Sanuki udon () has been the type of

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

noodle most popular in the

Kagawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

in Japan, but is now easily found throughout the neighboring

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region and much of Japan. It is characterized by its square shape and flat edges with rather chewy texture, and in an authentic sense, ingredients should be from among those local specialties as wheat flour,

Niboshi Niboshi (煮干し), often called iriko (炒り子) in Western Japan, are Japanese dried infant sardines (sometimes incorrectly translated as anchovies). They are one of many varieties of small dried fish used throughout Asia in snacks and as s ...

dried young sardines to cook broth for soup and dipping sauce. Many udon shops now specialize solely in sanuki-style chewy udon, and are usually identified by the text "sanuki" in

hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

() appearing in the name of the shop or on the sign. It is usually served as

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as ...

or kamaage (udon) in which the noodles are served in plain hot water and eaten with dipping sauce. Originally popularized in the

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, nowadays various types of

dashi is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ba ...

is applied to the broth outside of Kagawa which varies in strength and flavor across Japan, such as made with more costly

Katsuobushi is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'', sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes. ''Katsuobushi'' or similarly prepared fish is also known as . Shaved ''katsuobushi'' and dried ke ...

. Sanuki udon are named after the previous name of the Kagawa Prefecture,

Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, ...

. It has been featured in the 2016 anime,

Poco's Udon World is a Japanese manga series written by Nodoka Shinomaru. It began serialization in Shinchosha's magazine ''Monthly Comic @ Bunch'' in 2012 and has been collected into twelve ''tankōbon'' volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Liden ...

References

{{reflist, 40em
Small-Town Noodles Makes Good
Web Japan. 16 January 2004. Accessed 24 August 2011.

Japan-Guide.com, 14 October 2008. Accessed 24 August 2011. Japanese noodles Udon