is a Japanese stir-fried dish consisting of thick, smooth, white udon

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, ...

s mixed with a soy-based sauce, meat (usually pork), and vegetables. It is similar to

yakisoba ''Yakisoba'' ( ja, 焼きそば ), "fried noodle", is a Japanese noodle stir-fried dish. Usually, soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, but soba in yakisoba are Chinese noodles (Chuuka soba) made from wheat flour, typically flavored wi ...

, which involves a similar stir-frying technique using ramen-style wheat noodles. Yaki udon is relatively simple to make and popular as a staple of Japan's

izakaya An () is a type of informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a pub, a Spanish tapas bar, or an American saloon or tavern. Etymology The word entered the English ...

, or pubs, eaten frequently as a late night snack. It originated in

Kokura is an ancient castle town and the center of Kitakyushu, Japan, guarding the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshu and Kyushu with its suburb Moji. Kokura is also the name of the penultimate station on the southbound San'yō Shinkansen li ...

, Fukuoka Prefecture, in southern Japan after the Pacific War. The widely accepted story of how the dish was created dates back to just after World War II, when food was scarce. The owner of the noodle restaurant Darumado used udon noodles in popular yakisoba preparations, because the proper noodles were not available.

References

External links

Kokura Yakiudon Kenkyujo
* Udon Fried noodles Japanese noodle dishes {{Japan-cuisine-stub