Udon

Udon (饂飩) is a type of thick wheat-based noodle popular in Japanese cuisine. Udon is said to have been imported to Japan from China in 6th century. This original udon was 2 to 3cm in diameter, a flat pancake shaped "noodle" added to the miso-based soup.

They are usually served in a mildly flavored broth (e.g., as Kake Udon served in Kake Jiru made of dashi, shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) and mirin), and with tempura shrimp or Kakiage, or fried soy bean (tofu) pockets.

The flavor of broth and topping vary from city to city, town to town, and village to village.

There are wide variations in both thickness and shape.

• Houtou (ほうとう)
• Inaniwa (稲庭)
• Ise-udon (伊勢うどん)
• Kansai-udon (関西うどん)
• Kishimen (きし麺)
• Sanuki (讃岐)
• Soumen (素麺)
• Umen (うーめん)