2012年9月25日 09:50
Japanese cuisine. (1) Noodles.
I can't pretend to know a lot of things about Japanese food. Back in Romania, I've been to a few Japanese restaurants, but I was usually picking several types of sushi, tempura and sweets. After coming to Kyōto, I made a promise to myself that I'd try to avoid eating Western food while I'm here, because I'm trying to experience as many aspects of Japanese culture as possible.
As I've only been here for a week, I haven't had time to try that many dishes, of course. I'll describe only those that I've come across so far. Not all at once, don't worry.
Soba are a type of thin noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko), mixed with a small amount of wheat flour (komugi-ko). They are very rich in essential nutrients and can be used in a multitude of dishes, hot as well as cold. I've had yakisoba, noodles stir-fried in a special sauce and served with different toppings, such as chopped scallions, beni shōga (thin strips of pickled ginger), katsuobushi (dried fish flakes) and fried egg. It was really delicious.
(Later I found out that yakisoba is not actually made with soba noodles, but with ramen-style ones. Which means I have yet to try them.)
Udon are thick noodles, kneaded from wheat flour, water and salt. They can also be served hot or chilled, during the hot seasons. I've eaten them in a bowl of very tasty soup.
Ramen noodles were originally imported for China, and they're also made out of wheat flour, salt, water, with the addition of kansui (a type of mineral water ). They come in lots of different shapes and lengths and are used in numerous dishes. Besides the traditional ones, each region has its own ramen specialty.
I've had them in a clear soup, topped with sliced beef. Looking around, I could see that everyone around me was slurping their noodles noisily and enjoying their soup, and I tried my best to do the same, while I could almost hear my mother's voice ringing in my head: "Never slurp your soup. Never!". But it was extremely hot, so after burning my tongue and lips a few times, I gave up and waited for it to cool off for a little bit, after which I slurped my noodles as quietly as I could. I know that the point of the whole slurping thing is to help cool the noodles, but I have yet to get used to it.
And last, but not least, sōmen. They're very thin noodles, made of wheat flour. Their lighter texture makes them perfect to be enjoyed cold, accompanied by a dipping sauce called tsuyu, garnished with freshly ground ginger, chopped scallions and roasted sesame seeds. The dish is very tasty in itself, but it can be turned into a spectacular one. I had the pleasure to be invited at a party by shachō-sama (I'm so extremely grateful for all the interest she takes in me), and there, besides a lot of other Japanese dishes, among which there were sushi (I'll come back to that in a whole different chapter), yakiniku, and the yakisoba I was mentioning earlier, I really enjoyed eating sōmen. They were served in a special way, named nagashi sōmen (flowing sōmen). A long flume of bamboo was placed at a top of the staircase, a small stream of cold water flowing all the way to the bottom, carrying the sōmen with it. Scattered all along the staircase, we were trying to catch the noodles with our chopsticks, dipping them in the soup, being careful not to let any strings run us by. It was a really interesting experience, and I had a lot of fun as well.
More Japanese dishes coming up, so stay tuned!