Udon noodles made from flour and buckwheat noodles called soba are the most popular varieties of Japanese noodles. Udon noodles are made from wheat flour, which is mixed with salt and water into a lump of dough. After that the dough is rolled out so that it is thin and then it is cut into strips. Traditionally, thin and brown buckwheat noodles have been preferred in the eastern part of Japan, while thick and white udon noodles have been preferred in the western part of Japan. People eat udon both hot and cold. Chilled noodles dipped in cold broth are especially preferred during the hot and humid Japanese summers. Like soba, udon can be eaten simply in a broth garnished with small quantities of condiments such as scallions and red pepper. People often eat udon, however, with their favorite ingredients such as deep fried tofu (bean curd), prawn tempura, raw eggs, and slices of boiled fish paste called kamaboko. Many people also prefer to eat nabeyaki udon, which refers to udon noodles cooked with vegetables, meat, and broth in an earthenware dish. While nabeyaki udon is eaten all year round, it is especially popular during the winter.

In addition to udon there are several other kinds of noodles made from flour. These noodles mainly differ by their shape. Hiyamugi, which is served chilled, is thinner than udon and somen, which is also usually served chilled, is the thinnest of all. Kishimen, long and flat noodles, are also well-known. Kishimen is a specialty from Nagoya (in Aichi Prefecture).

Many Westerners may be offended when the Japanese slurp their noodles. This is quite proper, however, because it is necessary to eat the noodles quickly. Otherwise the noodles will get soft. In other words, slurping noodles is the way to eat noodles so that they do not lose their flavor. For this reason, it is not considered bad manners in Japan to make noise when eating noodles.

Buckwheat noodles called soba and another type of noodles made from flour called udon are the most popular varieties of Japanese noodles. Buckwheat noodles are made from buckwheat flour and a small quantity of other ingredients such as wheat flour, grated yam, and egg white, which are added to make the buckwheat stick together. Salt and water are then added to make dough. Next the dough is kneaded, rolled thinly with a rolling pin, and then cut into thin strips. Buckwheat noodles are generally light brown due to the color of the buckwheat flour, but there are also green noodles called chasoba. Cha means tea and the color of the green noodles comes from a small quantity of tea that is added to the dough.

First the buckwheat noodles are boiled and then they are eaten with tsuyu. Tsuyu is a broth seasoned with soy sauce and another seasoning called mirin that contains sweet sake and other ingredients. There are two ways to eat the buckwheat noodles. One way is called kakesoba, which means that the noodles are served right after being boiled and eaten in a hot broth while the noodles are still hot. The other way is called zarusoba, which means that the noodles are chilled in cold water first. Then the person eating dips the noodles in a cold broth and eats them. Noodles can be eaten simply in a broth garnished with small quantities of condiments such as scallions, red pepper, and wasabi (Japanese horseradish). People often eat soba, however, with their favorite ingredients such as deep fried tofu (bean curd), prawn tempura, and raw eggs. Buckwheat noodles are very popular in Japan and people often prefer them when they would like a light meal. Soba is especially popular for lunch.

Nabemono is a term for a dish cooked in one-pot right at the table. It is eaten from a large pot boiling over a portable stove that is set on the table. There are various kinds of one-pot dishes including sukiyaki, mizutaki, yosenabe, and shabu-shabu. These dishes are very popular in the winter season because people can get really warm by eating the hot foods straight from the boiling pot. It is not necessary to make elaborate preparations for nabemono dishes. All you have to do is to prepare warishita, a mixture of broth and other seasonings, cut ingredients such as meat, seafood, vegetables, and tofu and then arrange them on a platter.

Since there is not any particular rule about the ingredients to be used, you can choose your favorite ingredients. In addition, it is quite easy to adjust the amount to be prepared according to the portions required. For this reason nabemono dishes are suitable for occasions on which many people sit around a table such as family gatherings, parties, and so forth.

Various Nabemono Dishes and their Ingredients

Sukiyaki

Common ingredients include thinly sliced beef, vegetables such as negi (green onions) and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), mushrooms such as shiitake and enokidake, tofu, shirataki (noodles made from devil's-tongue starch). There are two different recipes for sukiyaki. People in the eastern part of Japan cook the ingredients in warishita which is a mixture of broth, soy sauce, sake, mirin (sweet sake used for cooking), and sugar while people in the western part of Japan first melt beef fat in the pan and then add soy sauce and sugar to flavor the ingredients as they cook. In both cases, each mouthful of cooked ingredients is dipped into beaten raw egg before eating.

Mizutaki

Chopped chicken, tofu, and vegetables are boiled in stock and then eaten with citrus juice and soy sauce.

Yosenabe

Chicken, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, shirataki, kamaboko (boiled fish paste), and other ingredients are boiled in a broth seasoned with soy sauce, sake, and mirin.

Shabu-shabu

Thin slices of beef are dipped in boiling water and then eaten with a mixture of citrus juice and soy sauce or sesame sauce.

