Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi - Served

Udon for Summer: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi (綱道のざるとろうどん)
This is a true gourmet masterpiece, country-style. It is just the right meal for Japanese summer!

Noodles: Dense, thick udon noodles, somehow both soft and firm, with lots of earthy, wheaty flavor served cold on a woven bamboo zaru (sieve) inset in a lacquered tray.
Dipping ‘Sauce’: The noodles are dipped into a mixture of grated yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam), raw egg, chopped scallions, fresh grated (real) wasabi and tsuyu. Tsuyu is a mixture of dashi, soy sauce and mirin.

Tsunamichi’s dipping sauce mixture is quite special, it is surely the richest I have had. The grated yamaimo is called tororo and unlike the very gooey (and cheaper) nagaimo usually used for tororo, it is extremely thick. The raw egg adds a luxurious creaminess, the fresh wasabi adds plenty of zing and the tsuyu is quite salty owing to plenty of soy sauce used.

The combination of this heavy, creamy dipping sauce and the heavy-duty country style noodles far surpasses any zaru udon or zaru soba dish I have encountered.

I am not a fan of Tsunamichi’s soba, it is very rough and thick and for me somehow lacks much taste. If you live in Kyoto and can visit Tsunamichi easily and like soba, by all means give it a try and tells us what you think in the comments section below. If you are just in town for a few days and want to try Tsunamichi, I highly recommend the udon over the soba.

Zaru toro udon costs 850 yen – and is quite filling.

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi - Pouring on Tsuyu

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

Cold Summer Noodles: Zaru Toro Udon at Tsunamichi

All Gone!

More about Tsunamichi and Udon Country
It is mid-summer and hot, hot, hot in Kyoto now. The Gion Festival is over and that means the rainy season is over too. (The rainy season never fails to end the day or so before the Gion Festival Junko (procession) on the morning of July 17.) This is the season for cold and cooling meals.

Back in February of 2008 Miwa and I reviewed Tsunamichi’s very popular winter dish, piping hot miso simmered udon, (miso nikomi udon) and I eat it quite often in the cold months. As much as I like that one, I realized that I like this summer even more, much more.

Tsunamichi doesn’t make Kyoto-style noodles, no, there are thick, heavy and quite rough hewn, actually with more than a few noodles being too short or too thick. Never mind that, the taste is way over the top! Surely this is a dish for foodies not available abroad, not even available most anywhere in Japan!

Tsunamichi is a noodle shop run by a man from Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku. Sanuki is the classical name for this region and Sanuki is udon country! And the proprietor makes his udon, called undon in his dialect, by hand! (His soba too.)

Our previous ‘Udon for Winter‘ article about Tsunamichi has lots more information about udon culture in Shikoku so be sure to check it out!

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Friendly
Price: 700 – 1,300 yen.
Location and Access: Bus, Subway. Tsunamichi is located about a 3 minute walk east from Kitaoji Bus Terminal, Kitaoji Subway Station and Kitaoji Vivre Shopping Center.
Address: Kyoto-shi Kita-ku Kitaoji-dori Karasuma Higashi-hitosuji Kita-iru Kitakamifusa-cho 39-2 (京都市北区北大路通烏丸東一筋北入ル北上総町39-2)
Telephone: 075-492-7860
Near Sightseeing Spot: Daitokuji Temple (10 min. bus)

Map:

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A bowl of udon with only two noodles? Is it a rip-off or a find? Though Tawaraya’s famous udon dish is a bit gimmicky, it does have that special and refined ‘shinise’ taste. This is a dish that has been enjoyed, across the street from an ancient shrine, by several generations of locals and pilgrims.

Today I visited another Nishijin restaurant that I had only heard about but had never been to: Tawaraya.

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya is located just down the street from the main gate of Kitano Tenmagu Shrine in a very old and beautiful Nishijin Machiya. Tarawaya’s famous ‘meibutsu’ dish is called Nihon Udon, literally two noodles udon. You only get two noodles, so you know that they have to be substaintial. Tawaraya’s udon isn’t just thick, or even really thick, it is unbelievably, ginormously thick!

In Japan, you normally slurp noodles, but not there. Of course you still eat them with chopsticks but instead of slurping up a mouthful at a time, you bite off a mouthful at a time, from a single noodle!

Nihon udon is served with a very rich and rather salty dashi broth and shredded ginger, which you add yourself. I only used about half of mine.

The noodles of course taste like udon, but the feeling is more like eating mochi, very interesting.

Numerous other noodle dishes are available, but I didn’t try them. It looked like the other udon dishes are not served with the super thick udon, but ‘standard’ thickness udon.

Tawaraya Storefront

The machiya is especially beautiful, inside and out. The thick wooden columns and lintels are painted blackish brown. In the genkan entry there is a huge well with a bamboo cover. The floor is made of huge stone slabs, generously sprinkled with water. (Japanese love sprinkling water on pavement, stones and so on.)

While the price of 700 yen is reasonable for a tasty, shinise lunch in Kyoto, if you are a famished traveler the nihon udon probably would not be a substantial enough meal for you. The meal is classic Nishijin style, not a large serving but it is just enough to keeo you going for . If you want to try something novel and a Kyoto meibutsu that many Kyotoites haven’t sampled and you are visiting Nishijin or Kitano Tenmagu Shrine, this is a great place to lunch.

