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Drink · Japan
Nihonshu
Japanese sake, a fermented beverage made from rice, koji and water. It is an official geographical indication of Japan and is served chilled, at room temperature, or warm, in small cups.
Flavors · Nagoya
Miso-nikomi udon
Firm udon, made without salt, cooked in an earthenware pot in a dark soy miso (haccho miso) broth, with chicken, fried tofu, scallion and egg. A dish from Nagoya and Aichi.
Traditional dish from Nagoya, Aichi
Also known as: Misonikomi udon, 味噌煮込みうどん
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Miso-nikomi udon — Nagoya, Japan
Miso-nikomi udon is udon cooked directly in a dark miso broth, served in an individual earthenware pot. The noodles are made only from wheat flour and water, without salt, so they stay firm even after cooking in the broth. The udon is served with chicken, fried tofu, kamaboko and scallion, and an egg is cracked into the pot before the final boil.
The flavor comes from the region’s soy miso. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Japan, haccho miso originated in the former village of Hacchō, near Okazaki Castle, and is made almost entirely from soy with a long fermentation, which gives it a dark color and intense taste. Aichi has many red-miso dishes, and miso-nikomi udon is one of the highlights.
The dish was made at home and, by the Meiji era, was already served in restaurants in Ichinomiya; later it became more common in Nagoya and the surrounding area. According to Japan’s tourism organization, one explanation links the dish to hoto from Yamanashi.
The earthenware pot keeps everything boiling for a long time, and the udon’s texture changes from the beginning to the end. Many people use the pot’s lid as a plate to cool the pieces. At the end, some add rice to the remaining broth.
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Where it comes from
Nagoya , Aichi
Eaten mainly in Nagoya and nearby areas.
Ingredients
Udon made from wheat flour and water, without salt; dashi broth with haccho miso or another soy miso; chicken, fried tofu, kamaboko, scallion, egg.
How it is eaten
Served in a very hot individual earthenware pot. The lid is used as a plate to cool the udon. At the end, rice is added to the broth.
When it is eaten
All year, more sought after in winter.
Your questions
Questions about Miso-nikomi udon
Why is the udon in miso-nikomi so firm?
The dough is made only from flour and water, without salt, and cooks directly in the miso broth. That way it remains firm even after boiling in the pot.
What is haccho miso?
It is a miso made almost entirely from soy, with long fermentation, dark color and intense flavor. It originated in Okazaki, Aichi, and is the base of the miso-nikomi udon broth.
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Dish · Hiroshima
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Dish · Hokkaido
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Dish · Iwate
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Dish · Kagawa
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Sweet-potato shochu from Kagoshima, distilled using rice koji or sweet-potato koji. Satsuma is Japan’s official geographical indication for the shochu of the prefecture, which is enjoyed with hot water, on the rocks, or with cold water.
Sweet · Kagoshima
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Karashi renkon
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Dish · Miyajima
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Dish · Miyazaki
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Dish · Nagasaki
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Sweet · Nagasaki
Kasutera
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Dish · Nara
Kakinoha-zushi
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Drink · Okinawa
Awamori
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Dish · Okinawa
Goya champuru
Stir-fry of goya, the bitter melão-de-são-caetano, with firm Okinawan tofu, egg and pork. It’s the best-known champuru from Okinawa, made at home and served in restaurants across the prefecture.
Dish · Okinawa
Okinawa soba
Thick wheat noodles, not buckwheat, in a pork-and-dried-bonito broth, topped with simmered pork belly, kamaboko, scallions and pickled red ginger. It’s an everyday dish in Okinawa.
Dish · Osaka
Takoyaki
Dough balls made from flour, egg and dashi with pieces of octopus, cooked on a griddle with round hollows and topped with sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed and dried bonito flakes. It’s Osaka’s best-known flavor.
Dish · Kyoto
Saba-zushi
Salted and vinegar-marinated mackerel sushi on a rice log, wrapped in bamboo sheath. A celebratory dish of Kyoto, tied to the Saba Kaido, the route that brought mackerel from the Wakasa Sea.
Dish · Sendai
Gyutan
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Dish · Shiga
Funazushi
Nigorobuna carp from Lake Biwa, salted and fermented for months with rice: an ancient form of sushi with a strong taste and aroma. A dish from Shiga, deeply rooted in the prefecture’s culture.
Dish · Shimane
Izumo soba
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Dish · Takayama
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Dish · Tokyo
Edomae-zushi
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Dish · Tokyo
Monjayaki
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Dish · Yamagata
Imoni
Taro stew with meat, konnyaku and scallion, cooked in large pots on riverbanks in autumn at Yamagata’s imonikai. Inland it includes beef and shoyu; on the Shonai coast it uses pork and miso.
Dish · Yamanashi
Hoto
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Beyond the guide
