Tale of Udon noodle
There is a cafeteria on the 2nd floor in the building where I work. I use the cafeteria often because it is very convenient, especially when it rains. To my surprise, there is a section where they serve Japanese foods.
However, there is no Japanese cook who seems to be trained in Japanese cooking. They mainly serve noodles and rice bowls. As for rice bowls, they neither serve "OYAKO DON" (a rice bowl with chicken and egg) nor "KATSU DON" (a rice bowl with pork cutlet), which are very popular in Japan. What they serve instead is a bowl of rice and TERIYAKI chicken on it. This is a far cry from "DONBURI" (rice bowls) served in Japan. They also serve curry and rice, but the way they cook the rice is not so good, so I don't like it much.
As for noodles, they serve "Udon" and "Soba," both of which are kept in the water until they are served. (This never happens in Japan.) Soba, which is a thinner noodle, usually ends up too soft to be any good. I can manage eating Udon better, because it is thicker and it keeps a better shape.
But again, you can't expect popular items such as "Kitsune Udon" or "Tempura Udon" as in Japan. The cafeteria only serves the same items as rice bowls such as "Teriyaki chicken noodle" and "Curry noodle." They simply substitute rice with noodles and add "Dashi soup." You can even find "Sweet and sour chicken noodle. "You may already know that "Sweet and sour pork" means "SUBUTA," which is never served with noodles in Japan (maybe not in China either). Then what is this item? It's far beyond a Japanese's imagination.
So as you may have already guessed, I usually only eat "Curry Udon."
When I say to the guy with a mustache, "Curry noodle, please," he asks me,
"Rice noodle or wheat noodle? White one or black one?"
"White one," I respond, wondering "Is Udon made from rice?" By the way, Udon is made from flour, not rice. Then he asks me,
"How about topping, sir?" You find there are various items that may be put on. Even though it is burdensome to tell which one you like in English, you'd better tell precisely what you want. If you reply saying "Everything, please," you will be bewildered (if you are Japanese) because you will get carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts, which are raw (!), lettuce, tomato, and a mound of Fukujin Duke (a kind of pickles) on the noodles besides green onion and boiled spinach, which are rather discrete compared with the items mentioned earlier. I'm sure you wonder what you are eating. I cannot even imagine that bean sprouts are tasty when eaten raw. (It's not alfalfa sprout!) I am disappointed that many American people think that this is Japanese food, maybe thinking it is good for their health.
However, because I am cheap, I think it better to get as much as possible if you pay the same price, even if I eat less authenticated Japanese food. So I say,
"Everything except bean sprouts and lettuce." I pretend that I have ordered Udon and salad , and I eat tomato and broccoli first before I enjoy Udon. Shame on me for betraying my Japanese culture and eating such food.
I saw an incredible scene in the restaurant the other day when I was getting curry Udon as usual. When the cook asked an American guy who ordered noodles, "White one or black one?" he answered "Half and half!"
I was surprised and impressed: the Japanese could never imagine ordering such a thing and cultures may have evolved in this way!?
Keiichiro
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