6 most delicious noodles in East Asia

Noodles in East Asia are more than a food—they’re an essential part of culture with a long history. The world of East Asian noodles is infinitely vast and here are the most delicious and famous ones in this region:

1. Udon – Japan

In Japan, each region owns a distinctive method of cooking Udon. Long and thick noodles, made from wheat flour, swim in a bowl of broth. The most typical type of broth is kakejiru, with a fresh taste, made from dashi water, soy sauce and mirin cooking wine.

2. Hand-pulled noodles – China

It’s never easy to make this distinctive noodles. The cook has to be totally careful in every single step when cooking it. The proportion of flour, water, or even the atmosphere humidity must be an art of cooking it, everything is used just right otherwise the noodles will lose elasticity. It is served with beef broth, meat, and vegetable.

3. Sliced noodles – China

Sliced noodles are legendary in China, a specialty of the Shanxi province. The cook cut a large block of dough (made from wheat flour or rice flour) into flat slices directly poured into a boiling pot of water then quickly pick them out. The noodles are served in a bowl of spicy beef broth, or fried some ingredients.

4. Japchae – Korea

Japchae is made by stir-frying delicate sweet potato noodles in sesame oil. This Korean dish also features a mix of julienned carrots, sliced green onions, spinach, mushrooms and on occasion, beef. It is flavored with soy sauce and topped off with sesame seeds and chili pepper slices.

5. Soba – Japan

Soba noodle – one of the most chosen noodles in Japan – is made of flat slices of grits (or groats). Cold soba noodles are often eaten together with a sauce made from dashi and soy, tofu, eggs, or a plate of tempura.

6. Somen – Japan

Somen noodles are usually very thin and usually served cold with a fresh type of sauce in summer. Some restaurants serve it in a bamboo trough in which noodles swim in cold water and ice. Diners will eat Somen noodles with chopsticks.