Sōmen for the win!
Cold sōmen noodles are as much a tradition in Japan’s summertime as potato salad and corn on the cob are in the US. These deliciously thin noodles are served cold, with a satisfyingly salty dipping sauce and an assortment of all your favorite Japanese tastes!
They’re also the most entertaining noodles in Japan! The staff at nagashi sōmen restaurants send bites of cool noodles down a stream running right down the middle of your table, for your catching and eating enjoyment!
Japanese Chilled Summer Noodles
Serves 2
1 package dried sōmen noodles* (or substitute the thinnest capellini you can find)
Thin-sliced sudachi citrus (or lime) for garnish
Dipping sauce:
4 T. (60 ml) soy sauce
2 T. (30 ml) mirin sweet Japanese cooking wine**
2 T. (30 ml) sake
2 T. (30g) Okinawa black sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1 t. (5 g) instant dashi granules
1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water
Add-ins to offer on the table:
Thinly sliced green onions
Slivered fresh ginger
Toasted sesame seeds
Diced myōga***
Directions:
Noodles: Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook noodles according to directions on the package (if you’re using real sōmen noodles, it takes only one or two minutes, so don’t wander too far!) Drain and plunge noodles into cold water. Serve in a bowl of ice and water, with rounds of sudachi or lime floating on top.
Sauce: Put soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and instant dashi granules* in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Chill in refrigerator, then mix with the ice water before pouring into individual dipping cups.
How to eat: Mix add-ins into your dipping sauce, then hold the cup in one hand and your chopsticks/fork in the other. Scoop up a bite of noodles, dunk it into your sauce, then hold your cup near your mouth while you slurp them up. This is one food you’re supposed to slurp like you’re a ten-year-old with a plate of spaghetti and mom’s not watching!
And what can you eat with sōmen?
For the ultimate summertime no-cook meal, serve sōmen with assorted sashimi and/or tofu with ginger, green onions and soy sauce…
plus a Salad with Japanese Wafu Onion Dressing!
*Sōmen noodles can be bought at most Asian grocery stores or online. There are lots of different brands, but this is what they look like (they’re super white and super thin):
Instant dashi granules can also be bought at Asian markets and online:
**If you can’t find mirin, you can mix 2 T. (30 ml) sake + 2 t. (10 g) sugar. Warm it up a little and stir until the sugar fully dissolves
***Myōga is a rare thing to find outside of Japan, but if your Asian market has it, grab some because it’s delicious in sōmen!
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly Japanagram newsletter, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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