Behind the Counter at a local Japanese Udon Noodle Restaurant

this is behind the counter at a local japanese udon shop [Music] okay so i'm super excited for this one i'm taking you to a super local udon shop that makes everything by hand but like always before i start if you want to see what i'm doing on the daily check out my instagram account if you want to help through the channel check out the tokyo in japan merch and if you have any questions about japan or your span travels check out my discord community all right let's go talk to ewai son here we go i'm taking you behind the counter at another family-owned japanese restaurant to bring you the real life story of how handcrafted udon is made this time we're at sunuki udon ewai a local favorite at jujo station in tokyo it's just a five minute walk from the station to the jujo ginza shotengai well good morning so this is iwaisan 40 years old born and raised in guma now living in tokyo and the owner of this udon shop are you always alone in the morning oh he's turning on the radio i guess that's part of his morning routine first thing he preps in the morning is a dashi for the soup udon noodles are one of japan's most traditional foods as well as one of its most simple just soup and udon noodles well you can add toppings but many japanese still enjoy it just with those two ingredients so it's critical to craft a perfect dashi in order to crop a perfect bowl at the donut now he prepares the change for the register so how long has the store been opened for june why did you decide to start a new dawn shop that's the oil for the tempura the shop uses daiso shirashi mayu a light-colored soybean oil [Music] hey i noticed you've got some kids bikes oh he really lives in the same building [Laughter] thank you so nice [Music] as a dashi continuously cooks he starts the noodle prep apparently this dough is made the day before as it needs to mature overnight and then it must be needed before it's cut into noodle form his shop uses a traditional japanese method of kneading with your feet which creates their udon's signature elastic and chewy texture called kushi many who don't chops these days have moved to using machines for the kneading but e watson prefers to carry on the method he learned from his master in kagawa pizza no cap they do look like pizza [Music] now he prepares a new batch of dough for tomorrow the shop uses a specific flour for its udon noodles asw which is shipped from kagawa prefecture and how much flour do you use today [Music] oh it's time to pour out the dashi so we quickly move to the stove area while in the middle of making the udon noodles multiple items must be prepared in the morning before the customers arrive so it must work efficiently in order to get everything done on time while also being firm to not sacrifice the quality of his food in the process for example he must repeat the dashi cooking process numerous times until the large pot is full why do you make your dashi this [Music] now he mixes the salted water into the flour [Music] in fact udon noodles are made up of a few simple ingredients flour water and salt which is why it's even more critical that the shop selects an appropriate flour and mixture ratio interestingly depending on the day's temperature humidity weather as well as other factors it all affects the final taste and texture of the udon noodles do you always do this on your own oh they can do it already oh that's a family from the neighborhood who he buys rice from i guess running a business in the local area for 10 years has allowed him to develop many strong relationships with people [Music] oh that's the shop manager for his second shop cool can you speak german before she opens up her store she stops here to pick up some important ingredients have you spilled anything before what's in it anyways good luck [Music] oh here's the first worker at the shop while she gets ready for her shift weissen continues to work on the dough now he cuts a newly made dough weighs it and then stores it away for tomorrow [Music] one block of dough is about 2 kilograms about 4.4 pounds which makes about 10 bowls finally he hand needs the dough that he needed with his feet earlier this morning iwaisan learned his udon crafting skills under the master at miyatake udon in kagawa prefecture he studied for about half a year and then returned to tokyo to open up his own shop kagawa prefecture is known as the udon prefecture in japan as it's ranked first nationwide for udon noodle production and consumption with over 600 who don't noodle shop which easily outnumbers their total number of convenience stores and the waisan crafts their famous style sanuki udon noodles at his local tokyo shop once the dough is completely flattened he folds it into layers so it can be cut into noodle form let me just pause for a moment here so we can enjoy the beauty of a skilled knife work after many years of honing his skills and mastering the art of udon crafting ui son was able to along the way teach several apprentices and develop a strong customer base in love with his noodles but of course this didn't happen overnight he started his udon career when he was only 24 years old working part-time at one of the most popular udon chains in japan hana marugudon this is where he discovered his passion for udon which eventually motivated him to seek out his udon master in kagawa prefecture at miyatake udon he says that when he was first learning to craft udon in kagawa every day was an eye-opening experience but at the same time it was a true test of his