UDON Released on:�2006 Genre: Drama/ Food Movie Language: Japanese Director:�Katsuyuki Motohiro Screenplay by:�Masashi Todayama Cast:�Yusuke Santamaria, Manami Konishi, Tortoise Matsumoto, Kyoka Suzuki, Fumiyo Kohinata,�Takeshi Masu, Jin Katagiri, Jun Kaname, Sosuke Ikemtasu, Yo Oizumi, Atsuko TakahataThere�s nothing more pleasing than filling yourself up with a warm and savory bowl of noodles��udon noodles. This is the main ingredient and theme in Katsuyuki Motohiro�s Sanuki-city-noodle ode simply titled�Udon. Udon movie tells the story of Kosuke (Santamaria), a young man from Sanuki, Kagawa prefecture, with big dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian in New York and making people laugh. In his search, he ends up turning his back on his family�s tradition of making�udon�noodles, as per Kagawa tradition. Apparently (at least that�s what the movie states), while Tokyo has over 12 million people served by nearly 500 McDonald�s, Kagawa prefecture has about one million people all served by over 900�udon�shops - which director Motohiro (being from there) researched and visited nearly 200 shops for the movie.
With dreams broken unwillingly, Kosuke returns home where he tries to avoid dealing with his grumpy noodle-making father, and meets a clumsy writer named Kyoko (Konishi), eventually setting out on the adventure of starting an�udon�craze that may or may not help his hometown.
There are actually a lot of great aspects in�Udon, though unevenly so. The�udon�pilgrimage�is quite interesting and might be the most charming part of the film - after all, the film�s title IS the name of the noodle. It�s tasty-looking, it almost feels like you can smell the noodle soups through your screen, and you might learn one or two things about�udon. The overview of how a craze rises and falls is interesting and perfectly shows the surroundings of the matters the media deems �in/hot,� all included with festivals on the subjects and how people react to these events.
Nevertheless, it feels like�Udon�wanted to�talk�about too much. It�s not a movie merely on food, it�s a movie about a son�s relationship to his father - which is somehow moving - it�s about people�s relationship to the food they grow up with, your wishes growing up, and family traditions.�Udon�seems to also be about communities, the media, the good and bad aspects of a pop culture craze� and it all just seems very erratic, like the added animated action sequence, which was pretty pointless.
While Santamaria�s Kosuke borders a really fine line of being annoying, and there�s plenty of laughs in scenes with Konishi�s Kyoko - which don�t feel like they belong in the movie, but are still funny - it�s probably Fumiyo Kohinata who�stands�out as the good-hearted shy son-in-law. His role is short, there�s no major development from him, but there was something about his performance that was quite endearing.
Also, the�Udon�resolution is completely unbelievable. If it were that simple to get a perfect recipe in a couple of days, there wouldn�t be people spending 50 years in perfecting their technique. Then again, the movie isn�t about the perfect�udon�noodle soup, as they suggest.
Homemade Udon Noodles Soup
For Fresh Noodle- 5 cups all-purpose flour, sifted through a strainer, plus more for dusting and tossing
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water
For Udon Soup
- 2 cups low sodium�chicken broth
- 2 cups�dashi stock�(can also substitute more�chicken stock)
- 5 slices�ginger
- 1 tablespoon�soy sauce, plus 1 teaspoon (divided)
- 2 tablespoons oil, plus 1 teaspoon (divided)
- 3 cloves�garlic, smashed
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon�cornstarch
- 4 oz.�fresh shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon�mirin
- 8 oz.�fresh udon noodles
- 1�scallion, julienned
- For the dough
- Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, stir, then add 1� cups of the water.
- Use your hands to mix until the dough starts to come together in a few large lumps.
- Start to firmly press and knead the dough, incorporating the loose flour until there�s none left. If necessary, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you can incorporate all of the flour.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour, add the dough, and knead (folding and firmly pressing with your palm, folding and pressing) until the dough looks and feels fairly smooth, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- On a lightly floured surface with ample room, knead it again for about 2 minutes. Lightly dust both sides with flour, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough, occasionally rotating the dough 90 degrees and lightly dusting with flour if it threatens to stick to the pin, into a rough, approximately 17-inch circle with an even thickness (slightly less than � inch).
- If you are having difficulty rolling, allow the dough to rest for 5 to 10 minutes as needed. This allows the glutens to relax and make it easier to roll out.
- Fold the dough into thirds, then slice widthwise into approximately 1/8 -inch-thick noodles.
- Gently separate the noodles and toss them with a little bit of flour, just so they don�t stick together. Cook right away.
- The way you cook homemade noodles is slightly different from the way you cook purchased noodles. Follow these instructions whether you�re planning to serve the noodles hot or cold.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of icy water. Add the noodles to the boiling water, stirring frequently and adding � cup of fresh water if the water threatens to bubble over, until they�re fully cooked but not mushy, 10 to 12 minutes. (Unlike Italian pasta, they shouldn�t be al dente, but don�t let them get mushy.)
- Drain them, then transfer them to the icy water. Briefly and gently rub them with your hands to remove some of the starch. Drain very well.
- Add the chicken broth, dashi stock, ginger, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to a large saucepan or pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue simmering while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Heat the oil in a�wok or skillet�over medium heat, and add the garlic. Allow the smashed garlic cloves to crisp up in the oil for about 2 minutes.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and add 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- Mix until combined. Add the chicken to the pan in one layer and turn up the heat to medium high. Don�t move the chicken. Allow to sear until it�s browned on one side, and then stir. During this process, move the garlic on top of the chicken so that it doesn�t burn.
- Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and set aside (this prevents the chicken from drying out�while the mushrooms are cooking). Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they�re tender.
- Stir in the mirin and 1 teaspoon soy sauce and cook for another minute. Stir the chicken and garlic back in.
- Taste the stock and check for seasoning. Too salty? Add water. Not seasoned enough?
- Add salt. Pour the hot stock over the noodles, and top with the chicken and mushroom mixture. Garnish your chicken and mushroom udon noodle soup with scallions and serve.
