Insider's Kitchen

No.172 (9/24/10)

Chilled Noodles

By Nao H. Kauffman
Chief Editor

How many people on base have stayed away from the oven in this hot summer? I bet many of you were worn out from the heat and did not feel like cooking, and perhaps even lost some of your appetite. Please enjoy learning more about the Japanese foods while you are in Misawa. Here is a good one.

Soumen（そうめん/素麺）are very thin, Japanese white noodles made from flour. They are usually cooked in the boiling water for a few minutes and quickly chilled with ice water. The diameter is thinner than 1.3 millimeters so that they could be the thinnest noodles compared to other Japanese noodles such as udon or soba (buckwheat noodles). They are almost like the Italian noodles called Capellini. The Japanese people usually dip in the sauce called Tsuyu (つゆ), which bonito and soy-based sauce. Some are directly served in the bowl　(written straight as ストレート), and the others should be thinned with water (written as concentrated as 濃縮). They go well with chilled summer vegetables such as tomato, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers and so on. I personally recommend serving with chicken breast ham or pork shabu (thinly sliced boiled or steamed pork.) Canned tuna fish are very good with them as well.

Ingredients:
Soumen noodles (Usually individually packed per one serving)
One tomato
Fried garlic
Green onion
Graded white sesame
Tsuyu

Additional: any chilled vegetables, pork, chicken, tuna fish etc. Add any of garlic oil, sesame oil, wasabi, a pinch of ginger, pepper, or chili if you prefer.

1. Boil the noodles in the medium or large pot depending how many serving you wish to cook.
2. Prepare ice water in the bowl and a strainer.
3. Cook the noodle for two ? three minutes.
4. Strain them and chilled with ice water. Thoroughly shake off the water with the strainer.
5. Pour the chilled noodles in the serving bowl and add vegetables and additional items, as you prefer like above.
6. Lastly, pour over the soup of Tsuyu.

This menu is very low calories and great for your stomach especially when you are struggling with the heat stroke. Enjoy the rest of the hot weather. Fall and the cold winter will be here soon!

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