Speaking of Mie prefecture's local udon, Ise-Udon! Perfect as a souvenir or to take home♪

There are various types of udon all over the country. Many people think that udon is delicious because it has a chewy texture and goes down easily, but when you think of the local udon of Mie Prefecture, it's ` Ise-Udon.''

`` Ise-Udon'' is a local udon that is characterized by its chewy, extremely thick and soft noodles, and its sweet black sauce.

View product information for Ise-Udon /black extra-thick curry udon assortment

Local udon in Mie Prefecture?

In search of souvenir udon noodles, I arrived at Hori Seimen, a noodle shop in Yokkaichi overlooking the Suzuka Mountains.
To begin with, "Ise-Udon" is a local dish of the Ise region.
It is not true that people in Mie prefecture eat extra-thick noodles with a chewy texture.
I don't think I ever ate Ise-Udon that much when I was little.
I've been hearing the name "Ise-Udon" a lot for a few years now. That's what I thought, but after interviewing him this time, I understood why.

Around the beginning of the Heisei era, Hori Seimen was wondering if it was possible to produce unique noodles in Mie Prefecture.
And what caught my eye was “Ise-Udon.”
At that time, "Ise-Udon" was not well-known even in Mie Prefecture, and I thought it was a shame that it was not as popular even though there was such an interesting product, so I took on the challenge of producing "Ise-Udon" with a colleague from Mie Prefecture. Apparently he did.
At the same time, there are efforts to produce unique agricultural products in Mie Prefecture, and we decided to take the opportunity to grow ``flour'' that can be used in Mie Prefecture's local cuisine.
Together with noodle manufacturers, agricultural producers, and the people of Mie Prefecture, a project was launched to create delicious "Ise-Udon."

Is “Ise-Udon” from Ise?

The difficulty in producing Ise-Udon was the thickness and softness of the udon.
He said that he listened to various stories from people living in the Ise area when creating the noodles, but it seems that different people have different opinions, so it took some time to create udon that everyone would agree with.
The definition of `` Ise-Udon'' established by the Mie Prefecture Noodle Association is that the noodles must be at least 6 mm thick (both vertically and horizontally) and boiled for at least 30 minutes, and production has begun according to these definitions.

It seems that they have started manufacturing and promoted `` Ise-Udon'' at various events, but it has not been very popular and some people have said that ``Udon'' like this is not ``Udon'' at all.
However, as they worked together with about 20 other shops in the same industry to try their best to popularize Ise-Udon, they began to gain recognition and popularity.
Mr. Soichiro Ishihara, the Ise-Udon Ambassador, also said that he contributed a lot.

Commitment to noodles and sauce

All of the flour used as raw materials for `` Ise-Udon'' manufactured by Hori Seimen is made from ``Ayahikari'' and ``Satonosora'' wheat grown in Mie Prefecture.

In particular, ``Ayahikari'' is a ``wheat'' that was developed for `` Ise-Udon'' in cooperation with farmers in the prefecture and Mie Prefecture.

Its characteristic feature is that when made into udon noodles, it has a chewy and smooth texture that makes it difficult to cut.
Ise-Udon are supposed to be boiled longer than regular udon noodles, so regular wheat flour tends to break if overcooked.
``Ayahikari'' is a wheat that was created for ` Ise-Udon'' that overcomes these drawbacks.

` Ise-Udon'' made by Hori Seimen is particular about the sauce.
We use soy sauce from Tokai Jozo, which has a 300-year history in SuzukaCity.
The soy sauce used in "Ise-Udon" has been "Tamari" for a long time.
Tokai Jozo's ``Tamari'' is made with only soybeans and salt, and is aged for three years before being squeezed, resulting in a rich and full-bodied product.
We selected carefully selected wheat from Mie Prefecture and Tokai Jozo's ``Tamari'' because they were a good match.

Just Ise-Udon is not interesting.

Hori Seimen not only sells the regular "Ise-Udon" but also a slightly different type of "Ise-Udon".
That is "black extra-thick curry udon".
As the name suggests, this is curry udon with black sauce.
This udon noodles use the same thick noodles as `` Ise-Udon'' but instead of using the same ` Ise-Udon'' noodles, they are special noodles that also use wheat skin.
The noodles are also a little blackish, but apparently they made them black to live up to the name.

When it comes to curry udon, you often hear about the particularity of the roux, but the hardest part for Hori Seimen was making the noodles.
By using wheat skin, the unique chewy texture of "Ise-Udon" was lost, and the noodles could not be made as expected.The plan was to complete the noodles for one year, but in the end, it took more than two years to make the noodles that were satisfactory. It seems that it was.
The difference in color is immediately noticeable.

How to eat delicious “Ise-Udon and extra-thick black curry udon”

`` Ise-Udon'' is eaten by first boiling the noodles and then pouring sauce on top.
Unlike Ise-Udon this ``black extra-thick curry udon'' is cooked by simmering.
Since the noodles are firm, they can be stewed.
We hope you will enjoy the piping hot and spicy ``black extra-thick curry udon.''

It is said that `` Ise-Udon'' is delicious when you add ``Matsuzaka beef shigureni'' to it.
However, ``Matsusaka Beef Shigureni'' is expensive, so the next recommendation is the local ingredients ``Mekabu'' and ``Aosa'' seaweed.
He told me to try it while enjoying the aroma.

It goes without saying that ``black extra-thick curry udon'' is delicious, but it is said to be delicious when eaten with chicken simmered together.
If I had to add another dish, it would be fried tofu.
``Aburaage'' is also said to be delicious when simmered and eaten.

Perfect for souvenirs

Hori Seimen's ` Ise-Udon'' lasts for a long time at room temperature, making it perfect as a souvenir or gift.
I tried what I bought.
First up is "Ise-Udon".
It's a nostalgic taste, but if you listen to their thoughts on udon before eating it, you'll experience a different kind of deliciousness.
It's a taste you can't go wrong with.

The next thing I ate was "black extra-thick curry udon".
The chewy texture of the noodles goes perfectly with curry.
I’m sure it’s delicious (lol)
You may also enjoy adding rice after eating the noodles.

Please try.

View product information for Ise-Udon /black extra-thick curry udon assortment