An Aomori Prefecture specialty: wheat-flour dough torn by hand into flat pieces and simmered directly in a soy-dashi broth with vegetables and mushrooms. A cold-weather mountain food, born of rice scarcity; the torn noodles are thicker and more rustic than udon.
Hittsumi is a specialty of Aomori Prefecture in the Tohoku region. The dish belongs to the tradition of wheat-based foods that developed in rice-poor northern Japan. A simple dough of wheat flour and water is torn by hand into irregular flat pieces and dropped directly into a simmering pot of soy-dashi broth with vegetables, mushrooms, and sometimes chicken.
A bowl of hittsumi is rustic and warming — irregular, chewy pieces of torn dough in a clear, savory soy-dashi broth with shiitake, burdock, and carrot. The dough, denser than udon from being torn rather than cut, has a satisfying bite; the broth is enriched by the starch leached from the dough during cooking.
Hittsumi rests on the hand-torn technique. The dough is torn rather than cut, giving irregular shapes with ragged edges; these ragged edges have more surface area than clean cuts, releasing more starch into the broth and thickening it naturally. The dough, cooked directly in the broth rather than separately, flavors the broth as it cooks.
Variations
Some versions add chicken or pork; the torn wheat dough in soy-dashi soup is the Aomori constant.
On the Palate
Where Hittsumi sits in the Japanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
6 steps · 15 min
- 15 min
Make a dough of wheat flour and water; knead briefly.
- 25 min
Tear flat pieces by hand directly into a pot of simmering soy-dashi broth.
Watch outTear the dough into flat pieces by hand straight into the simmering broth — the ragged edges shed starch that thickens the soup, so tear, don't cut.
- 320 min
Add shiitake, burdock root, carrot, and seasonal vegetables.
- 45 min
Simmer until the dough is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
Watch outSimmer until the dough pieces are cooked through and no longer chalky in the centre — thick pieces need longer than they look.
- 52 min
Season with soy and miso if liked.
- 61 min
Serve hot.
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