Happy Noodle ramen factory in Mount Sinai adds takeout udon

It’s a tiny niche market, but Misaki Sugimoto dominates it. For the last three years, her Happy Noodle has been Long Island’s only producer of artisanal ramen noodles — or any ramen noodles, for that matter.

At her sliver of a Mount Sinai "factory," she sells the fresh noodles to Japanese restaurants and to regular people and, for the latter, she also makes ramen kits ($20) containing two servings of noodles and broth concentrate.

But in September, she introduced a takeout menu that features not ramen but udon, ramen’s thicker, chewier cousin.

Both are made from wheat flour, but whereas ramen production requires a machine, udon can be made by hand in a home kitchen. In fact, it was in her grandmother’s kitchen that Sugimoto first experienced them. "When I was a kid," she said, "I made homemade udon with my grandmother every day at lunchtime. Those memories shaped my understanding of food — not just as something we eat, but as something that brings comfort and brings people together."

In Japan, she explained, people either eat instant ramen at home or go out to eat it at a ramen shop. It’s not only that the noodles require professional equipment, but the classic broth for ramen, pork tonkotsu, can take up to 24 hours to make.

But udon broths tend to be simpler and homier, usually based on soy and dashi (a stock made from cured fish and seaweed). There are six udon bowls at Happy Noodle: plain with soy-dashi broth and scallions, sweet-simmered beef, beef and soft-boiled egg, creamy sesame udon with chicken, curry udon and kitsune (topped with rice-stuffed fried tofu). Prices range from $12.95 to $16.95.

Not feeling noodly? There are rice bowls (beef, teriyaki chicken, salmon and tofu, $15.95 to $18.95) and kid-sized udon and rice bowls ($7.45 to $7.95).

Sugimoto is also making something I’ve never seen on Long Island: onigirazu. These "rice sandwiches" start with a sheet of nori (the seaweed sheet used for rolling sushi) onto which she presses an even layer of rice and then adds fillings — sukiyaki beef; teriyaki chicken, salmon or tofu; tuna salad and omelet, spam and omelet, barbecued eel and omelet ($4.95 to $12).

To drink: Japanese soda, barley tea and lattes made not only with matcha (the finely powdered bright-green tea) but also with hojicha, another Japanese tea that has a distinctive nutty-smoky flavor and russet color.

Sugimoto is hoping that eventually she’ll get permission to install a few tables at the store. For now, udon customers shouldn’t linger.

"When udon is freshly cooked and cooled in ice water, the surface becomes smooth and glossy while the center of the noodles retain a satisfying firmness." But, she cautioned, "over time, moisture redistributes throughout the noodle, gradually changing its original chewy springy texture."

In other words, if you live close by, floor it. If not, consider eating in the car.

Happy Noodle, 29 Route 25A, Mount Sinai, 631-223-9577, happy-noodle.com. Open Thursday 4 to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.