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Tempura udon

A chef rolling up the dough to make Udon.

Udon (饂飩^?, usually written as うどん) is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine.

Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi, soy sauce (shōyu), and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Other common toppings include tempura, often prawn or kakiage (a type of mixed tempura fritter), or aburaage, a type of deep-fried tofu pockets seasoned with sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. A thin slice of kamaboko, a halfmoon-shaped fish cake, is often added. Shichimi can be added to taste.

The flavor of broth and topping vary from region to region. Usually, dark brown broth, made from dark soy sauce (koikuchi shōyu) is used in eastern Japan, and light brown broth, made from light soy sauce (usukuchi shōyu) is used in western Japan. This is even noticeable in packaged instant noodles, which are often sold in two different versions for east and west.

Origin[link]

In China, similar thick wheat flour noodles are called cū miàn (粗麵).^{[citation needed]} This original udon^{[citation needed]} was 2 to 3 cm in diameter, a flat pancake-shaped "noodle" added to miso-based soup^{[citation needed]}. The Sino-Japanese characters for udon (饂飩) is similar to, but different from, the modern Chinese characters for wonton (餛飩), a type of dumplings often served in soup wrapped with wheat dough sheets. In Chinese, udon is called wūdōngmiàn (烏冬 wūdōng or 烏冬麵), and sometimes wūlóngmiàn (烏龍麵), which uses the same characters as those used in "Oolong" tea (wūlóngchá, , 烏龍茶), though there is no semantic relation between the two usages.

Kūkai, a Buddhist priest, traveled to China around the beginning of the 9th century to study. Sanuki Province claimed to have been the first to adopt udon from Kūkai. Enni, a Rinzai monk, went to China in the 13th century; Hakata claimed to have produced udon based on Enni's recipe.^{[citation needed]} See Chinese noodles.

In Korea, udon noodles are usually thicker than in other areas, and are usually served hot. Korea has also claimed to have created the Udon noodle. In cities, they sell instant udon, whilst in countrysides, they usually make it handmade, by rolling dough into strips.

Udon is also eaten with hot spices or just plainly. Udon comes with soup most of the time, depending on the area in which it is served.

Dishes[link]

Kake udon

Yaki udon

Instant cup noodles of Udon (Maruchan, Akai kitsune)

Like many Japanese noodles, udon noodles are served chilled in the summer and hot in the winter. Toppings are chosen to reflect the seasons. Most toppings are added without much cooking, although some are deep-fried. Many of these dishes may also be prepared with soba.

Hot[link]

• Kake udon (in Kantō) or Su udon (in Kansai): Hot udon in broth topped with thinly sliced green onions, and perhaps a slice of kamaboko.
• Kitsune udon: "Fox udon". Topped with aburaage (sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets).
• Tempura udon : Topped with tempura, especially prawn, or kakiage, a type of mixed tempura fritter.
• Tanuki udon ("Raccoon-dog udon") (in Kantō) or Haikara udon (in Kansai): Topped with tenkasu (deep-fried tempura batter).
• Tsukimi udon: "Moon-viewing udon". Topped with raw egg, which poaches in the hot soup.
• Wakame udon: Topped with wakame, a dark green sea vegetable.
• Karē udon: "Curry udon". Udon in a soup made of Japanese curry. May also include meat or vegetables.
• Chikara udon: "Power udon". Topped with toasted mochi rice cakes. A hearty dish.
• Stamina (sutamina) udon: "Stamina udon". Udon with various hearty ingredients, usually including meat, a raw egg, and vegetables.
• Nabeyaki udon: A sort of udon hot-pot, with seafood and vegetables cooked in a nabe, or metal pot. The most common ingredients are tempura shrimp with mushrooms and an egg cracked on top.
• Kamaage udon: Served in a communal hot-pot with hot water, and accompanied by a hot dipping sauce of dashi and soy sauce.
• Udon-suki: Udon cooked in the manner of sukiyaki.
• Yaki udon: Stir-fried udon in soy-based sauce, prepared in a similar manner to yakisoba. This originated in Kitakyushu of Fukuoka Prefecture. (Note that while yakiudon is made with udon, yakisoba is not made from buckwheat soba, but with steamed Chinese-style ramen.)
• Misonikomi udon: Hard udon noodles simmered in red miso soup. The soup generally contains chicken, a floating cracked raw egg that is stirred in by the eater, kamaboko, vegetables and tubers. The noodles are extremely firm in order to stand up to the prolonged simmering in the soup; additionally, the noodles do not contain salt, so as to avoid over-salting from the salt in the miso.
• Houtou udon: a local dish of Yamanashi Prefecture, a type of miso soup with udon and plenty of vegetables.
• Ninja udon: a local dish of Iga-Ueno in the Mie Prefecture. Udon in soup, with a selection of meats (usually beef, tempura and aburaage) "hidden" in the noodles, like ninja.

