Noodles ── Udon
Bukkake Udon
Bukkake udon — chilled noodles doused in a concentrated sauce, tossed with the toppings
Udon boiled and chilled in cold water, then doused directly with a concentrated sauce. Scallion and grated daikon go on top, and mixing everything together boldly is said to be the standard way of eating it. A hot version, using warm broth instead, is also said to exist.
What it's made of
Bukkake udon is noodles boiled and chilled in cold water, then doused directly with a concentrated sauce. Unlike zaru, where the noodle is dipped into sauce, here the sauce is poured straight over the noodle from above. Tossing everything together boldly with scallion and grated daikon on top is said to be the standard way of eating it.
How it's made
Boiled noodles are rinsed firm in cold water, plated, and doused directly with concentrated sauce. Condiments such as scallion and grated daikon go on top, and the whole bowl is said to be mixed together with chopsticks so the sauce coats every strand before eating. A warm version, using heated broth instead, is also said to exist, giving a choice of hot or cold.
Why it took this shape
Set against zaru udon, where the noodle is dipped into sauce, bukkake — sauce poured directly over the noodle and mixed through — is said to have spread as a way to coat the whole bowl in strong flavor and eat it in one go. Unlike kama-age, which uses the noodle straight from boiling, chilling it in cold water first is said to be the condition that keeps bukkake its own distinct form.
Before you go
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Dishes in the same style
- Chikara UdonKake udon topped with a piece of grilled mochi. The name is said to trace to mochi's reputation as a food that "gives you strength," carrying more calories than plain rice. In the Kinki region it is also called kachin udon, from okachin, an old courtly word for mochi.
- Chitake UdonEaten around Obon in Tochigi, this pours a dashi of stir-fried chitake mushroom and eggplant over udon. It's said to have arisen where udon kneaded for Obon met a mushroom that appears only in summer.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Contrast
- Kamaage UdonUdon moved straight from the pot to the bowl, boiling water and all, without ever being rinsed in cold water. Skipping that chill is said to leave the noodle soft and fluffy, and dipping it a little at a time into a separate sauce is said to be the standard way of eating it.
- Zaru UdonUdon boiled and chilled in cold water, served on a bamboo strainer or similar vessel, and dipped into a concentrated sauce. Ginger, scallion, and sesame are said to be the common condiments. It stands as one of the basic cold-udon forms, set against hot kake udon.