It was on one of those Perth Saturday afternoons when I wondered "What is my Soul Food? Where does it come from?"
I had no idea how this question came to me. It may have come from the fact that I now live in overseas and have lived outside my hometown for a very long time. Whatever the reasons, they did not bother me much.
At first, I made an attempt to define "Soul Food". This sounds very similar but not quite the same as "Favorite Food". I define "Soul Food" as one's particularly favorite food which arouses a strong feeling of one's hometown.
When I think about my "Soul Food", I will name "UDON".
I love UDON since my childhood. It was probably because of my grandfather and my father's influence. They used to take me to UDON restaurants quite often. I still remember when my father spent an hour or two just to look for one UDON restaurant in an area where all we could see were "SOBA -buckwheat noodle" restaurants while we all were starving.
I inherit my father's passion for UDON. When I was hungry after school, I would often go to a UDON restaurant with my friends. When I started living in Perth, I missed UDON the most. There is availability of UDON in Perth but not high quality one. UDON has always been with me for a very long time, it is no wonder that I look for good UDON whenever I live.
In spite of my love for UDON, little did I know that where the ingredient comes from. When I got involved in the wheat business here in Perth, I have learned that the most important ingredient of UDON actually comes from where I live now "Perth" in the past and still now. This is an amazing fact. It jolted me.
I immediately gathered information on how to make UDON and made it by myself. It was my first try but my friends said "It tastes great!" Since then, it has become one of the Japanese dishes we serve at our home to our guests.
UDON making is very simple. All the ingredients you need are flour, salt and water. Even beginners can make delicious UDON from day one. Perhaps, you might want to give it a try even from today.
4 comments:
Yasu
Once again you have written a very interesting article.
Of course some of these facts were familiar to me, because I worked with you for so long, and I can remember when you discovered some of these points, and when you first began making your own noodles, and how you bought back from Japan your special "rolling pin" to roll the noodles.
The article is even more interesting to me because of the differences in Japanese and Australian food and culture.
Peta
It is always nice to have your comments on my blog. Thank you.
Making my own noodles is always fun to do even now, because I can enjoy making and eating at the same time. After all, it is my "Soul Food".
Nice post Yasu.
I love udon too. But never tried making udon noodles at home as I have no confidence for making tasty noodles.
I come back often to read your blog. Interesting posts. keep posting.
Manisha,
Thanks for your comment. Udon making is really worth trying, as it tastes better than most of UDON shops around you. People feel this way when making your own UDON. The below website is for your information about UDON making (but in Japanese).
http://allabout.co.jp/gourmet/udon/closeup/CU20010808udon2/
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