Cold[link]

Tororo udon: cooked dried Tamba blackbean (kuromame) udon noodles with grated yamaimo

• Zaru udon: Chilled udon noodles topped with shredded nori and served on a zaru (笊 or ざる), a sieve-like bamboo tray. Accompanied by a chilled dipping sauce, usually a strong mixture of dashi, mirin, and shoyu. Eaten with wasabi or grated ginger.
• Bukkake udon: Cold udon served with thick dashi-broth.
• Kijoyu udon: Served in a cold soup of raw (unpasteurized) soy sauce and sudachi (a type of citrus) juice, sometimes with a bit of grated daikon.

Regional varieties[link]

There are wide variations in both thickness and shape for udon noodles.

• Biei-style Curry (カレー): udon from Biei, Hokkaido.
• Inaniwa (稲庭): a thin type from Akita Prefecture.
• Ise (伊勢): udon from Mie Prefecture.
• Kansai (関西): udon is a soft type of medium thickness from the Kansai region.
• Kishimen (棊子麺, or more commonly きし麺): is a flat type from the Nagoya area.
• Sanuki (讃岐): udon is a thick and rather stiff type from Kagawa Prefecture.
• Hōtō (rarely 餺飥, commonly ほうとう): a flat and wide type, usually cooked with vegetables, particularly Japanese "kabocha" squash, from Yamanashi Prefecture.
• Dangojiru (団子汁): similar to the above Hohtoh, from Ōita Prefecture. Nominally a "dumpling soup", it resembles very thick, flat udon.
• Okinawa soba (沖縄そば): also called suba, a regional Okinawan noodle made by adding some vegetal ash to the flour, similar to how ramen is made. However, it is very similar to udon.
• Udon is also popular in South Korea, where it is called udong (우동) [udoŋ].
• There is also a dish called udon in Palau, because of the former Japanese administration. The broth is soy sauce–based like Japanese udon. However, as there were many immigrants from Okinawa, it uses less broth like Okinawa soba. Most notably, the noodle is that of spaghetti, as it is easier to acquire there.

See also[link]

Food portal

• Cu mian, a very similar variety of noodle from China
• Soba
• Sōmen
• Ramen
• Japanese noodles

References[link]

• Tsuji, Shizuo. (1980). Japanese cooking: A simple Art. Kodansha International/USA, New York.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Udon

• PDMZ's Yoshida Udon Page: pictures & reviews of all 64 shops in the Fujiyoshida (Yamanashi-ken) Udon Federation

Konishi Manami
Born	Konishi Manami (1978-10-27) October 27, 1978 (age 33) Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Years active	2001 - present
Website
http://www.konishimanami.net

Manami Konishi (小西真奈美, Konishi Manami^?, born October 27, 1978) is a Japanese actress and singer from Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Japan. She is a part of Sony Music Japan.

Biography[link]

Born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, in 1978, Manami Konishi joined Kohei Tsuka's Theatre Company in 1999, and made her stage debut in Tsuka's play "Netorare Sosuke." She established her experience in theatre performances playing in "Kamata Koshinkyoku" (director: Kohei Tsuka) for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000, as well as in "Akaoni" (director Hideki Noda) in 2004.^[1]

Manami's film career began in 2002 when she starred in the acclaimed film "Amidado Dayori" (director Takashi Koizumi) in the role of Sayuri.

With this silver screen debut, she received the "Kinema Junpō Award" (Best New Actress) and the 45th Blue Ribbon Award (Best Newcomer). Since then she has appeared in many hit films including Odoru Daisōsasen THE MOVIE 2 (2003 / director: Katsuyuki Motohiro), "Ren-ai Shosetsu" (2004/director Junichi Mori), and also made a voice appearance in the animated film Steamboy (2004/director Katsuhiro Otomo).

In 2006, Manami played the main character in two films, "Udon" and "Tenshi No Tamago." "Udon" was directed by the successful Japanese filmmaker Katsuyuki Motohiro, and "Tenshi no tamago" (Angel's Egg) was based on the million-selling novel of the same title by the Japanese author Yuka Murayama.

Manami Konishi's film, Sakebi, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, received the official invitation for the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 2006.

In addition to her stage and film work, Manami is quite well known in Japan for appearances in numerous hit soap operas including "Tentai kansoku" (2002 / Fuji TV), "Hotman" (2003 / TBS), and "Ruri no shima" (2005 / NTV). She also stars regularly in the one of Japan's most popular TV comedy shows, "Cocorico Miracle Type" (Fuji TV), since 2001.

