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How to eat Japan’s super long noodles【Taste test】

Oona McGee Oct 8, 2022
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Devil’s Club noodles are over half the length of an average human, so how the heck do you eat them?

Recently, a long package arrived at the house of our reporter K. Masami, who was initially suspicious of the weirdly-shaped item. However, after checking the sender’s details on the package, she realised it was from one of her friends who lived in Okayama, so she eagerly ripped open the packaging to see what surprise lay in store for her inside.

▼ It was a long and narrow cylinder, covered in paper with the name of the manufacturer, Kamogawa Tenobe Somen in Okayama Prefecture, printed on it.

▼ Beneath the paper wrapping lay the “Oni no Kanabo Udon”.

“Oni” means “devil” in Japanese, and “kanabo” is a spiked club used by samurai…and devils, according to folklore, as they’re often depicted holding them in one hand. Thankfully, Masami’s friend hadn’t sent her an actual devil’s club through the post, as this kanabo was edible, containing a big wad of udon noodles.

▼ The 480-gram (17-ounce) pack contains three servings, and the noodles are crazy long, measuring 90 centimetres (35 inches) in length.

According to the instructions, the noodles are best split into thirds for cooking, but they were so unusual that Masami couldn’t resist cooking the whole thing.

▼ So, with the devil on her shoulder egging her on, Masami dunked all the noodles in a pot full of boiling water.

Of course, you should use your own judgement when it comes to ignoring cooking instructions like this, as the noodles are long, thick, and might get stuck in your throat as you slurp them.

The instructions also say it’s best to cut the noodles before eating, but the devil on Masami’s shoulder made her ignore the warnings as she dunked the udon on a huge serving platter, with some ice to cool it down.

Now it was time to eat the devil’s noodles, and after a couple of unsuccessful attempts to pick them up with chopsticks, Masami adopted a new technique, using two hands to raise the chopsticks, and the noodles, above her head

▼ At 90 centimetres, these noodles are more than half the length of our reporter, and they required a lot of arm strength to lift.

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A post shared by Kinoshita_Masami (@masami_1010)

The unusual technique worked a treat, and Masami was even able to add some dipping sauce to the noodles before she slurped them up. Obviously she had to bite through the noodles before she ate them, as she couldn’t even see the ends of them, but in terms of flavour and texture, they were exceptional.

Smooth and chewy, the texture was somewhere between somen (super thin wheat noodles), hiyamugi (thin wheat noodles) and udon (thick wheat noodles), which is likely due to the fact that the manufacturers are somen specialists.

Despite their length and thickness, the lighter-than-udon texture of these noodles made them an absolute pleasure to eat. The Devil’s Club Udon can be purchased online for 2,470 yen (US$17.13), but beware — it will knock you out with its deliciousness.

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