Regret.
There is a popular saying that goes, “Live your life with no regrets.” This saying does not ring true to me. I am not a perfect person. I have made mistakes that I wish I could undo. For example:
* I started to learn how to drive in high school over 10 years ago, but I never went for my P’s. I am now a sardine in the can that we call Cityrail. I went to get my L’s again a year ago but I still have not had one driving lesson since.
* My ability to save money did not start until a few years ago. I wish I had started earlier, my bounty would have been a lot more voluptuous today. However, that Alannah Hill dress that I bought many years ago and still have not worn was worth every cent.
* I wasted many years pining after an ex-boyfriend who suddenly dumped me by disappearing, after many months of dating. I regret not contacting him and telling him “You are spineless” or “You have no balls” (Perhaps it is better that I didn’t). I also regret not getting over him sooner than I did.
* I regret telling people that I am engaged. My tolerance is at its lowest point when it comes to answering questions such as, “When are you getting married?” “Why get engaged if your not getting married soon?” “How hard is it to organise a wedding?” I secretly imagine poking a stick in their eye.
* I regret making these udon noodles. I went through hell trying to make it and they weren’t as delicious as I had hoped them to be. It took me two days to produce. It created a mountain of dirty dishes. There was flour all over the kitchen bench and floor. I also tried to use my expensive pasta machine to roll out the dough. It broke mid-way through and cannot be fixed. These are many hours of hard labour that I can never take back.
So, my point is. I believe that life may be full of regrets. However, a wholesome, well-rounded, down-to-earth person would learn from their mistakes and never repeat it.
I am never making these homemade udon noodles again.
Recipe adapted from Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Kurihara
Ingredients for the Udon Noodles
1 cup water
5 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups plain flour
extra flour for dusting
Ingredients for the Dashi Stock
1 litre of water
10cm piece of dried kombu seaweed
30g dried bonito flakes
Ingredients for the Mentsuyu Sauce
10cm piece of dried kombu seaweed
1 cup water
1 3/4 cups japanese soy sauce
1 1/4 cups mirin
2 tablespoons caster sugar
4 1/2 tablespoons dried bonito flakes
Ingredients for the Hot Udon Broth
2 cups homemade udon noodles
1 cup dashi stock
1/3 cup Mentsuyu Sauce
finely chopped spring onion to taste
1/ Place all the ingredients for the udon noodles in a bread machine and set it on the dough cycle. If the dough appears too crumbly add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
2/ After approximately 30 minutes of kneading in the bread machine. Turn it off and take the dough out of the pan. Knead it it on a board as hard as you can for 5-10 minutes.
3/ Transfer it to a big plastic bag and wrap it with a towel. Put it on the floor, take your shoes off and walk on it (see photo below). This helps to bind it all together and give the final noodles a good chewy texture.
4/ Remove the flattened dough from the bag and roll it out. Then fold it up, put it back in the bag and walk on it again. Repeat this a number of times over a 15-20 minute period, until the dough becomes really smooth. Then leave the dough to rest for 3-4 hours, still in the bag.
5/ Take the dough out of the bag, shape it into a ball again, then return it to the bag and walk on it. Try to spread the dough with the pressure of your feet – try turning 360 degrees on your heels – it helps to spread the dough efficiently.
6/ Dust your work surface with flour, place the flattened dough on top and roll out from the middle. Rotate the dough and continue rolling until it is 1/2 centimetre thick and roughly square in shape.
7/ Dust the work surface and the dough again then fold into three. Slice the dough into 1/2-centimetre-width lengths. You will find this easier if you use a large wide knife not just to cut but also to push the noodle strips away from the remaining dough. The dough gets very sticky so keep dusting with flour as you cut.
9/ Fill a large saucepan with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Dust the noodles with flour again, if necessary, before adding to the boiling water.
10/ Using chopsticks, lightly stir the noodles to prevent them from sticking together.
11/ As the water boils, add a small cupful of cold water to reduce temperature. Repeat this when necessary and continue to cook for 6-7 minutes. Once cooked, drain the noodles in a seive and rinse under cold running water so they cool rapidly.
12/ Once cool enough to handle, seperate out the noodles with your hands and carry on rinsing to ensure all the starch is removed.
13/ The udon are now ready. You can serve them cold but they are more traditionally served hot.
To make the Dashi Stock
1/ Lightly wipe the dried kombu seaweed with a damp cloth and then soak it in a pan with 1 litre water for 15-20 mintues.
2/ Heat the water and when it is getting warm take out the piece fo kombu seaweed. As the water comes to the boil add the fish flakes and cook for one or two minutes on medium heat, then turn it off. It is ready to be strained when the flakes have sunk tot he bottom of the pan.
To make the Mentsuyu Sauce
1/ Lightly wipe the dried kombu seaweed to remove any excess saltiness. Put into a pan with the water and soak for 2-3 hours.
2/ Add the soy sauce, mirin and sugar over medium heat. Just before it comes to a boil, remove the kombu seaweed and add the dried bonito flakes.
3/ Boil for about 30 seconds then turn off the heat. Cool and strain.
To make the Hot Udon Broth
1/ Heat the noodles in the microwave on high for 90 seconds.
2/ Mix three parts dashi stock with one part Mentsuyu Sauce and heat in a pan. As it comes to a boil, turn the heat off and pour over the udon. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions.
