January 11, 2020

It is back to Kōenji for another noodle party, this time udon rather than soba.  I met my friend Fu-chan at Suitengumae station to catch the train to Kudanshita where we changed to the Tōzai line and on to Kōenji, an area I rarely venture out to.  When we got to Seiko-san’s bar/restaurant, the same place where we had the soba party a month before, there were already eight or nine people there, enough for the small space to be packed.  And a few more were still to come.

The udon dough had been made earlier, so I did not get to see how it is done.  But kneading it should be pretty much like soba, only less temperamental as it is 100% wheat flour, so full of gluten.  Most of the noodles had also previously been cut, but there were a few balls of dough still awaiting processing.

We had some beer, then moved on to nihonshu, with a variety of things to eat with it, including two types of gyoza, kara-age chicken, some ika, and finally some udon.  As the udon started to be served one of the tables was cleared to make space for the work board.  Seiko san led things off, first flattening the ball of dough, then rolling it flatter and into a square, and finally flipping it over to be ready to cut.  All the steps were similar to how soba is made, but with different techniques.   I tried to pay as close attention as possible as I knew it would be my turn next.  And after she finished, it was indeed my turn.

I did okay on everything, and only needed help once. The biggest difference between making soba and udon is that udon dough is much stronger and more forgiving.  And that means a lot more pressure is needed than with soba.  It was kind of nice to be able to make a near perfect square on the first try, something I still have not mastered with soba.  The cutting part was easy for me.  I somehow managed to have all my noodles the exact same 2 mm thickness.

All in all it was a fun night and a good experience.  Now I just need to get the equipment for making noodles.