Nagasaki

As a Nagasaki native, Sara-Udon has always been a standard restaurant dish. The crispy thin noodle dish came with a bottle of the Oronamin C drink. In Nagasaki, we add sauce to Sara-Udon. The famous restaurants are “Shikairou” and “Kouzanrou,” but many other Chinese restaurants have Sara-Udon on their menu, which are all delicious.

（Tooko）

There are two types of Sara-Udon noodles: the crispy thin noodles and the crispy and chewy thick ones. I love the ones made with thick Champon noodles. The thin noodle version is served in school lunches, too!

（divingmimi）

Sara-Udon is often mixed up with Katayakisoba noodles, but here in Nagasaki, we add sauce and not vinegar to Sara-Udon. We all have our favorite types: some prefer thick noodles, some like thin noodles, and some like thin noodles that have been sat for one night.

（Riorio）

The crispy thin noodle-type Sara-Udon can be found in restaurants in Tokyo, but rarely do you see the thick noodle Sara-Udon on the menu; just to find it on the menu makes me excited. When a friend of mine from Nagasaki found a sampling of Sara-Udon at a supermarket, the friend unconsciously shouted, “Wow, they’re made of thick noodles!” and the store staff noticed that this customer was a Nagasaki native. It is my most recommended noodle; it makes me happy just to see it, and eating it cheers me up.

（Nira）

I like to eat it with crispy, thin noodles, slightly softened by the starchy sauce, or with stir-fried thick noodles. Adding some sauce to it also tastes great.

（Natsuha）

We cook and eat Sara-Udon at home and order a large plate of it for family gatherings. My mother stir-fries the leftovers the following day, and the re-stir-fried Sara-Udon is just as excellent as the one we had the previous day.

（Buchi）

I recommend Champon because you can have vegetables, meat, and seafood in one delicious and satisfying dish. My husband and I often visit Chinatown in Nagasaki when we visit my husband’s parents. The original Champon restaurant “Shikairou” is great, and I also love “Kouzanrou.” I prefer having my first bite before adding anything to it and then adding some pepper.

（Piyonosuke）

The Champon I have at restaurants are good, but the homemade ones are also delicious. At supermarkets in Nagasaki, you can find mixed fish paste to use for home-cooked Champon.

（Riorio）

I know we all have our favorite restaurants, and it might be too famous to recommend, but “Ringer Hut” is also perfect.

（Yamaharu）

You can have delicious Champon at basically any restaurant in Nagasaki.

（Mimi）

The noodles are produced by coating them with camellia oil, an island specialty, and stretched to form thin noodles. The noodles are firm, do not break easily, and have a glossy and smooth texture. The flavor of the noodles and the camellia oil create a perfect harmony!

（maa chan）

Since the noodles do not quickly thicken, I like to make “Jigokudaki” by cooking them in boiled water, scooping out the noodles, and serving them with noodle sauce and raw eggs. The noodles are smooth enough to be enjoyed as cold udon in the summer. The noodles are delicious, both hot and cold.

（Mameta）

I like to eat it with the noodles in the soup and savor their texture. The noodles are kneaded with camellia oil and have a wonderful smooth texture.

（Ponta）

It goes great with flying fish broth, hot or cold.

（Maita）

The Goto-Udon “Jigokudaki” that I had during my trip to Kyushu is the most delicious udon I’ve ever had.

（Nanashinokakubei）

It is excellent to have the “Jigokudaki” with flying fish broth.

（Mimi）

It is good with flying fish broth on the noodles or make “Jigokudaki” by boiling the udon noodles in a pot and dipping them in flying fish broth and raw eggs. About ten years ago, when I was transferred to the island of Goto, I boarded a ship to look for a new house there. It was such stormy weather at sea that it made me afraid of working there and want to quit my job, but my feelings changed when the vice principal at the island came to pick me up at the port and took me to a Goto-Udon restaurant. The tender and heartwarming taste helped me restore my body and mind and gave me a positive spirit to work there from the next fiscal year.

（divingmimi）

A light-tasted Champon with seaweed broth. More palatable than Nagasaki’s Champon.

（Murasaki）