UDON SCHOOL
2012年01月21日
There really is an Udon School in Takamatsu and at the end of last year just before Christmas, Oh san my fellow blogger from China and my good-self went to write our reports about the school and how to make a decent bowl of the perennial favorite from Kagawa; Sanuki Udon.
Udon school (Sanuki Men Gyo) is located on the southern side of the Ritsurin Tunnel, quite easy to get to by car or taxi from Takamatsu Station and there is a bus service to the area.
We arrived at the school, which is really a large room in an udon factory and greeted our teacher for the day, who was such a good-natured and very friendly man and he prepped us for the morning’s work. The reality is of course that this is a short course and once anyone’s done it, making the delicious noodles isn’t that hard. To make great noodles of course will take years of practice.
The basic stuff of udon couldn’t be simpler … flour and water. That’s it. Plain old flour and water. But centuries of eating noodles in Asia have given us all a great variety of both noodles and ways of preparation. I like ‘em all even the spaghetti variety that Marco Polo is said to have introduced to Europe from his long sojourn to China.
Udon needs a lot of quick & physical pounding, rolling, kneading, re-pounding and even trampling for those who don’t have enough power to do it to get just the right viscosity and texture. If we miss doing this right, it doesn’t taste good at all. If it’s the wrong elasticity, texture and viscosity it’s all over and may as well be thrown out.
The people of Kagawa insist their udon is the best and I believe them, as it didn’t taste very good in Tokyo when I tried a few bowls there. Some say it’s the water in the prefecture, others say the flour and perhaps it’s both.
The dough was put into plastic bags and kneaded then inspected by our teacher until he was satisfied that it was nearing something like halfway passable udon.
So we peppered the table with flour and labored away for a while and then it was time to roll it out by a long stick, wind it back on the stick a few more times, roll it out again and finally cut it into strips. The thickness and width of the noodles is critical to the taste and I bungled mine badly …
Oh san made some really good noodles and I felt ashamed at my pathetic effort in comparison. Maybe it’s because she’s Chinese and has been around noodles longer? We then boiled them for about 15 minutes, served it hot with stock (dashi) then garnished with ginger and chopped green onions. Anyway, unlike mine, hers tasted pretty good.
So if you’re in Kagawa and need a cheap afternoon or morning’s fun this is the place and guess what? We both received a graduation diploma. Please contact the Takamatsu Tourist Information Office for details. Or write me and I’ll provide the contacts of this school for you.
That’s it for this week and I’ll be back before the end of the month so please keep all those cards, letters and comments coming in!
Udon school (Sanuki Men Gyo) is located on the southern side of the Ritsurin Tunnel, quite easy to get to by car or taxi from Takamatsu Station and there is a bus service to the area.
We arrived at the school, which is really a large room in an udon factory and greeted our teacher for the day, who was such a good-natured and very friendly man and he prepped us for the morning’s work. The reality is of course that this is a short course and once anyone’s done it, making the delicious noodles isn’t that hard. To make great noodles of course will take years of practice.
The basic stuff of udon couldn’t be simpler … flour and water. That’s it. Plain old flour and water. But centuries of eating noodles in Asia have given us all a great variety of both noodles and ways of preparation. I like ‘em all even the spaghetti variety that Marco Polo is said to have introduced to Europe from his long sojourn to China.
Udon needs a lot of quick & physical pounding, rolling, kneading, re-pounding and even trampling for those who don’t have enough power to do it to get just the right viscosity and texture. If we miss doing this right, it doesn’t taste good at all. If it’s the wrong elasticity, texture and viscosity it’s all over and may as well be thrown out.
The people of Kagawa insist their udon is the best and I believe them, as it didn’t taste very good in Tokyo when I tried a few bowls there. Some say it’s the water in the prefecture, others say the flour and perhaps it’s both.
The dough was put into plastic bags and kneaded then inspected by our teacher until he was satisfied that it was nearing something like halfway passable udon.
So we peppered the table with flour and labored away for a while and then it was time to roll it out by a long stick, wind it back on the stick a few more times, roll it out again and finally cut it into strips. The thickness and width of the noodles is critical to the taste and I bungled mine badly …
Oh san made some really good noodles and I felt ashamed at my pathetic effort in comparison. Maybe it’s because she’s Chinese and has been around noodles longer? We then boiled them for about 15 minutes, served it hot with stock (dashi) then garnished with ginger and chopped green onions. Anyway, unlike mine, hers tasted pretty good.
So if you’re in Kagawa and need a cheap afternoon or morning’s fun this is the place and guess what? We both received a graduation diploma. Please contact the Takamatsu Tourist Information Office for details. Or write me and I’ll provide the contacts of this school for you.
That’s it for this week and I’ll be back before the end of the month so please keep all those cards, letters and comments coming in!
"Pat has lived in Takamatsu continuously since arriving here on a one year study and leave 1981. Originally from Tasmania, Australia, he was involved in education at a variety of levels including as a specialist teacher for children with learning difficulties, and at senior high schools throughout the state. Pat is employed full-time by the i-pal Kagawa International Exchange as a co-oridintaor for international relations amongst other duties including traveling to schools and giving talks in Japanese to kids about Australia. He has been involved with youth education exchanges between Japan and Australia for many years.
Pat has been many things in his colorful life including a seaman, helmsman, welder, carpenter, traffic warden, scholarship/studentship winner at the university of Tasmania, staff at the Australian Embassy in London to name but a few. Pat has far too many hobbies which include tennis, playing jazz flutes and saxes, riding bicycles with the Takamatsu Cycling Club all of which his long-suffering family tolerate. Recently he's become interested in painting again. His wife wishes he would put more time in to helping around the house and the garden which he artfully avoids ..."
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Posted by pat at 11:34
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