Slurp! Head to any restaurant or stall in Japan that serves noodles and you might notice an interesting phenomenon. The locals all slurp up their noodles very noisily. Why is that, you may wonder…
Depending on who you ask, reasons vary. One would be, it signifies that you are enjoying your noodles. Another would be, the slurping action creates a wave of air that cools the noodles in your mouth, allowing you to eat them while they are still piping hot. Another reason would be that slurping enhances the flavour.
Before you go running to a Japanese restaurant to test out the reasons behind this custom though, do you know which Japanese noodles you should try? To make things simple, let’s just explore three of the more commonly eaten Japanese noodles.
Ramen
Ramen is one of the more popular Japanese noodles. It has its origins in China, hence it is sometimes called chuka soba, meaning “Chinese soba”, and possibly dates back to as early as the 1880s. However, its popularity grew exponentially only in the later half of the 20th century. It is one of the nation’s most loved dishes evidenced by the many ramen shops everywhere in Japan.
It is also loved all around the world, evident by how you can shop for ready-to-cook ramen noodles in your local supermarket, just like Obento Ramen Noodles. It is made out of wheat flour, salt and water, and the dough is allowed to rise before it is then rolled out into a thin, sometimes wavy form. Ramen is usually enjoyed with a flavourful, umami soup, and are often categorised according to the broth it is made of.
You can try making your Obento Ramen Noodles with a few of the more popular broth bases like shoyu ramen, which is a basic soup made with stock and is soy-sauce based. Another would be miso ramen, which is especially famous in Hokkaido. Tonkotsu ramen is typically served with a pork bone broth and shio ramen is a yellowish broth made with salt and a soup base of chicken or pork bones. The flavour is lighter than tonkotsu and is considered to be one of the more difficult soup bases to achieve as it relies only on salt to bring out the natural flavours of a broth.
Udon
Udon noodles are a traditional Japanese noodle made from wheat flour and water. It is said to have entered Shikoku Island during the Heian period from 794-1192 by way of a famous Buddhist priest called Kūkai. It grew in popularity due to its low cost and because it was easy to make.
Nowadays however, we can just pick up Obento Udon Noodles off the shelf for our udon fix. A traditional wheat based Japanese noodle, it is the thickest of Japanese noodles and versatile as it can be served hot in soups and stir-fries, or cold, or even in a salad with a Japanese style dipping sauce made from soy sauce, mirin and dashi soup stock.
Try out some of Japan’s most popular variations of udon noodles with Obento Udon Noodles. Make curry udon, with a more sweet rather than spicy Japanese curry sauce or tanuki udon, which is usually served in a hot dashi broth and topped with tenkasu (tempura bits). This udon can be prepared cold during the summer months as well. There is also nabeyaki udon, served in individual iron pots, or earthenware pots called donabe
Soba
Soba first became popular during the Edo period (1603-1868). In Japan, soba noodles are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve served in a hot dashi soup and with a generous portion of chopped spring onions. This dish is called Toshikoshi Soba and this tradition is observed as a practice of praying for a long life.
You can observe this tradition too, or just enjoy soba for its unique taste. Made from wheat flour and buckwheat, which is a good source of vitamin B2 and aids healthy digestion, Obento Soba Noodles can be on your New Year’s Eve menu. But it is also delicious served cold and is a highly recommended noodle when choosing a salad base because hot or cold, its high level of protein and carbohydrates make it tasty already on its own.
Another soba crowd favourite that you can try with Obento Soba Noodles is tempura soba, with the noodles served in soup or dipping sauce and served with several pieces of tempura.
So as you can see, from just three types of Japanese noodles and its multitude of serving styles, you are already spoiled for choice with Obento’s Ramen Noodles, Obento’s Udon Noodles and Obento’s Soba Noodles. What’s more, you can practise your slurping skills at home first, before going to a restaurant in Japan and showing them what you can do too!
About Obento
Obento is one of the leading Japanese food brands that has been in the Australian supermarkets since 2002. They provide authentic Japanese flavours to everyone with its comprehensive range of food products. From a complete range of the Japanese staple condiments including mirin seasoning, cooking sake, rice wine vinegar, yakitori sauce, ponzu sauce, sushi & sashimi soy sauce, sushi seasoning, to other foodstuff and ingredients such as panko breadcrumbs, tempura mix, a variety of noodles, yaki nori seaweed, sushi rice, sushi kit and more! To discover what other Obento products are on the shelves, do check them out at your local supermarket.