Hiyashi Tanuki Udon is cold Udon noodles with a cold sauce and Tenkasu, fried Tempura batter crumbs. It is very refreshing but also satisfyingly rich from the Tempura crumbs. Hiyashi Tanuki Udon is a great dish during summer when you don’t want to make complicated dishes in a hot kitchen. If you have your Mentsuyu (a multi-purpose sauce) and Tenkasu handy (especially in a bag), the hardest part of the cooking is done.
Hiyashi Chuka or Reimen (冷やし中華, 冷麺) are cold Chinese style noodles with a sweet tangy sauce. Hiyashi Chuka is served at Ramen restaurants in Japan only during summer. Chuka Men (中華麺), wheat flour noodles that are the same kind in Ramen, are used in Hiyashi Chuka. The light and refreshing taste of this dish, on top of the coldness itself, make this the perfect food for hot summer days.
Udon are Japanese wheat noodles. They are made from all purpose flour, water and salt. Very simple affair, so it seems. Japanese Udon artisans make Udon that look like the ones made by machines. You can see those artisans making Udon noodles through the window at the front of good Udon restaurants. It is actually pretty amazing to watch. Udon is sometimes eaten hot in seasoned broth, but other times, it is eaten cold and dipped in sauce. It is an extremely popular lunch food in Japan and also in the US. A lot of Japanese restaurants in the US serve Udon and stores sell the noodles for home cooking, but you can make it at home. And not just the dish, I mean you can really make the Udon noodles themselves.
Soba noodles are a very popular lunch food in Japan. They are usually served chilled with a dipping sauce (Zaru Soba) or hot with a dashi broth. As we mentioned in our recent Zaru Soba post, it is gaining popularity outside of Japan because of its high nutritious value. However, it is very rare to see soba served Japanese style with a dipping sauce or in a broth in the U.S. unless you are at a Japanese restaurant. Soba is most likely prepared as noodle salad here!
Somen are Japanese dried vermicelli noodles that are usually eaten cold during summer. Japanese summer is so hot and humid that you often loose your appetite by the end of the day. When you don’t want to eat anything, cold Somen is very nice and easy to eat. We adults like it, but our kids like it even more because not only is it tasty but also because it’s fun to eat… noodles in ice water… they like that kind of thing.