Refreshing Somen

I think plasticmom is still concerned about my cooking abilities since she sent me a link to Dream Dinners. On the other hand, I may be reading too much into it. Perhaps this is not commentary on my abilities, but more an expression of her enthusiasm for a nifty concept. It is a pretty cool idea and the menus do look tasty.

But, back to plasticmom. While I was trying to convince her of my culinary abilities a few weeks ago, we reminisced about a fun summer meal plasticmom would make when I was a kid. I haven't had somen, or cold Japanese dipping noodles for years, but I made it last week and now Adam is a fan. It's simple, refreshing and actually healthy.

You can buy bundles of thin somen noodles at the Asian market along with the soup noodle base needed to make the dipping sauce. Don't bother with the specialized sauces in the tiny bottles, get the general use soup base that comes in a jug and you can use the same soup base to make soup for noodles, dipping sauce for noodles and even tempura sauce, you just dilute the soup base with a different amount of water for the various uses.

A cautionary note, I was skeptical about the "serving size" indicated on the noodle package. It said one bundle yielded two cups of cooked noodles. I guess I was feeling hungry because I ended up cooking five servings for two people figuring we'd each eat two servings and have some left over. Unfortunately, the five bundles of noodles were enough to feed Adam and me for dinner on Thursday, lunch on Friday, and dinner for Adam, Dave and Aaron last night. In other words, it was seven servings.

Somen Noodles

1. Cook Somen noodles according to the instructions. Rinse cooked noodles with cold water and let the noodles chill in a water bath in the fridge.

2. Make the dipping sauce according to the instructions.

3. Additional Ingredients: Thinly sliced cucumbers, chopped scallions, cubed firm tofu, chunks of avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, strips of ham, thin strips of scrambled eggs [see #4], and pretty much anything you want to dip in sauce...even cantaloupe or watermelon.

4. To make thin strips of egg, heat a nonstick frying pan, beat up two eggs in a bowl. Pour the egg into the pan and quickly swirl the egg in the pan to spread it out thinly. Use a spatula to flip the egg pancake over until the egg is cooked through. Cut the egg pancake into thin strips.

Instructions for eating:

1. Set out the noodles and all the other accompaniments.

2. Fill each bowl with 1/2 to 1/3 cup of dipping sauce.

3. Dip the noodles and other ingredients into the sauce and enjoy.