Nagasaki champon and sara udon: one food family, three glorious textures

Champon cooks the flavours together

Champon brings noodles, vegetables and ingredients such as pork and seafood together in soup. The noodles simmer with the ingredients and broth. As they simmer together, the noodles take on the flavour of the broth.

The finished bowl can be exuberantly piled, with vegetables and seafood above the noodles. Its broth is part of the meal’s substance. Shikairou describes its own original approach as chicken and pork-bone stock with ingredients from the surrounding land and sea; other kitchens have their own recipes.

A restaurant can add its own character to the dish. The Nagasaki Station directory, for example, highlights Soshurin’s chicken-stock champon and fine sara-udon noodles. The station restaurant’s introduction

Sara udon: crisp or soft?

For thin-noodle sara udon, fried Chinese-style noodles form a crisp base under a thickened topping. The sauce settles between the fine strands. Some noodles remain crisp while others soften, so the plate changes texture as the meal progresses.

Thick-noodle sara udon follows another route. Shikairou describes frying champon noodles with the ingredients, then adding a small amount of broth for the noodles to absorb. It is a softer preparation with less liquid than champon, served on a plate.

Ask whether the restaurant’s sara udon uses thin or thick noodles. Both are Nagasaki styles, and the choice changes the meal considerably.

From a Chinese community’s table to a Nagasaki specialty

Shikairou traces its founding to 1899 and credits its founder, Chen Ping Shun, with devising champon for Chinese students and residents in Nagasaki. Its account describes the search for an affordable, substantial meal using chicken and pork-bone broth and local ingredients.

The same restaurant presents sara udon as a variation on champon. Cooking the noodles with less soup and serving them on a flat plate created a different form of the meal. The restaurant’s history

The origin of the word “champon” is uncertain. The food’s association with the city’s Chinese community is clearer than any single explanation of its name.

Enjoy the textures, and ask about ingredients

With champon, lift the noodles through the topping and enjoy the soup alongside them. With crisp sara udon, try an edge and a sauce-covered part of the plate to experience the contrast. With the thicker style, the appeal lies in the tender strands and the flavour they carry.

Tell the restaurant about allergies or dietary restrictions before ordering. Ask about the broth, noodles, sauce and toppings. Visible vegetables do not establish that a dish is vegetarian, and removing a topping may not change the stock or preparation. Our dietary-needs guide helps you prepare those questions.

Put the food into its city

The harbour, former foreign settlement and Shinchi Chinatown give a noodle meal a wider setting. Use our Nagasaki city guide for that journey.

A noodle lunch is a delicious way into Nagasaki’s port-city story.

Try the noodles at Shikairou

Shikairou pairs champon and sara udon with a harbour-facing dining room in Nagasaki’s Matsugaemachi.