Ishikari-nabe

This a specialty from Hokkaido. Chunks of salmon, tofu, and vegetables are boiled in broth seasoned with miso.

Miso is one of the soybean foods that is indispensable for Japanese who eat rice. It is made from boiled and mashed soybeans mixed with salt and koji. Koji is a substance such as wheat, barley, rice, or soybean malt that helps the soybeans to ferment. The mixture is left until it ripens. This can take from several months to three years, but the mixture generally to ripens in six months to a year.

Miso originated in China approximately 2500 years ago. It was introduced to Japan by Buddhist priests in the seventh century. In the hundreds of years that followed the original miso introduced from China was transformed into the unique miso used today in Japan. The use of miso became widespread among the general public during the Muromachi period (1338 to 1581).

Miso contains abundant protein and can be used as a seasoning for a variety of dishes. Miso soup is one of the most representative of the dishes that are cooked with miso. Miso contains easily digestible amino acids including the essential amino acids that rice lacks. For this reason miso soup is indispensable for compensating for the protein poverty of Japanese people who live on rice. Miso is also used for boiling strong-scented fish since it absorbs odors. Moreover, fish and meat can be preserved in miso as it contains much salt and therefore keeps food them from going bad. In addition miso can be blended with other seasonings and spices and is often used as a dressing for vegetables and sea foods.

In the old days each family had its own homemade miso that had an original taste. Even today numerous kinds of miso are still produced. Some is regional miso and other miso is made by manufacturers through their own processes. Miso, however, is roughly divided into two types. One is akamiso that is a brownish color and has a dry taste and the other is shiromiso that is a whitish color and tastes sweeter.

In Japanese, homemade miso is called 'temae-miso'. This is often used as an idiom meaning that a person praises their own creation or deed. This idiom is generally used in a derogatory sense when one speaks of oneself

Tofu is made by soaking soybeans in water and crushing them. Then the crushed soybean mixture is boiled. The resulting liquid is strained and then finally is solidified by the use of a bitter water solution. Tofu originated in China over two thousand years ago and immediately spread throughout the Far East. It is thought that tofu was brought into Japan during the Nara period (from 710 to 794). Tofu is considered to be preventive of lifestyle-related diseases as it is low in fat and calories, but high in quality vegetable albumin and calcium. For this reason, it has recently become quite popular among people in the United States.

In Japan, tofu has long been popular and is used as an ingredient in a wide variety of dishes due to its light taste which matches all other ingredients. There are several ways of eating tofu. The most usual ways are hiyayakko and yudofu. Hiyayakko means chilled tofu eaten raw with soy sauce and condiments such as chopped green onions and grated ginger. Yudofu is tofu cooked in broth made from a variety of seaweed called tangle.

Yudofu is eaten with the same condiments and hot broth seasoned with soy sauce and mirin. Mirin is sweet sake that is used for cooking. Tofu can also be served in miso soup or a clear soup seasoned with soy sauce.There are two different processes for manufacturing tofu which produce slightly coarse-grained momen-dofu that contains less water and smooth kinugoshi-dofu that has a higher water content. There is also tofu that is grilled and roasted which is called yaki-dofu and it is often used for hot pot dishes such as sukiyaki because it does not crumble easily if it is cooked for a long time.

There are several processed foodstuffs made from tofu. The varieties of deep-fried tofu include abura-age (usu-age), atsu-age, and ganmodoki.

Frozen and dried tofu is called koya-dofu. Okara, leftover sediment from the strained soy bean liquid, is very cheap and contains a great deal of dietary fiber that our contemporary diet tends to lack. Okara greatly deserves to be used as an ingredient for everyday dishes.

Japanese-style pickles called tsukemono are made from Chinese cabbage, Japanese radish, cucumber, eggplant, and other vegetables which are pickled and preserved in a variety of ways including using salt, salted rice-bran paste, and fermented soybean paste called miso. Fermentation caused by enzymes provides the vegetables with a special aroma and flavor.

Pickles are indispensable for Japanese-style meals that are mainly composed of boiled rice. There are many Japanese who are satisfied with a simple breakfast comprised only of rice, miso soup, and pickles. In some area, especially in the northern part of Japan, pickles are often served at tea breaks between meals and enjoyed with green tea.

There are a great many varieties of pickles. The most typical is takuan which is made by pickling Japanese radish in salted rice-bran paste contained in a barrel. A stone is placed on the barrel as a weight.

Pickles used to be made at home and each family always made pickles with their own special flavor and aroma. Recently, however, mass-produced pickles on the market have superseded such homemade ones because it is very difficult for each family to spare the time for making pickles as well as finding the storage space for the barrel.

There are several idioms associated with pickles. The phrase overnight pickles is one of them. This phrase compares rushing to prepare for something overnight like an examination to making pickles that will be eaten the next morning.

