Tarai Udon (Udon served in a communal tub)
A local specialty of Donari, Awa City, Tokushima

About Tarai Udon (Udon served in a communal tub)

Tarai udon is made by transferring freshly boiled noodles straight into a tub, from which diners take the noodles and dip them in broth. Its handmade noodles are known for their firm, chewy texture. Awa City has long been a wheat-growing area where noodles have been a staple, and it is home to many restaurants specializing in the dish. Its roots are said to date back to the late Edo period. According to local accounts, lumberjacks in this forested area built cooking fires by the river, boiled udon, and made broth with river fish. In the past, people working in the mountains would gather around a tub to enjoy it as a special meal at the end of their work. The dish is said to have been named by a Tokushima governor in the early Showa period. After eating udon served in a tub during a visit to what is now Donari, Awa City, the governor later remarked that the udon in a tub-like vessel had been delicious, and the name is thought to have come from that comment.

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