Lunch is quick here and it is not the kind of machiya dining experience in which you can really take your time and enjoy the atmosphere and the food.

Tawaraya Noren Curtain

Tawara means ‘straw bail of rice’, depicted in brush and ink on natural Japanese linen here on the Tawaraya noren curtain. ‘Ya’ means store, or shop.

Tawaraya Storefront ‘Menu’

This shows the other dishes available, having them all pinned to the traditional woodwork is rather unfortunate, not very ‘Nishijin’, too in your face.

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon – Served

The small plate on the lower right is grated ginger. You add as much as you like. For me, half was enough. I drank all my dashi, which you really aren’t supposed to do because of all the salt content. But, it was excellent!

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya Machiya Interior

This little room, off of the genkan entryway is for show and dipicts what a traditional Nishijin machiya room looks like.

Tawaraya Machiya Interior

Sorry, I didn’t have my usual camera today and was unable to get good photos of the interior.

Tawaraya Machiya Storefront

On the right side of Tawaraya is a small shrine where pregnant women come to pray for a safe delivery. If you are traveling in Japan, and pregenant, you can do lunch at Tawaraya and pray for a safe delivery! What a deal!

English and Service
Tawaraya たわらや
English service: No English menu, but the menu does have photos. You can just point. The staff is friendly and reports that foreign guests frequent the restaurant as it is right down the street from Kitano Tenmagu Shrine.
tel: 075-463-4974
Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Onmae-dori Imakoji-sagaru Bakuro-cho 918 (京都市上京区御前通今小路下ル馬喰町918)
hours 11am-4pm (closed Tuesday)

Map

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Dashi broth, udon noodles, chicken, egg, mushrooms and shrimp tempura are all placed in a covered earthenware nabe pot and boiled vigorously over high heat for several minutes. This dish is called nabeyaki udon, it is served piping hot in the nabe pot that it was cooked in. Kakutani’s nabeyaki udon cannot be topped!

Nabeyaki Udon
Nabeyaki is served literally boiling hot and the heavy earthenware nabe holds heat. So, you will want to be very careful not to burn your tongue. I sprinkle on shichimi (seven spice chili powder) and just let it sit for a bit. This allows it to cool and the shichimi flavor to be absorbed. Next use the small ‘torizara’ bowl to serve small portions that will cool down quicker.

Nabeyaki Udon: Served

Shichimi is in the bamboo container on the left. You just pull out the peg and sprinkle it on.

Nabeyaki Udon: Shichimi Added

Nabeyaki Udon: Shiitake, Egg and Udon

Nabeyaki Udon: Egg and Udon

Nabeyaki Udon: Shrimp Tempura and Udon

Kakutani Interior

Kakutani Restaurant
One of the first restaurants, maybe the very first, that I discovered after moving to Kyoto for graduate school some years ago was Kakutani. Kakutani is a shinise restaurant that has been in business since the late 18oo’s and is on the south side of what is now Kyoto University. Kakutani’s soba is excellent, their dashi broth is great, but in the winter, when it is cold, there is nothing that I like better for lunch than nabeyaki udon and Kakutani’s simply cannot be topped.

Kakutani is a very friendly, family run restaurant. In the winter I only order their nabeyaki udon. I walk in the door and they smile and say, ‘nabeyaki?’ I’m like, ah, yeah, how’d ya guess? This time, I hadn’t been there for like three years because I moved, and I didn’t think that they would remember me. But, without fail they did. They even remembered what I would be ordering! Now that’s service!

Kakutani Showcase

Shinise style plastic food.

Kakutani Exterior

Kakutani is located in the Shogoin neighborhood. This is where Kyoto’s most well known wagashi and omiyage, Yatsuhashi comes from. In the neighborhood you can visit a number of Yatsuhashi shinise stores and try the countless variations of this simple confection that are offered.

For sightseeing, nearby is Heian Shrine, and on Yoshida ‘Mountain’ there is Kurodani Temple, Shinnyodo Temple and Yoshida Shrine.

English and Access
Kakutani 京都 かく谷老舗
English service: No English menu but you can see most dishes in the show case, just point to order. The owner/staff are all very friendly.
Website: www.kakutani-rouho.com (Japanese language only)
Hours: – (only open for lunch)
Location and Access: Kakutani is located just northwest of the Higashi-oji and Marutamachi intersection.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Sakyo-ku, Shogoin, Sanno-cho 39 (京都市左京区聖護院山王町39)
Telephone: 075-771-2934

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For lunch Miwa took me to Yorozuya, a tiny noodle shop in Gion that is known for it’s Kyoto scallion udon. If you come to Yorozuya for lunch, you might find yourself sitting next to a maiko also enjoying a bowl of udon heaped with scallions.

Hidden Lunch Spot in Gion and Kyoto Vegetables
Just a few minutes walk from Hanamikoji and Gion Corner, Yorozuya is one of those little Kyoto shops frequented by locals that is famous for a single dish. One of Kyoto’s famous vegetables, kujo scallion is combined with a generous helping of grated ginger in hot dashi with udon noodles (soba is also available).

Gion is the entertainment district of Kyoto and maiko (apprentice geisha) and Kabuki actors often visit the unpretentious Yorozuya for lunch.

