Q. What is the difference between Japanese and Western Noodles? |  |
Q. What is the difference between Japanese and Western Noodles?A. Different Wheat - Japanese noodles use a soft wheat compared with the hard durum wheat of Western noodles. This makes for a smoother tasting, more digestible noodle.
Traditional Roll and Cut Method - Japanese craftsmen still make their noodles by the traditional roll and cut method rather than by extrusion. Extrusion can produce a noodles quickly and cheaply, but the quality is different.
Natural Ageing and Drying - The dough of Sanchi noodles is specially aged at the mixing stage, at the rolling stage, and finally in the drying room.
Sanchi noodles cost more because they are craft made. Once customers taste them, they readily appreciate their quality. Q. A. The inclusion of 2% salt is fundamental to the Japanese noodle making process. It enables the craftsmen to work successfully with the delicate soft wheat that gives Japanese noodles their characteristic quality. The salt also enhances the flavour of the noodles, and saves the need for adding salt during cooking (in fact some salt is leached out into the cooking water). 100% Soba is salt free.
Q. A. 40% SOBA is a wheat noodle containing 40% buckwheat (a nutty tasting seed grain).
100% SOBA is a softer noodle containing only buckwheat and is gluten and salt free.
Whilst SOBA is thin like a spaghetti, UDON is a thicker flat noodle like a tagliatelle.
GENMAI UDON contains Wheat and Brown Rice.
QUINOA UDON contains Wheat and Quinoa - a tasty small grain native to the Andes. Q. A. The traditional Japanese way of serving noodles is on a bowl of piping hot broth, or in a basket with a chilled dipping sauce. They can, however, be served in the same way as Western noodles, in stir-fry dishes, salads, topped with tasty sauces, etc. | |
