TJW
The Japanese Way
What Is Udon Sushi?

What Is Udon Sushi?

·Food

Cooking is a passion for many people, and one of the main reasons is the fact that you can combine all sorts of ingredients at your home and create something new every time. Japanese cuisine is known for using a plethora of different toppings and ingredients, so you might have come across a person who has combined udon and sushi so the question is - "What is udon sushi?".

Udon sushi does not exist as a traditional Japanese recipe, and to be honest, it is truly an odd combination since udon is the name for wheat noodles, and sushi is a rice dish prepared usually with seaweed and seafood. Such a combination can certainly not be found in any authentic Japanese restaurant.

Close-up shot of udon noodles

Udon Sushi Does Not Exist as a Traditional Recipe

People like to experiment a lot when preparing food, and, after all, freedom is one of the main beauties of cooking. Hence, your friend or yourself might have come up with an idea to combine udon noodles with sushi. However, a traditional Japanese chef would probably be offended if you were to show him that creation as it truly is a weird mix, and there is not a remotely similar dish in traditional Japanese cuisine. Here is why:

  • Japanese recipes either use rice or noodles as both have similar nutritional value. When ordering some dishes at a Japanese restaurant, you will even have the option to choose between noodles and rice for a side dish.
  • Both rice and noodles have very little flavor. They depend a lot on seasonings and ingredients, so a dish with both will be most likely bland.
  • Both rice and noodles are the main ingredients of specific recipes. If we were to mix the two, the traditional udon soup or sushi would lose their authentic taste.

Udon and Sushi Are Two Completely Different Things

The only thing that sushi and udon might have in common is that when slicing the udon dough into strips, a good sushi knife works like a charm since it is extremely sharp. Other than that, there are no similarities. Here is a brief overview of the two things.

Salmon sushi on a tray

There Is Nothing Wrong With Experimenting With Food

At the end of the day, no one really cares if you combine udon and sushi, and who knows, maybe you will be able to come up with something delicious. However, when objectively thinking about the final result, udon sushi will probably not be an enjoyable experience since the blandness of noodles would probably overpower the sushi flavors.