Negi Udon Lunch

Kujo Negi and Heaps of Ginger

Kujo Scallion Udon
While enjoying lunch on a recent brisk autumn day, Miwa asked the owner about the dashi and kujo negi. The dashi is quite rich in flavor and is made with a lot of shaved fish. The scallions are first blanched and this removes the bitterness. They are then simmered with the dashi for several minutes, this makes them sweet and adds complexity to the dashi. The soup is heavy with the taste of fresh scallion but is not bitter or ‘oniony’. One bowl of kujo negi udon contains 7 to 8 scallions!

Miwa ordered ankake negi udon. Ankake is a kind of noodle broth that has katakuriko (starch) added to it which makes it very thick. Ankake is about the consistency of heavy cream. The starch adds no taste, but the dashi does retain heat much longer. If you burn your tongue easily you will probably want to avoid ankake! Ankake is wonderful in the cold seasons as it really does warm the body up. It is a great way to add richness to dashi without more calories.

For my taste, the udon noodles were too soft and not at all al dente. A lot of Kyoto people like noodles to be well cooked though, it is considered more sophisticated by them. Probably the majority of Japanese prefer noodles al dente.

If you want to order noodles in Japan al dente, the Japanese word is katame (固め).

Shichimi and Sansho Spice

Shichimi, or seven spice is a must for any Japanese noodle dish. Sansho is in the unopened container. There are several shops in the Gion neighborhood famous for shichimi and sansho. We have an article on the way for that, but for now you can check out this topic on spices at Kyoto Support forum.

Shichimi on Negi Udon – detail

Negi Udon

Ankake Negi Udon

Ankake broth is considerably thicker than regular dashi.

Kujo Negi

Award winning Kyoto scallions!

About Kujo Negi
Literally, ‘ninth street onion’, is a traditional Kyoto vegetable, or Kyo-yasai that came to Kyoto from current day Namba, Osaka about 1,300 years ago. Today, Kujo (ninth street) is just south of Kyoto Station. Over the centuries kujo negi developed their own ‘Kyoto’ flavor and since the Edo era this area produced most of the scallions for Kyoto and thus they became known as kujo negi. Kujo negi is available all year now but traditionally they were in season in November.

There are now two types of kujo negi, thick and thin. Yorozuya uses the thin variety.

Yorozuya Storefront

Neighborhood

The neighborhood is typical of Gion; a jumbled mix of exclusive, traditional and seedy. You can peek into a moss covered temple garden or buy some booze from a vending machine and take it with you to the Hotel King (a love hotel).

Neighborhood Temple

The area infront of the gate to this little temple is quite dumpy, but take a look inside.

Neighborhood Temple Garden

The carefully scuplted pines, the moss and stones are so Japanese. I love the diagonal, half useless stone path.

Neighborhood Love Hotel

If scallions in hot dashi put you and your mate in the mood, you are in luck! You can stop in at Hotel King just down the way for a ‘rest’.

Neighborhood Guard Dog

This sleepy and uninterested dog was sitting on top of a barrel at the entrance to the storeroom of a liquor store. In the background is a vending machine (brown), the white character on it means sake.

English and Access

English menu: none
English website: none (Japanese language website)
Service/Staff: very friendly and helpful
Hours: 12noon-10pm, open everyday (except around Golden Week, Obon, New Year’s, Obon, )
Location and Access: Five minutes on foot from Gion Shijo Station (Keihan Railway). From Shijo Street walk south on Hanamikoji to the second street and turn right (west) and walk about 1 minute. Yorozuya is on the left (south) side of the street, opposite the small temple gate shown above.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Shijo Hanamikoji-sagaru, Futasujime Nishi-iru, Komatsu-cho 555-1 (京都市東山区四条花見小路下る二筋目西入る小松町555-1)
Telephone: 075-551-3409

Near sightseeing Spot: Yorozuya is located near the first Zen temple in Japan, Kenninji. It has some very old and architecturally significant buildings and the gardens are well worth your time. If you are in Kyoto and don’t have time to get out of the center of the city but still want to see some Zen gardens, try Kennin Temple.

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Ground sardines make a rich and wonderfully nourishing focal point to miso soup with udon noodles. Hand chopped or pureed in a food processor with ginger and scallions then gently simmered in broth mellows the heavy sardine taste.

Iwashi-no-tsumire, or sardine ‘meatballs’ is a fairly popular food in Japan, but is probably not widely known abroad. Sardines are an aozakana, which means they are in season in the autumn and winter and full of nutrients and energy, and of course rich in flavor. Iwashi-no-tsumire goes very well with rich miso based soup in the cold months.

We added some mibuna greens to ours, which is a traditional Kyoto vegetable, or Kyo-yasai.

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon with Vegetables

Iwashi Ryori: Fishballs in Miso Soup
Hopefully this iwashi ryori dish is also one that you can adapt and make with what you have available where you live. You need sardines or another aozakana, mackerel will taste fine too. Fresh is best, but frozen fish ought to be fine. You need udon noodles, fresh are preferred, but dried is ok. Also, you need miso for the soup, we prefer sweet (light in color) to salty (dark) and some seasonal vegetables. I think that most any root vegetables would be a great addition.

