this is behind the counter at a local
japanese udon shop
[Music]
okay so i'm super excited for this one
i'm taking you to a super local udon
shop that makes everything by hand but
like always before i start if you want
to see what i'm doing on the daily check
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all right let's go talk to ewai son
here we go i'm taking you behind the
counter at another family-owned japanese
restaurant to bring you the real life
story of how handcrafted udon is made
this time we're at sunuki udon ewai a
local favorite at jujo station in tokyo
it's just a five minute walk from the
station to the jujo ginza shotengai
well good morning
so this is iwaisan 40 years old born and
raised in guma now living in tokyo and
the owner of this udon shop
are you always alone in the morning
oh he's turning on the radio i guess
that's part of his morning routine
first thing he preps in the morning is a
dashi for the soup udon noodles are one
of japan's most traditional foods as
well as one of its most simple just soup
and udon noodles well you can add
toppings but many japanese still enjoy
it just with those two ingredients so
it's critical to craft a perfect dashi
in order to crop a perfect bowl at the
donut
now he prepares the change for the
register so how long has the store been
opened for
june
why did you decide to start a new dawn
shop
that's the oil for the tempura the shop
uses daiso shirashi mayu a light-colored
soybean oil
[Music]
hey i noticed you've got some kids bikes
oh he really lives in the same building
[Laughter]
thank you so nice
[Music]
as a dashi continuously cooks he starts
the noodle prep apparently this dough is
made the day before as it needs to
mature overnight and then it must be
needed before it's cut into noodle form
his shop uses a traditional japanese
method of kneading with your feet which
creates their udon's signature elastic
and chewy texture called kushi many who
don't chops these days have moved to
using machines for the kneading but e
watson prefers to carry on the method he
learned from his master in kagawa
pizza no cap they do look like pizza
[Music]
now he prepares a new batch of dough for
tomorrow the shop uses a specific flour
for its udon noodles asw which is
shipped from kagawa prefecture and how
much flour do you use today
[Music]
oh it's time to pour out the dashi so we
quickly move to the stove area while in
the middle of making the udon noodles
multiple items must be prepared in the
morning before the customers arrive so
it must work efficiently in order to get
everything done on time while also being
firm to not sacrifice the quality of his
food in the process for example he must
repeat the dashi cooking process
numerous times until the large pot is
full
why do you make your dashi this
[Music]
now he mixes the salted water into the
flour
[Music]
in fact udon noodles are made up of a
few simple ingredients flour water and
salt which is why it's even more
critical that the shop selects an
appropriate flour and mixture ratio
interestingly depending on the day's
temperature humidity weather as well as
other factors it all affects the final
taste and texture of the udon noodles do
you always do this on your own
oh they can do it already
oh that's a family from the neighborhood
who he buys rice from i guess running a
business in the local area for 10 years
has allowed him to develop many strong
relationships with people
[Music]
oh that's the shop manager for his
second shop
cool can you speak german
before she opens up her store she stops
here to pick up some important
ingredients have you spilled anything
before
what's in it anyways
good luck
[Music]
oh here's the first worker at the shop
while she gets ready for her shift
weissen continues to work on the dough
now he cuts a newly made dough weighs it
and then stores it away for tomorrow
[Music]
one block of dough is about 2 kilograms
about 4.4 pounds which makes about 10
bowls finally he hand needs the dough
that he needed with his feet earlier
this morning iwaisan learned his udon
crafting skills under the master at
miyatake udon in kagawa prefecture he
studied for about half a year and then
returned to tokyo to open up his own
shop kagawa prefecture is known as the
udon prefecture in japan as it's ranked
first nationwide for udon noodle
production and consumption with over 600
who don't noodle shop which easily
outnumbers their total number of
convenience stores and the waisan crafts
their famous style sanuki udon noodles
at his local tokyo shop
once the dough is completely flattened
he folds it into layers so it can be cut
into noodle form let me just pause for a
moment here so we can enjoy the beauty
of a skilled knife work
after many years of honing his skills
and mastering the art of udon crafting
ui son was able to along the way teach
several apprentices and develop a strong
customer base in love with his noodles
but of course this didn't happen
overnight he started his udon career
when he was only 24 years old working
part-time at one of the most popular
udon chains in japan hana marugudon this
is where he discovered his passion for
udon which eventually motivated him to
