cooking udon and soba

[Guest guest]

Hey, all! All the recipes for udon and soba noodles make me hungry!!

Please remember when you are cooking these noodles, however, that - no

matter what your recipe says - you do not cook these like regular Italian

pasta. Instead of just boiling them in lots of water (which just makes

them soft), please follow the directions below to obtain a chewy, springy

noodle - a much nicer texture and the one that Japanese chefs strive for.

Proper noodle making is an art in Japan - watch the movie _Tampopo_

sometime if you don't believe me. :-)

 

Anyway - fill a large pot (about twice as big as you think you need) and

fill in halfway with water. As soon as the water begins to boil, add the

noodles. As soon as the water returns to a boil, add a cup of cold water

to stop the boiling (this is called shocking the noodles. [Pouring cold

water over cooked noodles is also called shocking them, but that's neither

here nor there]). Anyway - do this three or four times - keep the water

temperature just below boiling most of the time, and " shock " the noodles

every time the water starts boiling. After the third time, taste a noodle.

If it is almost al dente (but a bit chewier), it's ready. Otherwise let it

go one more time, then try again. Don't overcook the noodles - the

chewiness is essential.

 

Lisa (who lived in Japan for two years but is still a novice noodle maker)

 

P.S. for those of you who cook gluten-fre noodles from time to time (rice

or others), this method often works to improve the texture of those pastas

as well. I have used it with the Ener-G rice pasta and it really helped

keep it from falling apart.

 

Lisa T. Bennett (LTBennett)

The Organic Goddess Vegan Bakery and Catering, Atlanta, GA, USA

 

" The animals of the world exist for their own purposes. They

were not made for humans any more than blacks were made for

whites, or women for men. " ---Alice Walker