Miwa’s (AKA Paku) iwashi-no-tsumire is particularly ‘home cooking’ tasty. Fishballs can easily be made in a food processor but she makes hers long hand. She cleans the sardines and chops the fillets with a large knife. The taste and especially the texture of hand chopped is different. Hand chopping makes meatballs chunkier and softer.

If using a food processor, simply gut and gill the sardines and chop them up, head, bones, tail and all. The click of a button will save you at least 30 minutes. If you use a food processor it is my theory that the fishballs are actually more nutritious as the skin, bones and head contain a lot of calcium and nutrients absent in the flesh only. If you are using larger fish, you probably don’t want to have the bones or head included, judge according to size. The less ground the fish is, the more it will be like hand chopped.

See our KyotoFoodie article on how to clean sardines here if you want to do it the old fashioned way.

Japanese Meatballs and Fishballs: The Difference Between Dango and Tsumire
Dango Properly, dango is a sweet and made of mochi. Niku-dango 肉団子, or meat dango is made of chicken or meat.
Tsumire Dango made of ground or chopped fish are called tsumire and usually goes in soup.

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Ingredients

Sardines, vegetables and udon comprise the main ingredients.

Ingredients

• 6-12 whole sardines (depending on size)
• scallion (at least one bunch, for my taste, the more the better)
• 1/3 cup flour
• fresh ginger grated
• miso paste (light/sweet is recommended)
• dashi soup stock (powdered or liquid concentrate is fine, made from scratch is better)
• 1/2 cup cooking sake (optional)
• 1 tablespoon mirin (optional)
• miso paste (light/sweet is recommended)
• udon noodles (fresh are preferred but dried are fine)
• carrot julienned (consider other root vegetables)
• fresh ginger julienned
• fresh greens such as mibuna, mizuna, kikuna, (spinach as a substitute)

＊As with all our recipes here on KyotoFoodie, we just give you the ingredients, photos of the preparation process and send you in the general direction. Fine tune to your taste. The only thing to be careful of with this recipe is that the fishballs do not get too hard and rubbery from excess flour. You can also use a little starch but they will get rubbery in a big hurry. Adding egg yolk will help hold the fishballs together and add flavor. An egg yolk on top of the soup just before serving is also great.

Preparation

Chopping the Sardines
Cleaning the sardines is step one. Again, see this step-by-step article on how to clean sardines. If you are chopping by hand, Miwa says that you want to be sure to pull off the skin as it makes it much harder to chop.

Chopping in the Flour
Chop the sardine fillets into small chunks then “chop-chop-chop” for about a minute. Then add chopped scallions and about 1/3 of the flour. Continue “chop-chop-chop”ing and fold over the mixture with the knife. Repeat this process several times adding the remaining flour.

Chopping in the Ginger and Miso
After you have “chop-chop-chop”ed for a few minutes add about 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger and about 1 tablespoon of miso paste and just keep on “chop-chop-chop”ing, folding over the mixture as you go.

Notice in the photos below that the mixture is pretty course. Miwa says (and I agree) the secret is to have the tsumire course and chunky but finely chopped enough to hold together for simmering in the soup. If you are not completely confident your first try, just add a little more flour, or God forbid some starch. Total “chop-chop-chop” time is about 5 minutes.

Cooking

Soup
Make the dashi. In a sauce pan bring about 1/2 liter of water to boil and reduce heat to gentle boil. If you have tap water that has a chemical taste to it, consider using bottled water. If you can make dashi from scratch, that is best. The powdered dashi or dashi concentrate is fine too. (We’ve got a great dashi recipe article coming.) Add sake and mirin if desired.

Once you have the dashi ready and gently boiling add the tsumire, forming into balls with a spoon. Cover and simmer gently for a few minutes. Next add the ginger and carrots. Cover and continue to simmer. Add the greens last. Cut the greens into 5cm sections and add to simmering broth, add the root ends first as they will require more cooking time.

Add the miso and dissolve in a ladle as shown in the photos below. Miso should be simmered and not boiled.

Udon
Depending on the type of udon you have, fresh or dried, cooking time will vary. See instructions on the package. Cook until al dente.

Don’t let the greens get over cooked. Ideally, you want the soup and udon ready to serve at the same time.

Point
Miwa says that the tsumire and dashi will taste better the longer it is stewed. This is one dish that will taste better the next day. However, the fishballs can easily disintegrate into the soup with the passing of several hours if you have too little flour. You can cook this dish well in advance and blanch the greens and boil the udon just before serving.

Serving

Udon should be rinsed with cold water after boiling to firm it up. If you want it piping hot at serving, return it to the boiled water for a moment, the soup should be hot enough to reheat the udon though.

Place the udon in a large bowl and ladle on the tsumire and miso soup, placing the veggies on top.

Enjoy!

Kyoto Greens – Kyo-yasai Mibuna

Kyo-yasai 京野菜 (Kyoto Vegetables) are the traditional vegetables of Kyoto of which Kyoto is very famous for. Mibuna is one of several Kyo-yasai greens and is part of the mustard family.

Kyo-yasai Mibuna – detail

Mibuna leaves are soft and the taste is quite mild, maybe somewhere between spinach and Chinese white cabbage, with just a hint of mustard green.

