Cold Somen Noodles
Sōmen (素麺,そうめん) are white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour and they are very thin, about 1 mm in diameter. The dough is stretched with the help of vegetable oil to make very thin strips and then air dried.
Because of its thinness, somen noodles often take less than 3-4 minutes to cook in boiling water. While cooking, you want to stir the noodles with chopsticks to prevent sticking. Once cooked, drain the noodles in a colander immediately and use you hands to gently rinse the noodles under cold running water. This helps to remove the excess starch from the noodles. Once the somen is cool, it can then be served directly or placed in a bowl of ice.
Somen are usually served cold in hot summer months with a dipping sauce called Tsuyu (つゆ). The dipping sauce is the same Japanese dashi-based broth used in hot soup, but more concentrated in flavor. Flavored with scallions and ginger, the sauce is light yet incredibly aromatic. You can also add shiso leaf or myoga (flower bud) if you can find them at Japanese grocery stores. The noodles are often served with ice cubes on top to keep the noodles cold.
With regards to the tsuyu (つゆ) i.e. dipping sauce eaten with the somen, there are three common versions.
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One is the basic type which is made of mirin, soy sauce, and water.
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The sesame version uses the same ingredients as well but has bonito flakes, oil from white sesame, and vinegar.
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Last but not least, the miso version uses salad oil, red miso, dashi, sugar, grated ginger, and cayenne pepper powder.
As such, depending on your preferences, you can choose to match your somen with any of these three types of tsuyu.
Basic Tsuyu (dipping sauce):
Shake together:
1 cup dashi (stock made from dried kelp and dried bonito flakes)
1/4 mirin
1/4 cup soy sauceTop with slices of green onion and toasted sesame seeds.
To make it more filling, you can definitely bulk up the noodles by tossing in other ingredients such as shredded egg crepes (Kinshi Tamago), julienned cucumbers or ham. Also see Mentsuyu (also called Tsuyu)
Japanese Somen Noodles with Sweet Soy-Ginger Sauce
from http://whiteonricecouple.com/
14 oz. dried somen noodles
Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon grated or minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (a rice wine)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste, chili garlic sauce or chili flakes
green onions for garnish
water to dilute the sauce if it's too salty (optional)
steamed vegetables (optional)
grilled meat (optional)
Cook somen noodles according to package. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
In medium bowl, combine rest of sauce ingredients: garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and chili paste/sauce/flakes. Add additional teaspoons of water to dilute the sauce if it's too salty
When ready to serve, dress sweet soy-ginger sauce over somen noodles. Serve cold.
Serves 4
Somen Noodles
from https://www.justonecookbook.com/
4 bundles dried somen noodles
Toppings:
½ inch ginger
1 green onion/scallion
Shiso leaves* (Ooba) (thinly sliced, optional)
Myoga ginger** (thinly sliced, optional)
Dipping Sauce:
¼ cup mentsuyu (noodle soup base)
½-1 cup water (cold iced, if you use concentrated Mentsuyu)
*Shiso. The ornamental green (or, less commonly, red-purple) leaves are in the mint family and are often used to provide a refreshing garnish to fish, rice, tempura, soup and vegetable dishes in Japanese cooking. Known as “perilla leaf” in English, the herb “has a scent reminiscent of cinnamon and cloves.”
**Myoga, or Myoga ginger is of the species Zingiber mioga and a member of the Zingiberaceae family. Unlike other common edible gingers, Myoga is cultivated for its unopened flower bud and stem instead of its root.
[Optional] Traditional Japanese restaurants tie up the noodles to enhance the appearance of the somen and this is how you do it. Tie the edge of somen noodles with cooking twine. This way noodles will stay in one direction while cooking. I normally skip this step for home use.
Boil water in a large pot. When boiling, remove the wrapper.
Add the somen noodles in the boiling water, stirring noodles with chopsticks so they don’t stick to each other. Cook according to the package instructions. If necessary, add a little bit of cold water in the pot to prevent overflowing.
Drain somen in a colander and wash the noodles with hands under running water.
Once noodles are cold, find the knotted parts of somen noodles and pick them up. Cut off the edge and discard. Hold each bundle gently and arrange it nicely on a serving plate. Somen can be served with ice to keep cool.
Cut the scallion finely and grate the ginger. Put them in small dishes. Put Mentsuyu in small bowls and add cold (iced) water to dilute. Put small portion of scallion and ginger in the dipping sauce and dip the somen noodles to eat. Enjoy!
