broth)



1. Don't add red pepper, but sip soup once and enjoy the dashi flavor.
2. Look at the inside of the cup when you finish it. You will see some black powders around.
, which means the soup contains nice broth. You should try!


Now, do you come interested in Kitsune-Udon?
It is good for you and your friends to share Kitsune and Tanuki noodles and enjoy different tastes.


Cited from Maruchan Official HP

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