Ise Udon

Ise udon is thick, very soft noodles in a small amount of dark tamari-based sauce, with a little spring onion on top and nothing else. There is no soup. The noodles are boiled for around an hour, which destroys the chewiness that udon is prized for everywhere else in Japan, and that is deliberate.

The explanation is pilgrimage. Ise received enormous numbers of travellers who arrived tired, hungry and with unreliable digestion, and the shops around the shrine cooked noodles soft enough to be eaten quickly and to sit lightly. Everything about the dish follows from serving a crowd fast. Visitors who expect Sanuki udon are routinely disappointed; understanding why it is soft is the difference between a bad bowl and a good one.