In addition, she has written a poetry-styled essay "Tegami" in 2004 and published a photo book titled "27" in 2006.

Filmography[link]

Movies[link]

• Blue (2001 film)
• Amidado Dayori (阿弥陀堂だより^?) (2002)
• Utsutsu (うつつ^?) (2002)
• Odoru daisousasen THE MOVIE 2 (踊る大捜査線 THE MOVIE 2^?) (2003)
• Steamboy (2004) as Scarlett O'Hara
• Jam Films S (2005)
• Inu no eiga (いぬのえいが^?) (2005)
• Udon (2006) as Kyoko Miyagawa
• Tenshi no Tamago (天使の卵^?) (2006)
• Sakebi (叫（さけび）^?) (2007)
• Sweet Rain - Shinigami no seido (Sweet Rain 死神の精度^?) (2008)
• Nonchan Noriben (のんちゃんのり弁^?) (2009)
• Yubiwa wo Hametai (指輪をはめたい^?) (2011)

TV Dramas[link]

• Drama D-mode Fukaku Mogure Hakkenden 2001 (ドラマDモード「深く潜れ～八犬伝2001～」^?) (2000 NHK)
• Shiroi Kage (白い影^?) (2001 TBS)
• Shin - Hoshi No Kinka (新・星の金貨^?) (2001 NTV)
• Churasan (ちゅらさん^?) (2001 NHK)
• Antique - Seiyo Kotto Yogashi Ten (アンティーク～西洋骨董洋菓子店^?) (2001 Fuji TV)
• Hito Ni Yasashiku (人にやさしく^?) (2002 Fuji TV)
• Baberu (バベル^?) (2002 BS Fuji TV)
• Seikei Bijin. (整形美人。^?) (2002 Fuji TV)
• Tentaikanzoku (天体観測^?) (2002 Fuji TV)
• Churasan 2 (ちゅらさん２^?) (2003 NHK)
• Hotman (ホットマン^?) (2003 TBS)
• Boku dake no Madonna (僕だけのマドンナ^?) (2003 Fuji TV)
• Unmei Ga Mieru Te (運命が見える手^?) (2003 ABC)
• Renai Shousetsu (恋愛小説^?) (2004 WOWOW)
• Fire Boys (ファイアーボーイズ～め組の大吾～^?) (2004 Fuji TV)
• Hotman '04 - Spring Special (ホットマン'04春スペシャル^?) (2004 TBS)
• Churasan 3 (ちゅらさん３^?) (2004 NHK)
• Orange Days (オレンジデイズ^?) (2004 TBS)
• Ruri no Shima (瑠璃の島^?) (2005 NTV)
• Water Boys 2005 Natsu (ウォーターボーイズ2005夏^?) (2005 Fuji TV)
• dramaW: Children (ドラマW チルドレン^?) (2006 WOWOW)
• Watashino Atamano Nakano Keshigomu (私の頭の中の消しゴム^?) (2006 Fuji TV)
• Akechi Mitsuhide - Kamini Aisarenakatta Otoko (明智光秀～神に愛されなかった男～^?) (2007 Fuji TV)
• Ruri no Shima (Special 2007) (瑠璃の島スペシャル2007^?) (2007 NTV)
• Kirakira Kenshui (きらきら研修医^?) (2007 TBS)
• Ashitano Kitayoshio ( あしたの、喜多善男^?) (2008 KTV)
• Ariadne no Dangan ( アリアドネの弾丸^?) (2011 KTV)

Variety shows[link]

• Sui10! Cocorico Miracle Type (水１０！ココリコミラクルタイプ^?) (2001 Fuji TV)

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards[link]

• 2002: Kinema Junpo: New Actor Prize
• 2002: The 45th Blue: Ribbon New Actor Prize
• 2003: The 26th Japan: Academy New Actor Prize
• 2009: 64th Mainichi Film Awards: Best Actress for Nonchan Noriben
• 2009: 31st Yokohama Film festival Best Actress for Nonchan Noriben^[2]

References[link]

1. ^ Manami Konishi's Official Site (English) http://www.catamaran2007.co.jp/en/profile/konishi.html
2. ^ "第３１回ヨコハマ映画祭 ２００９年日本映画個人賞" (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/31-2009/31_2009_shou.html. Retrieved 2010-12-11. 

External links[link]

• Manami Konishi at the Internet Movie Database
• JMDb Profile (Japanese)
• Official Site (Japanese)
• All Things Manami Konishi - Fan Site (English)

Kang Min
Kang Min in the MSL
Korean name
Hangul	강민
Hanja	姜旼
Revised Romanization	Gang Min
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Min

Kang Min (강민) a.k.a. Nal_rA (born March 15, 1982) is a former professional South Korean StarCraft player (Protoss, KTF MagicNs).

