Can anybody tell me…

…the difference between ramen and udon?

I do go for some Japanese delights once in a while but I am not all that familiar with the nitty-gritty details when it comes to what’s in store. Perhaps those of you experts, the true blue die-hard lovers of Japanese food would care to enlighten me?

I have had ramen before, all the way from Japan…and udon as well here and here and even in New Zealand, nor forgetting the ones from the US that my friend Philip gave me sometime ago…but, tell me – is this ramen or udon?

It comes at RM6.00 a pack for three individual vacuum packs inside…

…so that would work out to RM2.00 each…and it is big and thick and though it does look sort of yellowish in the photograph, it is actually quite white in colour.

On the back of the packet, they suggest cooking it Malaysian mamak-style…

…but of course, that is out of the question. My girl is presently home for the mid-year school holidays and I think I did mention before that she is a purist and would frown at any attempt to cook anything in a style different from that peculiar to that particular cuisine alone.

That was why I went and bought this miso soup base…

…(made in Taiwan) and used it to cook the soup to go with the noodles I had bought.

I boiled some water, enough for three bowls of noodles, and I threw in some shrimps/tiny prawns that I found in the freezer along with some sliced fish cake before fishing them out. I did the same with some golden needles (mushrooms) that I had and then, I threw in some tofu, cut into small cubes and bits of seaweed. Finally, I emptied the contents of the soup base into the pot and brought it to boil.

There were no specific instructions on the packet as to whether I should boil the noodles first but I saw in the mi ramen goreng recipe that the noodles should be rinsed before use. In the end, I just poured boiling water to blanch it and to loosen the strands before draining away all the water. Having placed it in the bowls, I arranged the prawns and fish cake slices and mushrooms all around and poured the soup over everything before garnishing it all with chopped spring onions and thin strips of seaweed…

Oh yes! I did boil an egg as well to go with it – hard on the outside and runny on the inside…

…and yes, I would say it was very nice. I enjoyed it and so did my girl and her mum.

So, who can tell me if this is ramen…

…or udon and while we are at this, do tell me also what soba is…