Iwashi Tsumire – Chopping Sardines

Iwashi Tsumire – Chopping Flour and Scallions into the Sardines

Iwashi Tsumire – Chopping Flour and Scallions into the Sardines

Iwashi Tsumire – Chopping Ginger and Miso into the Sardines

Iwashi Tsumire – Chop and Fold, Chop and Fold

Iwashi Tsumire – Forming Fishballs with Spoon

Notice that the mixture is still pretty course.

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Dashi – Simmering the Fishballs in Dashi

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Dashi – Simmering the Fishballs in Dashi

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Dashi – Add the Vegetables

Add the greens very last, root ends first.

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Dissolving the Miso

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Dissolving the Miso

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Dissolving the Miso

Repeat this process until all miso is dissolved in the ladle.

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Served

Iwashi Tsumire Iri Miso Udon – Served

Reference and Links
More on mibuna at the ‘Vegetables of Interest’ blog.

In Kyoto summer is here! It’s time for cold noodles and vegetables.

Natto: Have you heard about natto? Natto is fermented soybeans which due its pungent smell has many detractors. Many people dislike, some even hate natto. But here at KyotoFoodie, we think that good natto is a wonderful thing! In addition to its ‘challenging’ smell, natto is very ‘nebaneba‘, meaning ‘sticky’ and ‘stringy’. Like, sticky in a way that you have probably never experienced! And, in Japanese cuisine there are a number of ingredients that are sticky and gooey, we combine several here for a yummy, healthy and cooling summer noodle meal.

Nebaneba Hiyashi Udon with Natto, Nagaimo and Okra is one of Paku’s original creations that Peko absolutely LOVES! There are many ‘hiyashi‘, chilled noodle dishes in Japan, but this is a masterpiece! Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze Peko made with some inspiration from Marc. Paku was dubious about mint and cilantro flavored miso but loved it! Mizunasu is a kind of early summer tsukemono in which fresh, young eggplant are lightly picked in saltwater and served chilled. This all goes really well with beer!

Natto and Nagaimo
Natto and nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) are generally available in Western countries now, so we hope that you will give this one a try. Some natto, especially the ‘cheap’ stuff we don’t like. You probably cannot get kuromame (black bean) natto abroad but in our experience, the bigger the beans in the natto, the better it tastes. Also, don’t make too much of the reputed smell of natto, natto, especially modern natto is not that smelly. Western cheeses are far more pungent than natto.

Preparation
Here are the ingredients and basic preparation methods. As with all our homecooking articles here on KyotoFoodie, we just give you the basic idea and as you are all foodies, you can adapt and refine for your tastes. If you haven’t used tsuyu before check if you need to dilute it with water and of course, follow the instructions or your noodles could be far too salty. The photos below illustrate the process and steps.

Nebaneba Hiyashi Udon with Natto, Nagaimo and Okra

• nagaimo (or yamaimo) about 10-15cm, wash or peel and grate
• okra 10-12, blanch in salt water, rinse to cool and slice
• natto 2-3 packages
• scallion 5 chopped
• udon boil and chill (‘fresh’ udon is preferred but high-quality dried udon will work fine too)
• tsuyu 1/2 cup per serving (dashi broth with soy sauce)
• egg yolk 1 per serving (optional)
• shiso leaf (optional)
• jyako (optional)

Boil the udon, rinse well with cold water. Prepare the other indgredients.

Serving: In a large bowl, place several ice cubes. Place the udon noodles over the ice cubes and add the other ingredients in layers. Grated nagaimo goes down first, then well stirred natto. The veggies go on next, if you like raw egg add a single yolk. Finally pour on tsuyu and serve. The noodles should be well chilled when they go into the bowl and by the time it is eaten, the ice cubes should be almost completely melted.

Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze

• sawara (Spanish mackerel)
• fresh mint
• fresh cilantro
• miso paste (white, light, sweet recommended) 3-4 tablespoons
• sake or cooking sake (ryori shu) 2 tablespoons
• mirin 2 tablespoons

Finely chop the mint and cilantro and combine with miso, sake and mirin into a creamy consistency. Save some chopped mint and cilantro for garnish. Marinade the sawara or similar fish for 12-24 hours. Before grilling, wipe off excess miso marinade. When cooking, excessive heat will cause the miso glaze to burn.

Mizunasu Tsukemono
Although we bought our mizunasu it is not difficult to make. We can find a recipe if anyone is interested. It ought to be quite simple; it is eggplant, salt and water.

The ‘Nebaneba’ Ingredients

Natto, nagaimo and okra are stringy, sticky, gooey – not to mention very healthy and delicious! In the liquid-filled plastic bag in the center is mizunasu tsukemono, literally ‘water eggplant’.

Ingredients for Sawara with Minty Miso Glaze

This was inspired by Marc’s Salmon with a minty miso glaze and uses sawara (Spanish mackerel) which is in season now.

Peeling Nagaimo

I (Peko) sometimes don’t peel it, I just scrub it vigorously and that removes all the yucky stuff. I think that Japanese always peel it though.

Grating Nagaimo

Grating nagaimo is kind of enjoyable. It’s like the proverbrial hot knife though butter.

Natto Packaging

Two small packets of mustard and soy sauce are included.