Kang Min had relatively long career in starcraft, spanning victories in both major leagues and seeing his team to a 23 game winning streak. On 11 September 2008, Kang Min declared that he would retire from progaming. He felt that he was not able to meet the expectations of his fans regarding his performance in professional StarCraft games and that he intends to be a professional StarCraft commentator in the future. He has since announced his intention to cease commenting on MBCGame and take up a career in teaching pro-gaming related courses at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. [1]

Kang Min sometimes uses the aliases ArChonCap, 119clan, Ha. T, km0315, O_Oi, Great05, canoppy, KissofFire, 5dronegg, Shootingstorm and mO.Oy.

He is one of the few pro-gamers who still uses a ball mouse, and is often seen cleaning it before televised matches; his keyboard is the Samsung DT-35 Black.

During a live match, he suddenly asked the game observers to pause the game. The problem with Kang Min was that he had to blow his nose and asked for a tissue. Not surprisingly, the commentators laughed out loud because of this incident. Ever since that incident, he has been affectionately known as 'Snot Toss'.

Kang Min was disqualified during a match in SKY Proleague 05-06. He accidentally paused the game in an attempt to change the volume. The referees deemed this as a disqualification.

Achievements[link]

Kang Min's first appearance in a major tournament was the PGR21 tournament where he met very strong opponents and made his way to the final, but lost to Seo Ji Hun (Xellos[yG]. However then Kang Min participated in the same tournament once again and beat Seo Ji Hun. Another success followed at the end of 2002, where Kang Min qualified for Olympus Challenge League. He showed great skill and reached the finals, but lost again to his great rival, Kingdom. After that he showed some magnificent performance in the MBC StarLeague, winning it and beating Lee Yun-Yeol ([Red]Nada) in the finals. Later he showed master class again, reaching the finals, where he met Jeon Tae Kyu (Zeus). Kang Min reached 2nd place in Korea Pro Game Association rating in April 2004. In February 2006, Kang Min became the winner of the Blizzard Entertainment World Wide Invitational ("WWI") tournament. In July 2006, He became a winner of the 2nd prize in the MBC StarLeague.

One of his most memorable matches ever seen on TV was the 'Arbiter Reloaded' play where he was playing against the Terran player GoodFriend and used Arbiter Hallucinations in order to successfully use it's recall ability . The match was ranked number 1 in MBCGame's top 100 matches.

See also[link]

• Contemporary culture of South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

External links[link]

• TeamLiquid profile
• Nal_rA's match history from the GosuBet
• Nal_rA's match replays (duel and teamplay)
• Fan site
• An interview with Nal_rA as the champion of WWI
• Interview with Kang Min
• Disqualification due to accidental pause

Son Dong-Woon (born June 6, 1991), more commonly known as just Dong Woon, is a South Korean idol singer and dancer. He is a member of the Korean boy group Beast.

Biography[link]

Son Dong-Woon was born in Seoul, South Korea on June 6, 1991. Dong Woon's father, Son Il-rak, is a professor at Cheongju University. Dong Woon stated in an interview and in the KBS show Win Win that he studied in Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. Dong Woon was a trainee from JYP Entertainment for 2 years, and was the last member chosen to join BEAST. He is the maknae (youngest) of the group.

Dong Woon is known for his more Western look compared to the other members. He also has various talents such as speaking English and Chinese as well as playing the electric flute.

Dong Woon attended High School Hanyoung and currently attends Konkuk University majoring in image and film.

Career[link]

Beast[link]

The group has released five Korean mini-albums and various singles. Dong Woon is a vocalist and Maknae of Beast.

Solo career[link]

In December 2010, Dong Woon released a digital single album "Udon" together with Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung. After its release, the song quickly rose up to the top of the charts, bringing in immense popularity and it is expected to start another trend.^[1] However, it is said that by the composers of ‘Udon' that the title of the song is in Japanese, hence the main 3 broadcasting networks confirmed that they will not be showing on television.^[2]

In April 2012, Dong Woon released “In the Cloud” for Shinsadong Tiger’s 'Supermarket_another Half'. With this new medium tempo ballad, Dong Woon shows the fans what he can bring to the table as a soloist, singing the joys of a man that’s helplessly fallen in love. The pop-style track brings out Shinsadong Tiger’s classic electronic sound, and the repetitive trendy melody line is sure to capture the fans with just one listen. ^[3]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Korean) BEAST Official website
• (Korean) Dong-woon Yozm
• (English) Dong-woon Twitter