Somen is the easiest menu item on the Japanese summer lunch menu. Not ramen. It is somen.
Japan is now in the second half of a major holiday season. The weather is beautiful and the temperature is comfortable, around 20 degrees Celsius. It must be the best consecutive holidays. I am living a full life in the vicinity of Tokyo, where I live, shopping, taking care of the plants on my balcony, and reading books that I had bought but not read yet.
Time flies when you are playing. Lunch passes in the blink of an eye. As usual, I have no time, so lunch is a simple affair. I feel like I say the same thing every time on this blog. Today I will show you the simplest menu in my life.
What is somen?
It is sold in stores as dried noodles as shown in the picture. It is a food made from wheat flour. It is very thin compared to other noodles such as ramen and udon. Cooking is simply boiling in boiling water. This time the product is ready in 2 minutes.
This is dipped in soup and eaten. It is called men-tsuyu. Mentsuyu is a seasoning that is stocked in Japanese kitchens. I think it has the same status as soy sauce, salt, miso, etc. This men-tsuyu is diluted with water. Use a 1:1 ratio of water to mentsuyu. It is difficult to describe the taste of mentsuyu in words. It is colored like soy sauce, but not as salty as soy sauce, and has a dashi taste. In addition, this mentsuyu can be enjoyed either warm or cold.
And the best feature of somen noodles is the way it slides down your throat. Does “nodo-koshi” translate well? It is “that refreshing feeling you get when you swallow cold noodles.” Can this be understood?
This is also the ginger that is usually stocked in the refrigerator. It is a tube type ginger. Ginger, garlic, and wasabi are the usual stock. This adds variety to the taste.
Somen is something you eat at home, not at a restaurant. Therefore, travelers in Japan may not have many chances to eat it. I searched and found that there are a few stores that serve it. One thing I remembered while writing this blog. In Japan, there is Nagashi Somen! I wonder how this would be for people overseas… They make a slide out of bamboo and pour somen from the top and the people below catch and eat it.
Well, to be honest, I have never done it either lol.