Varieties of Pickles

Classified by pickle or paste: Salt, salted rice-bran paste, sake sediment, fermented soybean paste (miso), mustard Classified by the period of how long it takes until the pickles are ready to be eaten: Instant: 2 to 3 hours Overnight Current: 2 to 10 days Old: more than 10 days

Soybeans have been of vital importance as a major source of protein for Japanese people. In Japan soybeans have been processed into a variety of foods including miso (fermented soybean paste), soy sauce, and tofu (soybean curd). Natto is also an important soybean food and is superior in some respects. It is both abundant in vitamin B2 and is also easy to be digested and absorbed since its protein has been separated.

Natto is made by fermenting steamed soybeans using natto bacilli.Soybeans were formerly wrapped in straw as natural natto bacilli adhere to it and fermentation will take place. Since natto is a fermented food it has its own strong smell and stickiness. Therefore, even in Japan there are many people who do not like to eat it. Natto seems to be preferred regionally in the eastern part of Japan rather than in the western part.

Mito, located in Ibaraki Prefecture, is well-known for producing quality natto.

There are various ways to eat natto. Generally, however, it is seasoned with soy sauce, negi (green onions), chopped fine, and mustard.Stirring it up with chopsticks makes you able to enjoy the flavor. If it is eaten with hot rice, it will become even tastier.

In addition, natto-jiru such as miso soup with minced natto is one of the most popular dishes using natto. In recent years, natto has been recognized to be of high nutritive value and various recipes have been created. Natto is now used as an ingredient in rolled sushi, a long rice roll that is wrapped with a sheet of toasted seaweed, and also as a sauce to dress vegetables and seafood.

Ama-natto (sweetened beans)

Ama-natto, a variety of Japanese-style confectionery, is made of beans such as adzuki beans, kidney beans, and mottled kidney beans which have been boiled in molasses and then sprinkled with sugar. The confectionery goes well with Japanese green tea and is served at tea breaks.

Chopsticks, which are called hashi in Japanese, are the basic utensils that Japanese people eat with. Chopsticks are used for Japanese meals instead of the forks, knives, and spoons, which are used for eating Western food. In addition, there are also chopsticks that are used for cooking. There are several types of chopsticks that are used depending on the purpose. Chopsticks for eating with are usually about 20 centimeters long (approximately 8 inches) and are pointed at one end. They are made of a number of materials including plastic, wood, and ivory. Chopsticks made of wood such as cypress or willow are the most common because they are strong and light. These wooden chopsticks are usually coated with lacquer. Iwai-bashi, chopsticks made from willow, are specially prepared for auspicious occasions such as New Year's Day. Saibashi, long chopsticks made of bamboo, are used for cooking.

Each person uses one pair of chopsticks throughout the meal when eating Japanese food. These chopsticks are not replaced with a new pair. When people eat soup, the solid part of the soup is eaten with chopsticks and the broth is sipped directly from the soup bowl. In Japanese families, it is customary for each person to have their own pair of chopsticks that they normally use and no one else ever uses. Restaurants, inns that are called ryokans in Japanese, and other places that serve food generally provide customers with disposable chopsticks called waribashi. Waribashi refer to two wooden or bamboo chopsticks that are still connected to each other. Then the waribashi are broken apart when they are used. Waribashi are enclosed in what look something like a long, narrow, open-ended envelope before they are used. When people have guests in their homes, they give them waribashi to eat with.

Chopsticks were introduced to Japan from China in ancient times and the Japanese have been using them to eat with for hundreds of years. Manners and customs for using chopsticks have evolved over this long period of time. Many taboos and superstitions related to chopsticks have also evolved over time. One of the greatest taboos is aibasami. Aibasami means that one person passes food from his/her chopsticks to the chopsticks of another person. It is equally unacceptable to stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice. Both of these taboos are related to Japanese funeral customs. It is also bad manners to stab food with your chopsticks, put food you have picked up with your chopsticks back on a serving plate, lick anything off your chopsticks, and wave your chopsticks over a plate while deciding what to eat.

It is not clean to put chopsticks directly on the table when they are not in use. It is recommended that the ends of the chopsticks that go in your mouth be put on a small ceramic, wooden, or glass stand, which is called a hashioki in Japanese. The hashioki, beautifully colored and gracefully shaped, also serves as a decoration on the table.

The words shakushi and shamoji were originally used with the same meaning. They referred to a kitchen utensil used for ladling soup and rice into bowls. Shamoji, in particular, was used as a special word by the ladies of the Muromachi and subsequent Courts. Today, however, these two words have different meanings. Shakushi refers to a soup ladle, while shamoji refers to a flat rice scoop that is in an oval shape.

Soup ladles (shakushi) were formerly made of wood, bamboo, or shells, but they have been replaced by metal soup ladles. Rice scoops (shamoji) made of wood, a material for rice scoops since old times, are still preferred by many people, and at the same time rice scoops (shamoji) made of new materials such as plastic have come into wide use. Rice scoops (shamoji) are a symbol of housewives. Even today, large rice-scoop-shaped placards are used by groups and organizations composed of housewives when they demonstrate. Rice scoops are also symbolic of abundant crops because of their close relation to rice, the staple food of the Japanese. There are some shrines that are famous for selling rice scoops as charms.