Tsukimi (moon-viewing) preparations — traditional seasonal foods for the 15th day of the 8th lunar month — are made from white, round shapes representing the harvest moon. Tsukimi udon and soba (with a whole raw egg cracked on top of the hot noodle broth, the yolk representing the moon) and tsukimi mochi (round rice cakes) are the defining preparations.
- **The whole raw egg on hot noodle broth:** Cracked directly into the hot soup at service. The heat of the broth slowly cooks the egg white to just-set while the yolk remains liquid — exactly the onsen tamago principle (TJ-07/JP-07) applied in a broth context. - **The visual metaphor:** The white egg white surrounding the golden yolk floating in the clear broth is the aesthetic representation of the full moon. Japanese cooking's aesthetic dimension is inseparable from its technique. - **The noodle broth for tsukimi udon:** Typically mentsuyu — a combination of dashi, soy, and mirin. [VERIFY] Tsuji's mentsuyu ratio.
Tsuji