Takashi Yagihashi - Takashis Noodles

Copyright 2009 by Takashi Yagihashi
Photography 2009 by Tyllie Barbosa

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yagihashi, Takashi.
Takashis noodles / Takashi Yagihashi with Harris Salat; photography by Tyllie Barbosa.
p. cm.
Includes index.
Summary: A collection of 75 recipes from James Beard Awardwinning chef Takashi Yagihashi for both traditional and inventive hot and cold Japanese noodle dishes
Provided by publisher.
1. Cookery (Pasta) 2. NoodlesJapan. 3. Cookery,
Japanese. I. Salat, Harris. II. Title.
TX809.M17Y34 2009
641.822dc22
2008041473

eISBN: 978-1-60774-201-2

Cover design: Toni Tajima
Recipe testing: Jaclyn Kolber
Food styling: Christina Zerkis
Food stylist assistance: Jaclyn Kolber
Prop styling: Kelly McKaig
Photography assistance: Melissa Romito and
Christy Schmid

v3.1

From the time I was a child growing up in Mito, Japan, noodles have been close to my heart, like my family and friends. Thank you to all of them for making this book happen.

My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to my father, Sakae, my mother, Tamiko, and my sister, Masumi. And thanks to my wife, Kathy, and my children, Brandon, Emily, and Bridget.

And many thanks to the following people, whose contributions also helped to make this book a reality: the staff at Takashi Restaurant and Takashis Noodles at Macys; the Yamasho staff; and Courtney Kaplan, Ken Kido, Reiko Sagioka, and Atsuko Uchida.

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Norio, for inspiring me, and to Jun-san for allowing me to work in your amazing noodle shop.

From hand-cut soba to a hearty bowl of ramen, Japanese love their noodles.

Im no exception. This book will introduce you to my countrys comfort food, from traditional preparations to modern twists, including Italian pasta, Japanese style. It will explain the varieties and flavors of these versatile dishes, and guide you to vibrantsometimes surprisingingredients. And in the pages that follow, Ill share personal recipes inspired by my two decades cooking here in America. All the recipes in this book are delicious dishes you can cook at home. Just ask my family.

I grew up in Mito, Japan, a small city 100 miles northeast of Tokyo near the Pacific Ocean. Back then, in the 1960s, my hometown was surrounded by rice fields and vegetable plotsand the farmers personally delivered their bounty by motorcycle. The rumble of engines announced their arrival to my house each morning, with a crate lashed to the rear rack overflowing with just-picked eggplant, daikon, carrots, and greens. These deliveriesfish and handmade tofu, toowere so frequent that my mother didnt own a refrigerator!

My passion for noodles started early. We were lucky enough to live on a block with two family-run noodle restaurants, both a 5-minute walk from my house. This was a godsend to my hardworking parents, both busy accountantsso we ate plenty of fresh noodles during the week. I attended elementary school with the kids from one of those places, the Azuma-an soba shop, which cultivated my taste for noodles even more. Playing at their house after class meant stepping into the noodle version of the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory, since their living quarters were attached to the restaurant in the traditional Japanese style. I still remember staring awestruck at cooks portioning long sheets of fresh soba dough with monstrous knives and tossing the strands into gurgling pots large enough for me to bathe in.

As I got older I started cooking for myself after my studies. The very first dish I ever prepared was noodlesbut I have to admit they were the instant kind. In high school I took a job scrubbing pots at the restaurant attached to the local cultural center. This place served European-style food and gave me my first taste of Italian pasta and sauces.

I didnt realize it at the time, but that humble kitchen job launched a culinary career that transported me from Mito and Tokyo to Chicago, Detroit, and Las Vegas. I started in local mom-and-pop storefronts in Japan and after years of hard work became a James Beard Awardwinning chef running French and Japanese restaurants here in America.

The cuisine Ive created at my restaurants has been contemporary and modern, celebrated as among the finest in America by such publications as the New York Times and Food & Wine. Im grateful for those accoladesand I love creating dishes that draw from the best of French and Japanese cuisine. But I also love my soul food, and have never stopped yearning for it: the simple, delicious noodles I still prepare at home for my family. I now want to share my favorite recipes with other cooks here in America.

You can find noodles everywhere in Japan, from noodle stands in train stations to neighborhood noodle shops to elegant noodle restaurants. And at home, noodles are a staple of nearly every kitchen. We enjoy a wide variety of noodles in Japan: hearty buckwheat soba, chewy udon, vermicelli-like somen, and Chinese noodles, or ramen, which is extremely popular throughout the country. Pan-Asian noodles, from Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea, are also fashionable, as is Italian pasta, like the kind I first tasted back in Mito. But as these imports have become a part of the cuisine, theyve adopted a uniquely Japanese character.

This book dedicates a chapter to each of these styles of noodles. I cover traditional preparations that Ive enjoyed since I was a child, including soba with hot, crispy tempura. I also introduce elegant recipes influenced by my modern, cross-cultural cooking, such as udon with heirloom tomatoes and ratatouille. And I include recipes that may surprise you, such as spaghetti with clams and seaweed. My dishes are extremely versatile, ranging from simple to elegant, hot to cold, and summer favorites to winter treats.

In addition to noodle recipes, Ill include a chapter on side dishesauthentic favorites such as gyoza dumplings, grilled squid, and tofu.

If your life is as busy as mine, juggling my career, family, the kids soccer gameseven my two dogs make demandsI know youll appreciate the recipes in this book. Whether simple or elegant, my noodles are healthy and satisfying comfort foods that are a snap to pull together on any school night. Your kids will love them! And noodles wont burn a crater in your wallet: theyre an economical way to stretch a budget and still enjoy quality meals, whether youre cooking for an entire family or just yourself. When you finish reading my book, youll understand why we Japanese so crave our noodles, and I guarantee you will, too.