Kuromame ‘Black Bean’ Natto

Stirring Natto

Ice Cold Udon Noodles

Cold udon in often served with a few chunks of ice in the summer.

Pouring on the Grated Nagaimo

A Final Stir of the Natto

Adding the Natto

The Masterpeice! All the Toppings and Tsuyu

On the left, okra, on the top and bottom is kuromame natto, on the right scallions and in the middle an egg yolk. Around the egg yolk Paku sprinkled jyako (tiny dried, seasoned fish fry) and finally a few tablespoons of tsuyu (cold noodle dipping sauce) is poured on. Tsuyu is just dashi with a fair amount of shoyu (soy sauce).

Dinner is Served

Nebaneba cold udon, minty miso glaze grilled sawara, mizunasu tsukemono and of course Japan’s best beer; Yebisu. This makes for a mighty fine summer dinner!

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon – Stir Well and Gobble

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon

Eating Nebaneba Cold Udon

The sakura zensen, or ‘Cherry Blossom Front’ is moving up Japan from south to north and is now passing through the center of the country where Kyoto is located. The delicate sakura blossoms don’t last long though, just a few days. It has already begun ‘raining’ cherry petals here and tomorrow ought to be a downpour.

The sakura is an important symbol for the samurai, and why so is a deep subject. Amid contemplating the sakura blooming, fading and disappearing on a momentary gust of wind, a foodie may ask, “ah, but what to eat?”

Sakura!

Sakura Noodles
Paku came home with sakura udon and sakura soba last night and we made the udon, which was fresh and delicate.

While it is still rather chilly in Kyoto, especially at dinner time we had hiyashi (冷やし), chilled udon. The sakura flavor of the noodles is very subtle and delicate so a light and simple tsuyu (dashi-shoyu based dipping sauce) is all that is needed.

We enjoyed this as ‘tsukemen‘, literally ‘dip’ ‘noodle’. A bit of grated ginger is added to the tsuyu and the noodles are dipped in it and slurped up. Very simple and delicious.

Fresh Sakura Udon and Sakura Soba

Paku got these at Meiji-ya on Sanjo Street. It will only be on the shelves for a very short time.

Fresh Sakura Udon

Fresh Sakura Udon — detail

Sakura Udon — Boiling

Notice the dark bits in the noodle. That is the sakura leaf. The leaf probably has more ‘sakura‘ flavor than the flower.

Sakura Hiyashi Udon (Tsukemen) Simply Served
Take a bit of grated ginger (left) and place it in the tsuyu (right), then dip the noodles and slurp! Tsuke = dip and men = noodles.

Chicken Tsukune Nikomi Udon: Udon, Japanese-style chicken meatballs and vegetables simmered in chicken stock-miso soup

Hobo Nizakana: Red Gurnard Simmered in Sweet Shoyu-sake Broth

Nanohana: Lightly Steamed Rape Blossoms with Sesame Sauce

This is a wonderful, late winter dinner that starts with a rich, bone warming hearty soup. Second an slightly uncommon little red fish simmered in sweetened shoyu broth. And ends with fresh, lightly steamed greens announcing the coming of Spring. We enjoyed this seasonal dinner with a high powered, unfiltered, unpasteurized, undiluted sake from Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery.

The Dinner

The Ingredients for Udon

Broth, nama-udon (fresh udon noodles for simmering), chicken meatballs, veggies (carrots, daikon radish and negi – scallions) and some miso for final flavoring.

Chicken Soup Stock

Peko bought some 50 yen chicken carcasses and broiled and boiled them for our soup stock. Yummy!

‘Nama’ Udon Being Added to the Soup

After the veggies have cooked for about 15 minutes Paku added the nama, or fresh udon. It is not dried, just like ‘fresh pasta’. This very wide udon is for simmering, nikomi (煮込み) in soup. It has not been boiled prior to adding to the soup. Usually, for Japanese noodle dishes the noodles are boiled separately and added to the soup just before being eaten. This is the case for soba, ramen and most udon noodles, the exception being nikomi udon. The miso has not yet been added.

Last Step: Add the Miso and Negi (scallions)

Finally, add the miso and scallions. At this point about half of the soup stock of the had been absorbed by the udon. Yummy!

Chicken Tsukune Nikomi Udon

Healthy and hearty.

Hobo (Red Gurnard)

We hadn’t heard of this fish, the hobo (ほうぼう、魴) before but apparently it is not uncommon. The Red Gurnard is a tasty fish. We affectionately named this one ‘The Dude’. Paku thought that the dude was really cute, even cuter than Peko! In Japan, large ones (40cm+) are especially sought after for sashimi and command high prices. Smaller ones (20-30cm) are used for nizakana, (fish simmered in broth).

Nizakana

Place in a sauce pan, then add the broth ingredients.

Nizakana: Simmering the Fish
Water, cooking sake, mirin, shoyu and sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Super delicious.

Hobo Nizakana Served

Serve in the broth.

Nanohana, or in Kyoto, Hanana – Rape Blossoms
This late winter green is a very well loved veggie in Japan and Kyoto. Claimed by some as a Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetable). A little later in the spring nanohana will have dainty yellow blossoms. We love it steamed or blanched and served with sesame based sauce. Nanohana-zuke (lightly pickled in salt Nanohana) is a popular spring pickle.

