Pop Japan

Tired of instant noodles for instant relief in cold weather? Leave your cozy bed and find the nearest restaurant that serves these five fresh noodle dishes in Japan that's also widely served around the world:

1. Soba

Soba is a fresh noodle made out of buckwheat flour, mostly as thick as spaghetti pasta. It is served either hot or cold, and delicious either with broth or dipping sauce. The most common soba dish is called "mori or zaru soba". This dish is eaten with chilled soya-based sauce, wasabi, and green onions. The difference between mori and zaru dishes is the latter is served with shredded nori seaweeds.

There are also types of soba that are only eaten in a specific occassion, like the Toshikoshi Soba, a symbol for longevity, which is only served in New Year's Eve.

Basically, to eat soba, you have to mix wasabi and some green onions to the liquid sauce, and dip the soba into it. Then, you can indulge the goodness of the cold noodle.

2. Udon

Udon is another good noodle that is made of wheat flour. It is thicker and chewier than soba noodles. Similar to soba, it also prepared in various hot and cold recipes.

The two basic dishes are Zaru Udon, same with zaru soba, the only difference is the base noodle; and Kake Udon, a hot pot dish served with broth. The simple dish only goes with green onions as toppings.

3. Ramen

Ramen could be touted as the most popular noodle dish coming from Japan. It is a fresh noodle dish usually served with a savory broth and with meat, egg, and vegetables.

Of course, we all know how to slurp the ramen! The way of eating it comes with a loud slurp, not only cooling down the noodle, but admires the chef who cooked your ramen.

4. Somen

Somen is like the Japanese version of the Angel hair pasta. It is a white and thin noodles, usually served cold. This summer food is usually eaten with a soy sauce dip sauce, along with grated ginger and chopped green onions. It also goes well with thinly sliced vegetables and eggs.

5. Yakisoba

Yakisoba literally means grilled (yaki) noodles (soba). It was actually adapted from the Chinese chow mein. The Chinese style chow mein uses soy sauce to add flavor, while the Japanese uses worcestershire sauce for yakisoba. It is basically a saucy dish, with a mixture of noodles, veggies, and may come with pork or seafood.