Noodles ── Udon
Shippoku Udon
Shippoku Udon — Sanuki udon under a bowlful of simmered winter vegetables
Eaten across Kagawa from autumn into winter, this ladles dried-sardine-simmered winter vegetables and fried tofu over udon. It's said to layer the sweetness of winter vegetables onto Sanuki udon's firm bite.
- Origin: Kagawa
- About 540 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
The core is boiled udon under a handful of winter vegetables — daikon, carrot, scallion — plus tofu and fried tofu, all simmered together in dried-sardine dashi and ladled over the noodle, vegetables and broth alike. Sanuki udon's firm bite and smooth texture carry the sweetness of the vegetables and the flavor of the fried tofu.
How it's made
Seasonal vegetables such as daikon and carrot are simmered together with fried tofu in dried-sardine dashi. The mixture, broth included, is ladled over boiled udon. Scallion and ginger go on as garnish, and some households or shops add chicken or pork for extra depth.
Why it took this shape
Kagawa's dry, mild climate suits growing good wheat, the Seto Inland Sea supplies the anchovies that become dried-sardine dashi, and soy sauce production is said to have flourished there too. Those conditions together are said to have settled udon into the region, and in winter, ladling a whole pot of simmered seasonal vegetables over it became shippoku udon.
Before you go
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
- Foods to look for in summerA guide to foods often seen in Japan around summer — eel on the Day of the Ox, hiyashi chuka, somen, shaved ice, edamame with beer, and hamo — with rough pointers for finding them.
- What staff say, and how to respondCommon set phrases you'll hear at restaurants, with what they mean and what to do when you hear them. You don't need to memorize them — just recognizing them is enough.
Dishes in the same style
- Bukkake UdonUdon 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.
- 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.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Kagawa
- Aji no SanbaiAji (horse mackerel) is grilled until lightly charred, then steeped in a three-part vinegar dressing sharpened with chili and ginger. The vinegar is said to soften the bones enough to eat whole, and the dish has long served as a summer festival accompaniment to drinks around the Seto Inland Sea.
- Anmochi ZoniA New Year zoni made by simmering daikon, kintoki carrot, and a round rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste in dried-sardine broth, finished with white miso. Said to have begun as a once-a-year treat using sugar, once a costly commodity in the Edo period.
- Ebi Miso JiruSmall shell-on shrimp are pureed with rice rinse water, then simmered with white miso and tofu. Served as part of the roughly 300-year-old sacred sake festival at Uga Shrine in Toyonaka, Mitoyo, where it has long accompanied the shrine's home-brewed doburoku.
- Hage DangoFreshly milled new-wheat dumplings are coated in a simple red-bean paste. Traditionally made around Hangeshō, the early-July turning point when the rains break, as thanks for the season's farm work, and offered to household gods before the family eats.
- Ikanago shoyuA fish sauce fermented from sand lance and salt for six months or more, mainly produced in the Aji district of Takamatsu, Kagawa. It is said to have disappeared for a time before local volunteers revived production around 1998, and it is counted among Japan's three great fish sauces.
- ImotakoOctopus from the Seto Inland Sea and taro are simmered together in a simple seasoned broth. Once reserved for New Year and wedding feasts, it is said to have become an everyday side dish today.