Japanese Hoto: Flat Udon Noodles and Yamanashi Mountain Cuisine

Ingredients

• For the hōtō noodles
• 300 g wheat flour (plain), plus extra for dusting
• 150 ml water, at approximately 50% hydration to flour weight
• For the dashi base
• 1.5 litres water
• 15 g kombu, wiped clean
• 30 g niboshi (dried sardines), heads and viscera removed if preferred
• For the broth and vegetables
• 400 g kabocha squash, cut into 5–6 cm chunks, skin on
• 150 g daikon, peeled, cut into half-moons 1 cm thick
• 150 g carrot, peeled, cut into half-moons 1 cm thick
• 100 g burdock (gobo), scrubbed, sliced thinly on the diagonal, soaked in cold water
• 100 g konnyaku (konjac), torn into rough 3–4 cm pieces by hand
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in cold water, stems removed, caps sliced; soaking liquid reserved
• 200 g pork belly, sliced 5 mm thick (optional; omit for vegetable hōtō)
• For the miso seasoning
• 80 g hatcho miso (or dark assertive miso), adjusted with Koshu miso if available; dissolved in a little warm dashi before adding
• 20 g Koshu miso (or additional dark miso), to balance and round the hatcho

Method

1. 1
   Combine wheat flour and water in a bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead firmly for 8–10 minutes until smooth. Shape into a ball, cover with a damp cloth, and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. The dough is ready when it no longer springs back immediately under a finger pressed into its surface.
2. 2
   Prepare the kombu-and-niboshi dashi: combine kombu and niboshi in 1.5 litres of cold water. Bring slowly to just below a simmer, remove the kombu before boiling begins, then allow niboshi to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve the dashi, adding any strained shiitake soaking liquid to it. The finished dashi should carry a clean, slightly assertive marine depth.
3. 3
   Bring the dashi to a steady simmer in a heavy pot or donabe. Add the kabocha, daikon, carrot, burdock, konnyaku, and pork belly (if using). The broth must be seasoned more assertively with a small amount of the miso at this stage than seems necessary — the noodle starch added later will dilute it. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, until the root vegetables are beginning to yield and the outer edges of the kabocha have begun to soften and break down into the broth.
4. 4
   While the broth simmers, roll the rested dough on a lightly floured surface to 3–4 mm thickness. Cut into strips 2–3 cm wide. Intentional unevenness in width and thickness is correct for hōtō; uniformity is not the goal. Dust lightly with flour to prevent sticking.
5. 5
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Add the raw, unboiled noodle strips directly to the simmering broth with the vegetables. Do not pre-boil them. Stir to separate and submerge. Simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the noodles cook, they release starch into the liquid; the broth will visibly thicken to a cohesive, porridge-adjacent consistency that coats a spoon heavily. If it does not thicken, the noodles were pre-boiled or the liquid volume is excessive.
6. 6
   Add the sliced rehydrated shiitake in the final 10 minutes of cooking. In the last 10 minutes, dissolve the miso in a ladleful of hot broth and stir it into the pot. Do not boil vigorously after the miso is added. Taste: the broth should be bold, savoury, and sweet from the kabocha — adjust with additional miso only if needed. The finished broth is opaque, deep-coloured, and thick enough that a spoon drawn across the surface leaves a momentary trace.
7. 7
   Serve immediately from the pot, ladled into deep bowls. In traditional Yamanashi service the donabe or cast-iron pot is brought to the table and kept over a low flame so the dish continues to simmer gently. The broth should be too thick to pour freely — it should settle slowly in the bowl.