Ryuji Remakes Marugame Seimen's "Udon Meshi" at Home: Two Versions, Sauce and Negi-Shio

The video opens with footage from an earlier visit to Marugame Seimen to eat Udon Meshi. The members who tried it said it "isn't good," followed by comments that the noodles' worst qualities came through and that the rice was off. Both the sauce and negi-shio versions were rated poorly.

Ryuji guesses the cause was that the rice was freshly cooked and hadn't been allowed to steam and rest, which made it mushy. The basis for this is that when they asked about it at the restaurant, a staff member said, "We're cooking it now." Ryuji also notes that since the dish is cooked to order, quality probably varies by location. The motivation this time is that "the results were so awful that I want to save it." The menu item apparently ends in June, so another aim is to make it reproducible at home before it's no longer available.

Ryuji cites sobameshi and dishes Ryuji makes that combine ramen and rice (such as Chicken Ra-meshi). Just like those, udon and rice absolutely go together, Ryuji says. Going further, Ryuji puts forward the theory that among dishes combining noodles and rice, udon may be the best. The reason is its chewy texture. Since the restaurant offered both a sauce and a salt version, both are made this time as well.

The basic ingredients are Sato no Gohan (packaged rice), frozen udon, thinly sliced pork offcuts, and cabbage. For the negi-shio version, green onion (naganegi) and garlic are added. Garlic is used because the restaurant's menu described it as "garlic-packed." The members who ate at the restaurant also recall that the salt version had more punch. Ryuji's conclusion was that garlic is needed to deliver that punch. Ryuji adds that if you're bothered by the smell of garlic, it's still delicious without it.

For quantities, one portion of udon and one pack of rice (200 g) makes two servings. Making a half batch would leave half the udon left over, so two servings is the standard. Use equal amounts of meat and cabbage, 120 g each for two servings. Since two versions are being made at the same time this time, that's 240 g of each in total. The cabbage at the restaurant was chopped quite finely, so it's chopped finely here too. The pork offcuts are also cut into small pieces. Ryuji says pork offcuts are used because they're cheap.

That completes the prep for the sauce version. For the negi-shio version, the green onion is cut lengthwise and then chopped. Rather than mincing it, cut it so it keeps some size. The amount is 40 g, about 1/3 of a stalk. The garlic isn't sautéed; it's grated and added partway through. Prepare 2 cloves, about 10 g.

The frozen udon is heated in the microwave. About 3½ minutes for one serving, and 5–6 minutes for two, Ryuji says.

There's a trick to the Sato no Gohan. If you peel off the film completely before heating, the moisture evaporates. Heating it the normal way makes the rice a little mushy, so this is to avoid that. Ryuji says this method was devised recently. For two packs, about 4 minutes at 500W. Ryuji also says 2 minutes is fine at 600W.

Put 1 tablespoon of oil into each frying pan and stir-fry 120 g of pork offcuts. For seasoning, a light sprinkle of salt and pepper is good. Sprinkling before cooking is best, but during stir-frying is fine too. By the time it becomes Udon Meshi, the flavor doesn't change much, Ryuji says.

The udon is chopped with a knife while still in the bag. Cutting diagonally from a corner of the bag is easiest, Ryuji says. Simply pressing the knife against it won't cut the bag—it cuts when you pull—so press without drawing the blade. Add the chopped udon and 120 g of cabbage, and stir-fry while keeping the center of the pan open.

In this step, Ryuji stresses stir-frying thoroughly. Thorough stir-frying makes the udon firmer and chewy. It's tastier if you cook it until it gets some browning, Ryuji says.

Add the heated rice here. Rice heated with the film peeled off is dry and easily turns out fluffy and separate like fried rice, Ryuji explains.

The seasonings are 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of Hondashi, 5 shakes of pepper, and 1 pinch of salt. Oyster sauce brings out seafood umami, so it's better with it, Ryuji says. While stir-frying, Ryuji remarks, "The rice isn't mushy, so it looks good," and "The udon is stir-fried, so it's chewy and delicious," repeating that the best noodle-and-rice dish is definitely udon.

All that's left is the toppings. Saying that when you make it at home you can add as much as you like, Ryuji piles on the toppings. Cover with a lid over the heat to cook everything through. The eggs are finished soft and runny, and aonori (green laver) is sprinkled on top. Mix as you eat.

The negi-shio version is the same up to stir-frying the udon and the other ingredients. Add the rice, then 1½ teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon of Hondashi, about 2 pinches of salt, 2 tablespoons of sake, and the green onion. Ryuji calls Hondashi "the concept of dashi." Since it's a salt flavor, the taste is built up with the seasonings, Ryuji says.

After a light stir-fry, about 10 g of garlic is grated in to add "the punch of grated garlic." Partway through, Ryuji remarks that the saltiness of the chicken stock and the bonito flavor come through and it's super delicious. Ryuji adjusts the salt, settling on about 3 pinches in the end, and adds a generous amount of black pepper. Two eggs are cracked in, two swirls of sesame oil are drizzled over, and it's done.

Everyone who tried the negi-shio version kept saying "This is insane" and "So good." The browned, crispy bits were especially praised. Comments included "You have to cook it this much," "The crispy bits are the best," and "The crunchy charred bits are amazing," and everyone agreed that it's better charred. There was also a comment that the double dashi of chicken stock and Hondashi was delicious.

Ryuji points out that the udon must not be allowed to get mushy, and that you should definitely use grated garlic, not garlic powder. Ryuji expressed confidence that even after the menu item is gone, it can be reproduced at home.

The sauce version got more deeply charred than the negi-shio version. Ryuji takes this as delicious in its own way. Its appearance was described as "like okonomiyaki," and on tasting, the reaction was "ridiculously good." The deep char was praised for adding texture, and there was also talk of variations, such as adding shrimp or octopus to make it even more okonomiyaki-like.

It was also mentioned that getting this kind of browning would probably be impossible within a chain restaurant's operations. Someone also said it would make a good drinking snack. That said, Ryuji praised Marugame Seimen's idea, saying the thought of making this into a menu item had never occurred to Ryuji. Ryuji also speculates that since it's served on an iron plate in the restaurant, it might get those crispy bits, whereas takeout comes in a food container—so if you eat in, it might be this delicious.

The key point Ryuji summarized is to keep heating after adding the eggs so the bottom gets crispy. That creates a contrast between the crispy bits, the rice, and the udon, Ryuji says.

When asked at the end which they preferred, opinions were split. A member who usually doesn't like sauce chose the sauce version, which Ryuji found unusual. Other members went back and forth, saying negi-shio was better and then changing their minds to say the sauce was tastier. There was also a joke about the psychology of something seeming tastier when everyone says it's good. No conclusion was reached, and the video ends with the sense that both are delicious. Ryuji says that as long as you have udon, rice, and cabbage, you can make it at home, and wrapped up by encouraging viewers to try it at the restaurant too.