Udon

No single place of origin13

• Bukkake Udonchilled noodles doused in a concentrated sauce, tossed with the toppings
• Chikara Udonkake udon topped with a piece of grilled mochi
• Curry Udondashi and curry combined into a broth poured over hot noodles
• Hiyashi Udona general name for cold udon dishes eaten to beat the summer heat
• Kake Udonthe most basic bowl, hot broth poured over reheated noodles
• Kamaage Udonnoodles moved from the pot to the bowl without ever being rinsed
• Kamatama Udonhot noodles straight from the pot, tossed with a raw egg and soy sauce
• Nabeyaki Udonudon simmered and served bubbling in its own small earthen pot
• Niku Udonkake udon topped with sweet-and-savory simmered beef
• Tenobe Udona hand-stretched dried noodle, twisted and pulled thin instead of cut
• Tenpura Udonhot udon topped with deep-fried shrimp or other tempura
• Teuchi Udonudon dough kneaded, trodden, and cut by hand
• Zaru Udonnoodles chilled in water and served on a bamboo strainer, dipped in sauce

The dishes behind chain flavors

The flavors of national chains are said to trace back to dishes from particular places. Pick a chain to see the dish behind it.

• Marugame Seimen — self-serve Sanuki-style udon chain

  Marugame Seimen's in-store noodle making and kamaage service are said to carry the format of Sanuki's noodle-shop and self-serve udon culture nationwide.

  • →Firm, chewy wheat noodles from Kagawa, the udon prefecture
  • →Kamaage udon — noodles moved from the pot to the bowl without ever being rinsed

• Hanamaru Udon — casual self-serve Sanuki udon chain

  Hanamaru Udon's casual interior and self-serve style are said to have brought Sanuki udon's noodle-shop culture nationwide in a format more approachable for younger customers.

  • →Firm, chewy wheat noodles from Kagawa, the udon prefecture
  • →Bukkake udon — chilled noodles doused in a concentrated sauce, tossed with the toppings

• Maki no Udon — soft-noodle udon chain from Fukuoka's ItoshimaOnly in Fukuoka

  Maki no Udon's noodles, boiled for a long time until very soft, and its sweeter dashi are considered one lineage of the udon culture in Fukuoka's Itoshima area, connected to Hakata udon.

  • →Soft noodles from the temple town where udon itself began
  • →Thin hand-pulled noodles made with island camellia oil

• West — Fukuoka udon chain born as a roadside drive-inOnly in Fukuoka

  West's udon grew out of a roadside drive-in food complex, said to have spread the Fukuoka lineage of soft noodles and dashi connected to Hakata udon in a roadside restaurant format.

  • →Soft noodles from the temple town where udon itself began
  • →Kamaage udon — noodles moved from the pot to the bowl without ever being rinsed

• Sukesan Udon — Kitakyushu udon chain known for gobo-ten toppingOnly in Fukuoka

  Sukesan Udon's gobo-ten (burdock tempura) udon is said to pair the soft-noodle lineage connected to Hakata udon with a burdock-tempura topping long favored in the Kitakyushu area.

  • →Soft noodles from the temple town where udon itself began
  • →Niku udon — kake udon topped with sweet-and-savory simmered beef

• Kineya — Japan's first self-styled hand-pounded udon chain

  Kineya's udon, hand-pounded in view of customers, is said to spread the Sanuki udon hand-pounding method that its founder learned by regularly traveling to Kagawa, nationwide, by demonstrating it in-store.

  • →Firm, chewy wheat noodles from Kagawa, the udon prefecture
  • →Teuchi udon — udon dough kneaded, trodden, and cut by hand

• Yamada Udon Shokudo — Saitama comfort-food udon chainOnly in Saitama

  Yamada Udon's thick, chewy noodles are said to spread, in a diner format, the thick hand-made noodle culture connected to Musashino udon, long eaten in farming communities of Saitama and northern Kanto.

  • →Saitama no Udon — a family of local wheat noodle styles across the prefecture
  • →Thick, dark noodles from the wheat farms of the Musashino plateau

• Iyo Seimen — self-serve Sanuki udon chain

  Iyo Seimen's in-store noodle making and kamaage service, despite the "Iyo" (old Ehime) name, is counted among the chains, alongside Marugame Seimen, that spread the self-serve Sanuki udon style nationwide.

  • →Firm, chewy wheat noodles from Kagawa, the udon prefecture
  • →Kamaage udon — noodles moved from the pot to the bowl without ever being rinsed

• Tsurumaru Udon — self-serve Sanuki udon chain from Fujio Food System

  Tsurumaru Udon's in-store noodle making and self-serve style are said to bring Sanuki udon's noodle-shop culture nationwide through food-court and street-level locations.

  • →Firm, chewy wheat noodles from Kagawa, the udon prefecture
  • →Zaru udon — noodles chilled in water and served on a bamboo strainer, dipped in sauce

• Aji no Mingei — hand-stretched udon restaurant chain from Okayama

  Aji no Mingei's hand-stretched udon is said to spread the tenobe (hand-stretched dough) udon lineage, also seen in Himi udon, nationwide in a family-restaurant format paired with Japanese-style dishes.

  • →Tenobe udon — a hand-stretched dried noodle, twisted and pulled thin instead of cut
  • →Hand-stretched noodles from a fishing town on the Toyama coast