Very thin white wheat noodles served ice-cold in summer, drained onto bamboo or floated in chilled water, and dipped into a cold soy-dashi tsuyu sharpened with grated ginger and scallion. Their delicate, almost silky strands make them Japan's quintessential hot-weather refreshment.
A traditional Japanese noodle distinguished by being thin (under 1.3 mm thick for machine-made noodles under Japan's JAS standard; hand-stretched somen may be up to 1.7 mm), with historic production hubs such as Miwa in Nara and the Shodoshima island region.
Cool, slippery threads slide off the chopsticks and through the savory ginger-laced dip in one clean motion. The noodles themselves are mild and faintly wheaty, a blank, soothing canvas against the salty tsuyu.
Rinsing in cold water halts cooking and washes away surface starch, giving the noodles a clean, firm, non-gummy bite. Serving ice-cold tightens the gluten strands so they stay springy rather than soft.
Variations
nagashi-somen (flowing noodles), nyumen (hot somen in broth), somen chanpuru (Okinawan stir-fry), with tomato or sesame dipping sauces
On the Palate
Where Somen sits in the Japanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 2How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 14 min
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil.
- 21 min
Add the somen and stir gently to prevent sticking.
- 32 min
Boil for only about 1 to 2 minutes until just tender.
Watch outBoil only a minute or two and test one strand — it should bend soft but still have bite; somen turns mushy in seconds past done.
- 42 min
Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water, rubbing off surface starch.
Watch outRinse under cold water and rub the strands until they stop feeling slippery — that surface starch is what makes them gummy and clumped.
- 52 min
Chill the noodles further in a bowl of ice water.
Watch outChill in ice water until the noodles feel cold and firm to the touch — the cold tightens them so they stay springy in the bowl.
- 62 min
Mix bottled or homemade mentsuyu concentrate with cold water to make a dipping sauce.
- 71 min
Drain the noodles and pile them onto a plate or float in iced water.
- 81 min
Serve with the tsuyu and condiments of grated ginger and sliced scallion.
