Somen Okonomiyaki Recipes

SOMEN OKONOMIYAKI

Steps:

• Break somen noodles in half prior to cooking.
• Cook according to directions and strain, but DO NOT rinse in water.
• Seperate the somen into 2 stacks
• Heat oil in 10 inch frying pan on medium heat.
• Place 1 stack of somen in pan, arrange in to a circle and flatten with spatula.
• Top with bacon, shrimp, basil, scallion, cabbage, and second stack of somen.
• Pour on egg mixture.
• Flatten and shape with spatula.
• Cook until browned on one side, then flip and brown on other side, reshaping as needed.
• Plate and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce.
• Top with mayonnaise, nori, and ginger.
• ***A simple salad of arugula, shredded carrot and cabbage, sliced cucumber, and diced yellow pepper drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with julienned nori makes a great accompaniment.

JAPANESE COLD SOMEN NOODLES

Steps:

• [Optional] Traditional Japanese restaurants tie up the noodles to enhance the appearance of the somen and this is how you do it. Tie the edge of somen noodles with cooking twine. This way noodles will stay in one direction while cooking. I normally skip this step for home use.
• In a large pot, bring water to a boil. When boiling, remove the wrapper.
• Add the somen noodles in the boiling water (do not add salt!). Stir noodles with chopsticks so they don't stick to each other. Cook according to the package instructions. If necessary, add a little bit of cold water in the pot to prevent overflowing.
• Drain somen in a colander and wash the noodles with hands under running water.
• Once the noodles are cold, find the knotted parts of somen noodles and pick them up. Cut off the edge and discard. Hold each bundle gently and arrange it nicely on a serving plate. Somen can be served with ice to keep cool.
• Cut the scallion finely and grate the ginger. Put them in small dishes.
• Pour mentsuyu in individual dipping sauce bowls and add iced water to dilute. I recommend making homemade mentsuyu but if you're too busy, get a bottle of mentsuyu like this. See the instructions. You can check the ratio of mentsuyu to water on this page. This brand recommends 1:3.
• Put a small portion of scallion and ginger in the dipping sauce and dip the somen noodles to enjoy! To make it more filling, you can bulk up the noodles by tossing in other ingredients such as shredded egg crepes (see How to Make Kinshi Tamago), julienned cucumbers, boiled okra, and ham.