Noodles...

In Japan, rice is a staple. The word gohan, one of more than a dozen that describe the revered grain, signifies both "cooked rice" and "a meal." Literally, you haven't eaten until you've had your rice.

Noodles, in contrast, are generally treated as a snack. But that doesn't stop them from being adored. Appreciation of the country's other carb reached cult status with Juzo Itami's 1985 movie Tampopo. Now considered a classic, the tongue-in-cheek film centered on an obsessive search for the perfect bowl of ramen.

NOODLES FOR ALL SEASONS
I often find myself noodle-dreaming when a mid-morning or late-afternoon belly rumble reminds me that I skimped on breakfast or had no time for lunch. On bone-chilling days, I'm most likely to conjure up a bowl of thick, slithery white udon in a piping-hot, smoky-rich sea broth. Chinese-style ramen noodles also make an occasional appearance in my cold-weather daydreams, floating in a flavorful, miso-enriched broth.

In springtime, I seek out nutty shin soba, made from newly harvested whole-grain buckwheat and served with pale-green, tear-provoking wasabi; aromatic sliced leeks; and an intense soy dipping sauce. The steamy summer season calls for tangles of cool, slender somen in a bowl of ice water, accompanied by a dark soy dip spiked with bracing grated ginger and shredded shiso leaves. On muggy days my reverie also tends toward hiyashi chuka, a heaping portion of chilled ramen garnished with shredded cucumber, boiled ham, soy-simmered sliced hoshi (dried) shiitake, and slivers of sharp red-pickled ginger. This latter dish is like a noodle-laden chef's salad, splashed with a refreshingly tart sesame-soy dressing.

REGIONAL IDENTITIES
In addition to noodle menu choices influenced by the seasons, Japanese typically demonstrate strong regional preferences as well. Those who hail from the Sanuki region on the island of Shikoku — a stronghold in the consumption of wheat-based udon and somen — will regularly find an excuse to indulge themselves in hot or cold, soup- or salad-like versions, made with either thick or thin noodles. Natives of the mountainous Shinshu region are buckwheat devotees — for them, it's soba, anytime. Hokkaido, in the north, and Kyushu, in the south, are both enclaves of ramen-eating culture, though the miso broth favored in the northern city of Sapporo and the milky-white tonkatsu pork stock of Hakata (a southern city) produce vastly different dishes.

The nation does share a few common noodle-eating habits: Somen are nearly always on the menu for the midsummer festival of Tanabata, and soba noodles are slurped in most homes on New Year's Eve.

Though some types of noodles are mainly restaurant fare, others, such as udon, can be made at home. For some of my favorite recipes, as well as memories of noodle-stomping with my mother-in-law, read on. >

— Elizabeth Andoh