Antarctic Curry: Japanese restaurant revives meal eaten by Antarctic explorers

Our Gunma-based reporter Takamichi Furusawa was in search of someplace to eat in Gunma’s Tatebayashi Metropolis the opposite day when he heard a couple of dish referred to as Antarctic Curry Udon.

That appeared like precisely the form of dish he wanted on this sizzling summer season’s day, when the temperature was hitting 38 levels Celsius, so he instantly headed out to the restaurant that was serving it.

The restaurant is a part of a well-known chain in Japan referred to as Hanayama Udon, which has a historical past that stems again 129 years, and this location in Tatebayashi is the principle department.

This explicit constructing has the ambiance of an expensive service provider home from the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1926), and when Takamichi arrived half-hour after the opening time, the restaurant was already full, with a line of individuals ready outdoors. The lengthy bench underneath the eaves prompt that this restaurant was very talked-about, however fortunately the turnover time wasn’t too lengthy, so Takamichi was capable of get in after round 10 minutes.

The inside of the shop was superbly designed, with the heat of the wooden exuding a way of luxurious and including calmness to the house. Takamichi appreciated the very fact that there have been counter seats along with desk seats, making it a very good place for solo diners like himself.

After taking a seat and flipping via the menu, Takamichi lastly discovered what he was in search of — the Antarctic Curry, which was listed as “Marugoto Tamanegi no Nankyuu Curry” (“Entire Onion Antarctic Curry“. The curry (marked in crimson under) will be ordered with both tsukemen (chilly dipping noodles) or kake (sizzling noodles in broth). Masanuki had been really helpful to order the tsukemen, seeing as that’s the way in which former Japanese Antarctic expedition members had eaten it, in order that’s what he ordered.

You see, this meal will get its identify not from any likeness to the frigid temperatures of the Antarctic however from the Japanese Antarctic expeditions that occurred in the course of the Showa period (1926-1989).

Within the mid-Fifties, when Japanese Antarctic analysis started, expedition members selected to take Hanayama Udon noodles with them for his or her lengthy journeys overseas, and at base camp, they’d use the noodles to make udon curry.

The craftsmen at Hanayama Udon had been eager to maintain this culinary custom alive in Japan, so that they spent over 10,000 hours engaged on reviving the dish till they had been capable of faithfully recreate it, true to the unique.

▼ A style of historical past, all for 1,400 yen

It took lower than 10 minutes for Takamichi’s meal to reach, and the very first thing he observed about it was the gorgeously rotund tanuki raccoon canine that was sitting on his tray.

The smiling animal introduced a smile to Masanuki’s face, and when he ceremoniously raised its head, his smile grew wider as there was a big mound of curry sauce contained in the clay container. The scrumptious scent of curry wafted as much as Takamichi’s nostrils, stimulating his urge for food, and the carrot and inexperienced onion topping added a vivid look to the presentation.

The curry sauce was good and thick, and when he lifted a spoonful to his mouth he may see giant chunks of hen within the combine. Although the menu had talked about “complete onion” in relation to this dish, there was no complete onion current, main Takamichi to suppose it should’ve been added complete in the course of the cooking course of to deliver out the sweetness and richness of the curry.

▼ Nevertheless they made it, it was completely beautiful, with a wealthy depth and well-rounded sweetness that was completely addictive.

Takamichi resisted the temptation to devour the curry instantly by itself, and as an alternative proceeded to eat it the way in which it was supposed, with the noodles.

The noodles had been huge and skinny, with a width of about 5 centimeters. One of these huge noodle is a Gunma specialty often called himokawa udon, and right here they had been served superbly in a steel bowl to maintain them good and funky all through the meal.

When he mixed the chewy noodles with the curry sauce, the mixture was totally scrumptious! The sweetness of the onion, the flavour of the bonito, and the proper width of noodle to select all of it up with made for a superb mixture.

▼ The ten,000 hours of effort it took to plan this meal had been evident in each scrumptious mouthful.

It was actually superb to have the ability to style a dish that fuelled Japan’s intrepid explorers again within the day. While you’re exploring new worlds, taste is a first-rate ingredient to maintain the spirits up, and Takamichi felt a way of satisfaction that Japanese curry was the dish that saved them going.

It was a improbable meal, and one you must undoubtedly attempt whereas in Japan. In case you’re unable to journey to Gunma, Hanayama Udon sells the Antarctic Curry at branches in Tokyo as effectively, so undoubtedly test it out should you’re !

Restaurant info

Hanayama Udon Head Restaurant / 花山うどん（本店 お食事処）

Handle: Gunma-ken, Tatebayashi-shi, Honmachi 2-3-48

群馬県館林市本町2-3-48

Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (could shut when noodles run out)

Closed Sundays

Web site

Photographs ©SoraNews24

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