A Fine Dinner Served with Fine Sake

We enjoyed this dinner with Muroka Nama-genshu (無濾過生原酒) from Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery (Part 1) that I picked up on a recent visit. This unfiltered (muroka) sake is both namazake and genshu, unpasteurized and undiluted with water. This uncontrived, high-powered sake is straight out of the vat — this is my kind of brew!! (Peko)

How to Prepare?

We think that it would be difficult to prepare the udon dish outside of Japan. So we did not detail the ingredients. If you are reading this blog, you can probably figure it out just from the photos.

If you can get dried, nikomi udon in your county, you can probably pull this one off. The chicken meatballs are just ground chicken, often flavored with some onion, scallion and a little garlic. Sometimes katakuriko is added, even finely cubed konyaku or nagaimo. (Peko says NO katakuriko, as it makes the meatballs too rubbery.)

Paku decided to do a nizakana series and will detail how to make various nizakana dishes — Peko can’t wait!!

Any questions? Let us know!

Paku and I were invited to Uichiro, an elegant handmade soba and udon restaurant yesterday by one of Paku’s foodie friends. Uichiro is in a beautiful old machiya (traditional Kyoto house), has excellent food, great atmosphere and very friendly service.

I had kamo nanban (鴨南蛮そば), which is a popular Kyoto dish combining thick sliced roast duck breast, roast scallions and soba. The roast duck lends a distinct, pungent barbecued taste to the dashi soup.

Dessert was a true novelty; soba kanten jelly! Unheard of!

Article Update: Unfortunately, this commendable restaurant has closed. (20.10.2009)

Duck (kamo) is very popular in Kyoto, and is a ‘winter food’ as it is rich and nutritious. Kamo is enjoyed in soup, ham-like thick sliced roast and the luxurious kamo-nabe.

Uichiro’s rendition of kamo nanban is exquisite because the kamo and scallions have been well grilled before added to the dashi soup. Dashi is already rich and pungent thanks to the katsuobushi (shaved skipjack tuna) that is the base of the soup stock, but this combination takes it over the top. The three of us has never had a Japanese soup that tasted anything like this, it was sublime! And perfect for a snowy, winter day.

Steaming Kamo Nanban Soba

note: The dipping sauce on the left is not for kamo nanban soba, but for the croquettes (see below).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – first course

note: The bowl on the left is delightfully and playfully in the form of a radish! Nuta (left) and mushi-zushi (right).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – main course, tempura soba

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – final course, soba kanten jelly

Kisetsu-no-gozen
Gozen is the polite was to say ‘meal’ in Japanese. Traditionally it was reserved in use for members of the nobility. Now, ‘nice’ lunch sets are often called Gozen… and usually incorporate a rice dish.

Kisetsu in Japanese means, ‘season’.

This one consisted of four dishes in three courses.

Nuta: a fish salad dressed with a miso-vinegar based dressing.
Mushi-zushi: This is a steamed (mushi) variation of the ever popular chirashi-zushi. None of us had ever had this dish before as sushi is not a warm or hot dish. Again, seasonal — it’s winter. The sushi rice seemed to have dashi in it, making it more hearty. The yellow topping is slivered egg. The green leaf garnish is sansho.
Tempura Soba: Shrimp and Sato-imo tempura served on soba.
Soba Kanten Jelly: Simple yet astounding! Again, none of us had ever heard of this dessert. Kanten is a naturally derived jelly that is made from sea vegetables used for many popular desserts in Japanese cuisine. Traditionally it was produced in cold mountainous regions in the winter as freeze drying was essential to creating kanten.

This dessert is unique because the kanten is heavily flavored with soba, probably soba-cha (soba ‘tea’). The reddish-brown garnish sprinkled on top of the jelly is cracked, roasted soba kernels.

The black beans are the well-loved sweetened kuro-mame, literally ‘black bean’, from the Tamba region of Kyoto.

This is one heck of a dessert!

Sato-imo (Japanese taro) Croquettes

Yummy!

Japanese Lacquerware – Urushi

Everything in this photo is lacquered, even the tray. Japanese lacquerware, or urushi, often incorporates fabric. Notice the square at the bottom of the bowl, that is fabric that has been lacquered over. The lip of the bowl is also covered with fabric, as is the grip of the spoon. Urushi is another subject that an entire blog could easily be devoted to. Be sure to stock-up on urushi when you visit Kyoto!

Uichiro Exterior

The Genkan, or Entry Vestibule
A fountain, a cast iron lantern and the ubiquitous ikebana flower arrangement greet the guest upon sliding open the door.

The Front Dining Room

Several obi (帯), or kimono sash decorate the dining room. Perhaps this machiya was once an obi store.

The Front Dining Room

The Front Dining Room – Mochi-bana

This is a winter decoration called mochi-bana, literally ‘mochi flower’. Pieces of red and white mochi (rice cake) are put on willow branches to simulate blossoms. This decoration is a part of the New Year’s (shogatsu) celebration.

