How to eat kama-age udon | Limitless arrangements of condiments and toppings!
Kama-age udon is a dish of freshly-boiled udon noodles dipped in dashi broth. It is a local dish of Kagawa, a prefecture on the island of Shikoku. This dish offers limitless variations by adding aromatic condiments and toppings to suit your taste. To learn more about the smart way to enjoy kama-age udon, we visited Marugame Seimen, a renowned restaurant which is practically synonymous with this iconic dish.
【Advised by】Marugame Seimen（丸亀製麺）
Table of Contents
What is kama-age udon?
Kama-age udon is a dish of freshly-boiled udon noodles served from the boiling pot (yude-gama) directly into a wooden pail (oke). Among the locals of Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku, the birthplace of sanuki udon, this is the classic way to eat udon. Simply dip into the dashi-based sauce and enjoy – this is the perfect way to appreciate the flavor and toothsome texture of the udon itself, to your heart’s content.
At Marugame Seimen, no matter the time of day, udon is always freshly made from scratch. This authentic, artisanally-made udon can be enjoyed at very reasonable prices.
Appreciate the noodles alone
First, take a single udon noodle in your chopsticks, and enjoy it just the way it is, without dipping. Appreciate the savory flavor of the wheat, accentuated by a hint of salt.
Dip and enjoy
Next, dip the udon in your dipping sauce . To transfer noodles into the dipping bowl, place the bowl right next to the noodle pail, and move the noodles in a horizontal sliding motion.
There is something quite exquisite about warm, freshly cooked udon dipped in this dashi-based sauce.
Customize with yakumi
Yakumi are aromatic and textural condiments commonly used to garnish Japanese dishes. Here, oroshi shoga (grated ginger), aonegi (green onions), tenkasu (tempura bits), and surigoma (ground sesame) are used to accent the flavor and texture of udon.
Any of them make a great addition to the dipping sauce , or you can even add all four.
Top with tempura
Marugame Seimen offers an extensive tempura menu. Each piece is individually fried in-house, to a perfect crisp. After receiving your order of udon, take the tempura of your choice. Use tongs to place the tempura on your plate. When the menu is complete, it is time to pay the bill.
This time, we ordered some tempura toppings recommended by the staff. From the left: kashiwa-ten (chicken breast) and yasai kakiage (chopped vegetables).
The kakiage is too large to fit in the dipping bowl, so break it into bite-sized chunks with your chopsticks before dipping. The crispy, crunchy texture of freshly-fried kakiage is positively irresistible.
Top with onsen tamago
Onsen tamago (slow-cooked “hot spring” eggs) can also be ordered as an option. Put this silky, soft egg into your dipping sauce to create flavors reminiscent of mellow kamatama udon – a dish of warm udon noodles coated in raw egg.
Finish off in sobayu style
When you are finished eating the udon, take some of the leftover boiling water (kamayu) from the noodle pail into your dipping bowl, and enjoy it in sobayu style.
Use your renge (soup spoon) to transfer kamayu into the dipping bowl, diluting the sauce to your liking. Finish your meal enjoying this comforting bowl of dashi-based sauce complimented with the goodness extracted from the udon during boiling.
You may be surprised that a single serving of kama-age udon can be so completely satisfying! In fact, Marugame Seimen is now very popular in Hawaii and other overseas locations. While you’re in Japan, be sure to stop by a Marugame Seimen location and enjoy their renowned udon at its finest!
* The published information is current as of October 2022. Prices and other details are subject to change.
Established in 2000, this sanuki udon specialty restaurant has about 1,000 locations worldwide, as of October 2022. Ever since opening, they have proudly served udon freshly made on site from 100% domestically produced flour.
*Products may vary by location.
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