Sômen

Sômen have traditionally come from western Japan since the eighth century. They have made the reputation of Kansai, Nagasaki (Shimabara), the island of Shodoshima… Indeed, these regions concentrate areas of wheat cultivation. Sômen are fine noodles eaten generally cold in the summer because they are refreshing. Their manufacture is complex, manual for the best. The fi ner are the sômen, the more expensive and rare they are. Their cooking is very fast, rarely more than one to two minutes in boiling water. Rinse with iced water is necessary to stop cooking. To enjoy them, you can dip them in a simple tsuyu: soy sauce, japanese leek, grated ginger, wasabi, some dashi broth with katsuobushi. Outside of the summer, the sômen are often consumed hot.