Chilled Somen Noodles (hiyashi Somen)

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cup dashi (japanese bonito stock, available as instant granules or make your own)
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (i prefer kikkoman)
• 1 tablespoon prepared wasabi (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 lb somen noodles
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaf (more or less to taste)

Recipe

• 1 make dipping sauce by combining the dashi (or dashi granules and 1 cup water), mirin, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan. bring just to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• 2 force-cool the sauce by pouring into a medium-size metal mixing bowl, placing into a large bowl of ice cubes and water, and twirling, taking care not to spill, until cooled. (note: this is an important step; it won't taste right if you just let it cool slowly!)when cooled, refrigerate until ready to use.
• 3 cook noodles according to package directions. drain, rinse well under cold water, drain again, and place in a bowl of cold water.
• 4 to serve, place a mound of noodles into individual glass bowls, tuck in a few ice cubes and pour in a small amount of water (not enough to cover; just to dampen). sprinkle with cilantro leaves to taste.
• 5 on little individual plates, place a small mound of sliced green onion and a dab of wasabi. pour some dipping sauce into small individual bowls.
• 6 each person can season his or her sauce to taste with the onions and wasabi, then pick up a bunch of noodles (chopsticks really work the best, but you can use a fork, too), allow water to drip back into bowl, dip into sauce, and eat.
• 7 for a somewhat heartier meal, add some of the suggested additions (in the description above) along with the cilantro leaves when serving. i like to serve this with a simple salad of tomato wedges, sliced cucumber, and either lettuce or napa cabbage with a japanese-style dressing.