Tips from the cookbookmaniac
* This took a lot more effort than I thought. Although the noodles were okay, I would stick to the storebought stuff.
* Stomping on the dough is good exercise. After a few minutes I was worn out! Pizzaboy had to take over and he was over it soon after.
* The time it took to make these noodles was the same amount of time to cleanup. It was not worth the effort.
Comments
sweetlife
April 20, 2010 at 3:48 amwhat an adorable post…poking people with a stick is a fantasy I always have..too funny…sorry about the noodles
sweetlife
Anh
April 20, 2010 at 8:35 am;;) a funny post. I sometimes want to make my own udon, but just 6too lazy…
Love the post + the photos!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
April 20, 2010 at 9:29 amSorry to hear about the udon but they do look great if that counts! 🙂
OohLookBel
April 20, 2010 at 9:43 amHeehee, thanks for giving us a good laugh! 🙂 The udon do look good, but I can imagine the effort (and foot exercise) that went into it.
Krista
April 20, 2010 at 10:01 am🙂 You crack me up. 🙂 I love that you tackled this project and love that you’re so honest about NEVER doing it again!! 🙂
tigerfish
April 20, 2010 at 11:00 amOh but they are perfect! Why aren’t you making them anymore? But it seems way too much too much work. Phew!
tangerine eats
April 20, 2010 at 12:00 pmThe noodles look fantastic, much more tender than the store-bought stuff (which I cannot stand). But fair enough that you don’t want to make them again, you gotta pick your battles 🙂
And if it makes you feel any better, I sent my ex a letter telling him how spineless he was and it didn’t make me feel that great
Richard Elliot
April 20, 2010 at 1:35 pmI feel the same way about puff pastry, although it wasn’t as painful a process!
grace
April 20, 2010 at 6:58 pmfeet! what a great recipe and all-around terrific post–i’m glad you realize the things you regret–i’ve been known to remain in denial. 🙂
Adrian @ Food Rehab
April 20, 2010 at 8:42 pmhehe, at least you got a workout before the meal. Yes, big effort here indeed. They do look great though!
foodwink
April 20, 2010 at 9:43 pmWhat a lovely post! Always look on the bright side of life. At least you got some great foot exercise and great pics of this experience 🙂
Juliana
April 21, 2010 at 6:46 amAmy, you are so funny 🙂 I could not believe my eyes that you made the udon from scratch…I love udon, due to its texture, and really admire you of trying to make it…at least once 😉
Great pictures as well!
panda
April 21, 2010 at 8:16 ami love harumi kurihara’s recipes but shame that this udon recipe didn’t work out. your photos do make them look good though and at least you can say you’ve had a go at making udon!
Sonya
April 21, 2010 at 8:27 amNoodles look great though….my parents have been engaged for 29 years and are still not married. People have stopped asking when they are getting married….took a while though, lol.
Barbara Bakes
April 21, 2010 at 1:29 pmA fun post! Sorry they weren’t everything you had hoped for. They do sound like they should be fabulous.
Karen
April 21, 2010 at 6:22 pmDisappointed to hear they didn’t turn out well, but they look great anyway!
TruffleMe
April 22, 2010 at 7:31 amAmy, couldn’t believe it when I saw your feet in the photo! Sorry to hear about the broken pasta machine. The noodle looked good in the end anyway. And thanks for the warning – I won’t be trying this at home either.
Anita
April 22, 2010 at 7:24 pmOh no! I thought it was going to be lovely! 🙁 I love the quote about “poking a stick in their eye” – Classic!
Helen (grabyourfork)
April 23, 2010 at 1:53 amAt least you can say you’ve tried it! The pic of you walking on the udon dough is so cute though – a case of more romantic in theory than reality, I’m sure. Perhaps they should introduce udon-making classes at the gym 🙂
Lisa @ bakebikeblog
April 23, 2010 at 10:06 amoh my – what a task! At least you can say that you tried 🙂
Phuoc’n Delicious
April 23, 2010 at 11:20 amAww… sucks to hear that your pasta machine broke! 🙁
If it makes things better, your udon looks wonderful though. But I guess some things are better off not wasting your time on.
Amy @ cookbookmaniac
April 23, 2010 at 9:58 pmHi Everyone! Thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment! I love them, so keep them coming!
However, for the record… Those sexy hobbit feet belong to Pizzaboy. LOL 😀
Renita
April 24, 2010 at 1:02 pmIt does look great though! 🙂
I’ve always wanted to make udon, but it sure does look like fun – minus the lightly dusted floor and broken pasta machine. Great post!
Bonnie
April 25, 2010 at 5:28 amThose noodles look good but the joy is in the humor of the making of them! I love the foot “kneading”. I have a question. How many cookbooks does a “cookbook maniac”? And what are the favorites?
Best,
Bonnie
Tuty @Scentofspice
April 27, 2010 at 2:31 amAmy,
I truly enjoy your sense of humor 🙂
The kneading process is priceless!
angie
April 27, 2010 at 9:45 amAww such a shame they didn’t turn out as you had hoped, you still managed some very cool photos though =) Hey on the plus side you guys got a great workout right? =D
Von
May 2, 2010 at 6:50 pmI’ve always wanted to make udon noodles……
they sound quite fun- at least the jumping bit does!
The noodles look delicious though!