Morioka Reimen
盛岡冷麺Noodle
Morioka reimen is a cold, springy noodle of wheat flour and potato starch in a beef and chicken broth with kimchi, and it suits anyone who wants something sharp and clean after a soak or a heavy meal. The trade-off is heat from the kimchi, so ask for it mild or on the side.
Where to eat Morioka Reimen · 1 place
- MoriokaMorioka
Most yakiniku houses in the city serve it.
Morioka reimen began in 1954, when the noodle cook Aoki Teruhito opened Shokudoen in Morioka and combined the Hamhung and Pyongyang styles of Korean cold noodles. Pyongyang's version used a dark buckwheat noodle, and Aoki made his from wheat flour and potato starch, which gives the dish its chew. Locals first complained the noodles were like rubber, and then kept coming back for them.
The broth is drawn from beef and beef bones with chicken, and the bowl comes topped with kimchi, cucumber, a boiled egg and a slice of seasonal fruit, which at Pyonpyonsha means watermelon in summer and nashi pear in winter. From the late 1960s more Korean residents of Morioka opened reimen shops, and the city's yakiniku houses came to be seen as places you go for the noodles.
The name Morioka reimen dates from the 1986 Nippon Men Summit, a national noodle event held in the city, where the bowl on show came from Pyonpyon-tei, the forerunner of today's Pyonpyonsha. The agriculture ministry lists it among its hundred local dishes of rural Japan, and Morioka counts it as one of its three noodles with wanko soba and jajamen.
Worth knowing
- Eat it at a yakiniku house the way Morioka does, with grilled beef first and the noodles to finish.
Quick answers about Morioka Reimenよくある質問
What is Morioka reimen made of?
The noodles are wheat flour and potato starch, without the buckwheat used in Korean cold noodles. The cold broth is made from beef and chicken, and the bowl is topped with kimchi, cucumber, egg and fruit.
What are Morioka's three noodles?
Wanko soba, Morioka reimen and jajamen, which is thick noodles with meat miso.
Who created Morioka reimen?
Aoki Teruhito, who opened the restaurant Shokudoen in Morioka in 1954 and adapted Korean cold noodles to a wheat and potato-starch noodle.
How do you order Morioka Reimen?
Ask for reimen and say how hot you want it. Pyonpyonsha serves its kimchi at three heat levels or on the side.
When is Morioka Reimen in season?
Morioka Reimen: All year.
Where can you eat Morioka Reimen in Japan?
Places we list for Morioka Reimen include Pyonpyonsha Morioka Ekimae.