There are many varieties of Japanese noodles – each used for different tasty Japanese dishes. However, the most popular are ramen, soba, and udon noodles, unique both in their ingredients and visual appearance. They are often served chilled with dipping sauces, in soups or in a variety of hot dishes.
In our restaurant and noodle bar in Cork City we use all of these 3 noodle types in our wok and soup dishes.
Ramen Noodles
Ramen noodles are wheat based. Ingredients include wheat flour, water, salt, and typically eggs. Surprisingly, they originated in China, but eventually found their way to Japan. Ramen noodles are considered by the Japanese as comfort food.
Fresh ramen noodles are often used together with a hearty soup broth.
Soba Noodles
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and wheat flour. The finest (and usually most expensive) variety, consists entirely of buckwheat. This type of Japanese noodles originate from Nagano, but the buckwheat is shipped in primarily from the Hokkaido region. They tend to be wider than other noodle varieties and served either hot or cold, often with accompanying sauces.
Udon Noodles
Like many Japanese noodles, udon noodles are served both hot or cold. The udon noodle is very popular throughout Japan and is made from wheat flour.
Udon noodles are often served in a mildly flavoured broth as a soup.