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Very friendly
Price: 700 – 1,800 yen.
Location and Access: Uichiro is located a few blocks to the west of Teramachi and Kawaramachi Steets, about 15-20 minutes north of the Shijo/Sanjo Kawaramachi and Shijo/Sanjo Karasuma areas. Probably best accessed on foot.
Address: 604-0944 Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Oshikoji Fuyacho-higashi-iru Tachibana-cho 616
(京都市中京区押小路通麩屋町東入ル橘町616番地)
Telephone: 075-211-8138
Near Sightseeing Spot: The Imperial Palace (10 min. walk to the north), Teramachi Street, Kamo River, Kyoto International Manga Museum.

Map:

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The island of Shikoku is Udon country. And 27 years ago, a man from Shikoku quit his job as a salary man and started Tsunamichi with the intent of making the best damn handmade noodles in Kyoto.

Now a lot of noodle shops have a sign out front reading, ‘teuchi soba‘ (handmade soba), ‘teuchi udon‘ (handmade udon), but actually, very few are really handmade. Tsunamichi is the real deal!

When the master is not cooking noodles in front of customers, he is upstairs making noodles! Making real handmade noodles is hard labor, and Tsunamichi is very popular. What’s more, Tsunamichi is open not just for lunch, but also dinner. Most Mom and Pop type noodle shops are only open for lunch, as it is just such hard work.

While waiting for my noodles, watching the master cook, the steady stream of customers… and then I noticed the sign with the business hours (open for lunch AND dinner), I was like, wow, this guy is superman!

Discovering Tsunamichi:
Paku and I were out looking for some lunch the other day, while I was taking her to a surprise destination; the grave of Lady Murasaki Shikibu, considered to have written the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji.

It was lunchtime and we were starving and cold and I saw a sign for a noodle shop pointing down a little street and decided to investigate. Once inside, we soon realized that we had happened upon a mecca for Kyoto noodle lovers.

Later Paku searched on the internet and I talked to some friends, it seemed that somehow we were the only people around that had never heard of Tsunamichi!

Tsunamichi’s Miso Nikomi Udon

A Little About Udon:
Tsunamichi is not ‘Kyoto’, it is ‘country-style’ noodles, in Kyoto.

As stated above, Shikoku is udon country, or undon, as it is apparently called in the local dialect. And Sanuki Udon is the udon. When Japanese think of udon, they invariably think ‘Sanuki’. Sanuki is the ancient name of the country that is modern-day Kagawa Prefecture.

Knowledge of udon was conveyed to Japan more than 1000 years ago by the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi). Kukai was from Sanuki and when he returned to Japan, in addition to Buddhism he taught what he had learned about noodles in China. And there, the seed of Japanese udon culture was planted. More than 1000 years later, this love of udon flourishes, the people of Sanuki are very, very particular about their udon.

In fact there is a strict and legal definition of what qualifies as Sanuki Udon.

• Must be made in Kagawa Prefecture
• Must be handmade
• By weight, water must be more than 40% as compared to wheat flour
• By weight, salt must be more than 3% as compared to wheat flour
• Must be ‘ripened’ (jukusei, 熟成) at least 2 hours before cutting

If you want to try a taste of Sanuki on Kyoto, Tsunamichi is the place.

Udon for Winter: Miso Nikomi Udon
I visited Tsunamichi twice in the last month and both times ordered the same dish, Miso Nikomi Udon (みそ煮込みうどん).

Nikomi, means to be simmered in. Miso is the same miso as miso soup. So, this dish is udon noodles that have been simmered in a thick miso based soup. The soup and udon noodles are placed in a small metal or ceramic ‘nabe‘, vegetables such as leeks added, plus sliced atsuage tofu, fish cake and a raw egg. This is cooked over high heat for five minutes or so. Until the veggies and egg are lightly cooked and is then served.

This is wonderful dish for winter. A rich and nutritious soup with thick, chewy udon. It is usually still boiling vigorously when served. After a few minutes, it starts to approach an edible temperature and about this time the egg is cooked. (If aren’t up for raw egg, this dish is safe.)

To further cool the soup and noodle mixture, it is spooned into a smaller bowl.

Shichimi (seven flavored chili pepper) can be sprinkled on either when it is transfered to this smaller bowl, or when it arrives, boiling vigorously in the nabe pot.

Tsunamichi serves both handmade soba and udon. Also, rice dishes like donburi. There are all the numerous noodle dishes, Tsunamichi doesn’t seem to offer any originals, just the classic Japanese lunch fare with noodles made with love and the taste and spirit of Sanuki.

Miso Nikomi Udon with Shichimi in a Small Bowl

notice the egg is now cooked

The Menu

Many traditional restaurants in Japan have their dishes written with brush and ink on these boards.

The Menu – Detail

Tsunamichi Store Front

Tsunamichi Store Front – Detail

Plastic food, even the plastic looks tasty!

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Friendly
Price: 700 – 1,300 yen.
Location and Access: Bus, Subway. Tsunamichi is located about a 3 minute walk east from Kitaoji Bus Terminal, Kitaoji Subway Station and Kitaoji Vivre Shopping Center.
Address: Kyoto-shi Kita-ku Kitaoji-dori Karasuma Higashi-hitosuji Kita-iru Kitakamifusa-cho 39-2 (京都市北区北大路通烏丸東一筋北入ル北上総町39-2)
Telephone: 075-492-7860
Near Sightseeing Spot: Daitokuji Temple (10 min. bus)
Map:

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