Soup and Toppings

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During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, udon became a popular fast food in the city of Osaka, then the commercial center of the country. Noodle makers there have long mixed both local and regional Japanese wheat to make special udon flour, but what has always distinguished udon in Osaka is its delicious soup. The secret lies in the strong umami of its dashi, made of a complex blend of high quality kombu from Hokkaido and katsuobushi, along with other dried fish flakes such as mackerel and mejika, a species of bonito. This combination of kombu’s glutamic acid with the inosinic acid element of the dried fish flakes increases the overall umami of the soup by seven or eight times, compared to dashi made with kombu or katsuobushi alone. Seasoning this umami-rich broth with usukuchi light color soy sauce, plus a small amount of mirin, produces a very elegant soup which makes the udon noodles taste even better.
In Osaka, udon has evolved over the years, resulting in a variety of recipes. Tamago-toji udon is similar to egg-drop soup, and is garnished with chopped green onion. Similar to this is savory steamed egg custard with boiled udon, called odamaki-mushi. Traditionally, this involves pouring beaten eggs mixed with dashi six times the amount of egg over a bowl of udon and other ingredients and steaming it. Kitsune udon with abura-age deep-fried tofu seasoned with soy sauce, sugar and dashi is an Osaka specialty. Other popular dishes include udon topped with beef or covered in curry. Udon topped with sliced tamago-yaki rolled omelet, sweet simmered shiitake mushrooms, slices of kamaboko fish cake and chopped green onion is another variation. There is also an udon dish where the broth is thickened with kudzu starch
 

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Regional Variations

Udon is enjoyed throughout Japan, but its cooking styles and soup flavors tend to differ by region. In general, the soup is lighter in color in the western part of the country and darker in the east and north. Distinctive to the Nagoya area in western Aichi Prefecture is miso-nikomi udon, served in a thick soup made with Hatcho miso fermented from locally grown soybeans, to which chicken and egg are added. It is served bubbling hot in an earthenware pot.
 

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