seek out his udon master in kagawa
prefecture at miyatake udon he says that
when he was first learning to craft udon
in kagawa every day was an eye-opening
experience but at the same time it was a
true test of his will and fortitude
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[Music]
oh another worker has arrived he's one
of the apprentices who's planning to
open up his own udon shop after studying
here
damn he's gotta move a lot of stuff out
of the shop to get it ready
what do you do in the morning
have you been working here for a long
time
[Music]
now the apprentice mix of sauce which is
added into the soup he mixes the perfect
ratio of japanese sake soy sauce and
meat
how old are you
you look younger
he's writing down the shopping list so
what are you buying today
[Music]
while the staff prepares for the opening
he needs to run to the supermarket to
pick up some additional ingredients he
prefers to go grocery shopping every day
in order to serve the freshest
ingredients to his customers
he says though that the price of things
like vegetables flour meat oil in japan
have been rising since the end of last
year which forced him to make the hard
decision to raise the price of his done
by 50 yen about 39 cents in order to
keep his business going he also said
that he deeply cares about his customers
and their eating experience which
includes providing his donut at an
affordable price so the decision weighed
on him quite a bit
[Music]
so his apprentice packs tempura takeout
sets to sell in front of the store since
he's located on the main shopping street
and the area itself is uniquely known to
have many sosai shops meaning shops that
offer everyday japanese side dishes for
take out so families can add it to their
dinner table he also offers them put a
take out kind of makes me want to live
in this neighborhood
wow the store isn't open yet but there's
already customers buying their tempura
takeouts i guess the regulars know when
to buy their freshly fried tempura so
where are you opening up your store
oh
[Music]
so what did you learn from here the most
she's seasoning the chicken for the
tempura i can already taste that juicy
fried chicken hater
finally the dashi is finished i guess
that's what a pot full of love looks
like
[Music]
so what's your hobby
thank you you have a daughter
you hang out there
oh that's cool where does your daughter
live
is that your hometown
i guess every family has their story
[Music]
wow that's a ginormous gesso squid legs
looks so good
[Applause]
she's now making more tempura
okay so what do you like to eat
[Music]
i mean other than udon
what kind of meat
oh these days i like the spring valley
beers
so that's the one
[Music]
finally the shop is open for business
do you sell all this in one day
oh so cute ewy son's daughter's here i
guess she can't find her mom
ah she really likes fumichan it's so
nice they're like one big family here
[Music]
you why sending the staff work
diligently to serve their customers as
soon as possible when the orders are
placed
[Music]
oh wow that's a huge bowl
let's talk to that guy excuse me can i
bother you
do you come here often
what are you eating
how much is that
that's so big what did you get on the
side
what do you love most about the shop
[Music]
oh now his apprentice is making the
noodles by the way are you married
congrats
so what do you like to do outside of
work
that's the same as iwaisan i should have
fishes
took over he's checking how he did
why did he only cut halfway um
since there aren't so many handmade
drone shops nowadays and the fact that
iwaisan is so warm-hearted and open to
sharing his craft he often gets
approached by people wanting to become
his apprentice i'm not quite sure but
that line can even be longer than the
line in front of his shop
hi my dog
speaking of which the shop is getting
busy
wow she's non-stop frying kinda makes me
want to take a quick temp for a break
right now anyway their most popular
tempur item at the shop is the chikuwa
fish cake she says chikuwa is one of the
harder ingredients to fry evenly since
the center hole often gets clogged
[Music]
hot soup with hot noodles at his udon
shop you can choose from many different
bowls including hot or cold soup paired
with hot or cold noodles apparently the
popularity changes with the season but
he recommends zahiatsu cold noodles with
hot soup which basically turns into a
warm bowl
oh look his family's going out
where are you going
oh he's making a fresh udon delivery to
one of the neighboring businesses and
he's serving it with the in-shop bowls
that's service
hi can i ask you a question what are you
eating
so why do you like to come here
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
finally done
after lunch time and closing the shop
they all eat mug and i together which is
a meal provided by the shop to the
workers of course it's udon tempura and
it looks like a healthy portion
all right so that's behind the counter
at a local udon shop here in japan if
you guys like this video or you want to
see more videos like this or anything
related to japan hit that subscribe
button and above and i'll catch you guys
in the next