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Japanese Somen Recipe

Japanese Cold Somen Noodle Recipe

5 from 3 votes
This cold somen noodle recipe is a refreshing and an easy meal to make on a hot, summer day. The cold noodles are dipped in a sauce made from traditional Japanese seasonings including soy sauce, dashi, and mirin.
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Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients Method Video

Ingredients
  

Sauce for Somen (Mentsuyu)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp dashi
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cooking alcohol
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
Noodles
  • 150 grams Japanese fine white noodles (somen) (1/3 lb) - about 1-1.5 cm diameter per person
Extras (Optional)
  • green onions
  • wasabi
  • ginger
  • sliced cucumbers
  • chili sauce

Method
 

Making Mentsuyu (dipping sauce for somen)
  1. Add 2 cups of water to a pot
  2. Add 1 tsp of dashi, 0.5 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of cooking alcohol, 2 tbsp of mirin, and 3 tbsp of soy sauce into the same pot
  3. Mix well a bring to a boil
  4. Turn off the heat and allow the dipping sauce to cool
Cooking the Noodles
  1. Fill a pot with ~ 3 cm of water and bring to a boil
  2. Add the somen (Japanese fine white noodles) into the pot
  3. Boil the noodles according to the package instructions (generally about 2-3 minutes)
  4. Occasionally stir the noodles while cooking
  5. Strain the water from the noodles and serve a a bowl with water and ice
Optional Toppings
  1. Additional topping can be prepared including sliced cucumbers, ginger, wasabi, chili sauce, and green onions. Please add these to the the dipping sauce to based on the flavors you like.
    Toppings for somen

Video