Exotic flavors of macadamia nut, taro, kiwi or mango
have made it to the pasta bowl, thanks to the ingenuity
of Hidehito Uki who proves that success may just
be a matter of using his
Owner of Sun Noodle, which produces
By June Watanabe
the fairly new, flavored linguini, started
in 1981 with just one employee
Star-Bulletin
WHEN Hidehito Uki was a student studying English at Hawaii Pacific College (now University), he went to "so many" ramen and udon noodle shops to get a taste of his native Japan. "The quality was not very good," he remembers.
For most of us, simple grousing about bad food would suffice. But Uki knew more than a thing or two about noodles. His family was in the fresh noodle business back home in Tochigi Prefecture and the young student was in a position to do something about one of his favorite foods.
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Hidehito Uki peers through a curtain of his success,
strands of flavored pasta.
Backed with financing from his father, Uki opened the Sun Noodle factory in Kalihi in 1981. He started really small -- just him and another worker -- which meant he not only had to make noodles, but help package, sell and deliver them as well.Still, the early 1980s was a good time to get started, because Japanese were investing heavily in Hawaii and there were oodles of ramen shops all around town.
The first year, he grossed $80,000.
He still makes an occasional delivery, but today, Uki, 36, and his wife, Keiko, run a 30-employee operation in a modern, six-year-old factory on Colburn Street in Kalihi, grossing many times more than that first year's take.
And while fresh noodles still account for most of his business, dried noodles -- with such intriguing flavors as warabi (Big Island fern), nori (seaweed), goma (sesame seed), macadamia nut, taro, kiwi and mango, as well as the more common spinach and tomato/basil -- can often be seen hanging in colorful strands in the factory.
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Sun Noodle employee Phuon Thao cut
wet pasta at the Kalihi factory..
On an average day, Sun Noodle produces 7,000 to 10,000 pounds of fresh soba, yakisoba, udon and ramen noodles, compared to about 150 pounds of dried, flavored linguine and somen noodles.In one squeaky clean room, a worker mixes the dough in a huge vat, funneling it into a receptacle that flattens it into a sheet. The sheet is then rolled onto a cylinder, with each roll producing about 200 servings, Uki said.
The dough for fresh noodles will sit and "age" for about an hour, then is fed through a cutting machine, then packaged.
Udon and yakisoba go into another room, humid and steaming, where they are cooked before being packaged.
The noodles destined to be dried are sent upstairs, where they are hung from rods in 10-foot strands overnight, then handcut into eight-inch pieces and packaged.
The linguine is available only at the Compleat Kitchen at Ala Moana Center, Liberty House's Home Outlet stores, and four ABC stores in Waikiki, Uki said. The somen, packaged as Hawaiian Original Noodles, is available at Daiei on Kaheka Street and the Compleat Kitchen.
The flavored linguine have been available for about seven months, but Uki hasn't really promoted them, concentrating instead on fresh noodle sales in supermarkets because "that's our big investment."
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
A Sun Noodle factory worker holds up strands
of pasta fresh off the machine.
But that's also because the flavored linguine and somen are now targeted mainly for Japanese tourists.Turning to the retail dried noodle market made sense, since the marketplace changed dramatically over the past 16 years. Most notably, Japanese investment dried up.
"Business is OK," Uki said. "But this year, a lot of businesses, and our customers, closed down."
The idea for the flavored pasta actually was formed about three years ago, when Japan Airlines was in the midst of a promotion. Uki pitched having flavored kiwi, papaya and mango somen to the executive chef of the inflight catering company for JAL, who in turn pitched it to JAL officials. They bit.
The idea grew, with Uki sensing a good market in the Japanese tourists who come here and need omiyage, gifts, to take back home to friends and family.
"I know nearly two million people come from Japan every year and they always take something back," he explained. "I was thinking I can sell to them to take back to Japan."
He started with somen, but that didn't go over "that well," he said, surmising that Japanese didn't want something they can easily find in Japan. Knowing how popular pasta is these days in Japan, he switched to linguini.
The Japanese are especially lured by the macadamia nut and mango labels, although Uki himself personally likes the warabi and nori flavors.
The pasta are subtly flavored, so it's best not to overwhelm them in a heavy sauce.
Here are some ways to use flavored Sun Noodles, courtesy of Hidehito and Keiko Uki:
Nori Linguine Salad
8-ounce package linguineBoil linguine about 10 minutes and rinse. Toss together all ingredients. Chill.
1-pound package imitation crab, chopped
3 ounces taegu (Korean seasoned cuttlefish), chopped
1/2 bottle Tropic Oriental dressing
1/2 bottle furikake (seasoned dried-seaweed condiment)
Approximate nutritional analysis per 1-cup serving: 390 calories, 15 grams total fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 50 milligrams cholesterol, at least 1,300 milligrsams sodium.*
Simple Spinach Pasta Salad
8-ounce package spinach linguineBoil linguine about 10 minutes.
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
5 or 6 cabbage leaves, chopped
1/3 bunch spinach, chopped
1/4 salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chile pepper (optional)
3 ounces thinly sliced hamOn low heat, stir-fry garlic in olive oil until golden brown; set aside. Use same oil to stir-fry linguine.
In separate frying pan, heat butter and stir-fry cabbage and spinach for couple minutes. Mix vegetables and linguine; add salt and peppers to taste. Garnish with garlic and sliced ham. Serve hot. Makes four 1-cup servings.
Macadamia Nut Pesto
(From Tulips Restaurant)1 cup fresh basilMachine process all ingredients. Makes four 1/4-cup servings.
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 ounces macadamia nuts
5 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Nori Clam Sauce
2 cloves diced garlicSaute garlic and onion in butter. Over medium-high heat, mix in chicken half-and-half, broth, clams, sake, nori extract and salt. Thicken with flour and water mixture. Makes six 1/2-cup servings. Serve over hot pasta.
2 tablespoons diced onion
1/4 cup butter
9 ounces chicken broth
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams and juice
1/4 cup sake
1 teaspoon nori extract
2 pinches salt
1 tablespoon flour mixed with 2/3 cup water