will and fortitude hey so before i continue on i want to give a quick shout out to the sponsor for this video squarespace if you all don't already know squarespace is the number one way to build your online presence in fact i use squarespace for my website tokyo zebra here are just some of the reasons why i love using squarespace so much whether you're starting your passion project or building a business squarespace has all the tools to get it 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perfect ratio of japanese sake soy sauce and meat how old are you you look younger he's writing down the shopping list so what are you buying today [Music] while the staff prepares for the opening he needs to run to the supermarket to pick up some additional ingredients he prefers to go grocery shopping every day in order to serve the freshest ingredients to his customers he says though that the price of things like vegetables flour meat oil in japan have been rising since the end of last year which forced him to make the hard decision to raise the price of his done by 50 yen about 39 cents in order to keep his business going he also said that he deeply cares about his customers and their eating experience which includes providing his donut at an affordable price so the decision weighed on him quite a bit [Music] so his apprentice packs tempura takeout sets to sell in front of the store since he's located on the main shopping street and the area itself is uniquely known to have many sosai shops meaning shops that offer everyday japanese side dishes for take out so families can add it to their dinner table he also offers them put a take out kind of makes me want to live in this neighborhood wow the store isn't open yet but there's already customers buying their tempura takeouts i guess the regulars know when to buy their freshly fried tempura so where are you opening up your store oh [Music] so what did you learn from here the most she's seasoning the chicken for the tempura i can already taste that juicy fried chicken hater finally the dashi is finished i guess that's what a pot full of love looks like [Music] so what's your hobby thank you you have a daughter you hang out there oh that's cool where does your daughter live is that your hometown i guess every family has their story [Music] wow that's a ginormous gesso squid legs looks so good [Applause] she's now making more tempura okay so what do you like to eat [Music] i mean other than udon what kind of meat oh these days i like the spring valley beers so that's the one [Music] finally the shop is open for business do you sell all this in one day oh so cute ewy son's daughter's here i guess she can't find her mom ah she really likes fumichan it's so nice they're like one big family here [Music] you why sending the staff work diligently to serve their customers as soon as possible when the orders are placed [Music] oh wow that's a huge bowl let's talk to that guy excuse me can i bother you do you come here often what are you eating how much is that that's so big what did you get on the side what do you love most about the shop [Music] oh now his apprentice is making the noodles by the way are you married congrats so what do you like to do outside of work that's the same as iwaisan i should have fishes took over he's checking how he did why did he only cut halfway um since there aren't so many handmade drone shops nowadays and the fact that iwaisan is so warm-hearted and open to sharing his craft he often gets approached by people wanting to become his apprentice i'm not quite sure but that line can even be longer than the line in front of his shop hi my dog speaking of which the shop is getting busy wow she's non-stop frying kinda makes me want to take a quick temp for a break right now anyway their most popular tempur item at the shop is the chikuwa fish cake she says chikuwa is one of the harder ingredients to fry evenly since the center hole often gets clogged [Music] hot soup with hot noodles at his udon shop you can choose from many different bowls including hot or cold soup paired with hot or cold noodles apparently the popularity changes with the season but he recommends zahiatsu cold noodles with hot soup which basically turns into a warm bowl oh look his family's going out where are you going oh he's making a fresh udon delivery to one of the neighboring businesses and he's serving it with the in-shop bowls that's service hi can i ask you a question what are you eating so why do you like to come here [Music] thank you [Music] finally done after lunch time and closing the shop they all eat mug and i together which is a meal provided by the shop to the workers of course it's udon tempura and it looks like a healthy portion all right so that's behind the counter at a local udon shop here in japan if you guys like this video or you want to see more videos like this or anything related to japan hit that subscribe button and above and i'll catch you guys in the next

Channel: Paolo fromTOKYO

Views: 2,480,015

Keywords: Paolo, Japan, Japan guide, Japan travel, tokyo, tokyo guide, tokyo travel, japanese food, japanese food tour, japan food, japan behind the counter, behind the counter, udon noodles, japan udon, japanese udon restaurant, udon, how to make udon, what is udon, food documentary, food, hidden japanese food, Tokyo hidden gems, udon tokyo, tokyo udon, sanuki udon, sanuki iwai udon, japanese udon, japanese fast food, japan food documentary, japanese restaurant kitchen

Id: YwQ1zaeQS4I

Length: 17min 29sec (1049 seconds)

Published: Sat May 28 2022