Beppu Cold Noodles

Main ingredients

noodles of wheat flour, buckwheat flour and starch, Japanese-style seafood-based broth, cabbage kimchi or napa cabbage kimchi

History and origin

It is said to have originated around 1950 at a shop opened by a cook who had returned from Manchuria, and the first person to serve cold noodles in Beppu is said to have been Kin Koichi, who had lived in Manchuria. The dish was later adapted to Japanese tastes, for example by adding seafood-based dashi and making the kimchi less spicy. The city launched the "Beppu Reimen Project" in fiscal 2009.

When it is eaten

It has been promoted as a cold local specialty that suits the time after a hot-spring bath, and it is also called a soul food of the city's residents. It is served at a wide range of places, including cold noodle specialty shops, yakiniku restaurants, ramen shops and izakaya.

How it is eaten

It is a cold noodle dish: the cold noodle specialty shop style pairs chewy, thick noodles with cabbage kimchi, while the yakiniku restaurant style pairs smooth, medium-thin noodles with napa cabbage kimchi. There is also onmen, served warm.

Recipes vary by region and household. This is not ingredient, allergy, or dietary guidance for a specific restaurant.