Somen noodles, a Japanese staple, are made from wheat flour with a mild, delicate flavor and salt. The best somen noodles are said to be made from Japanese wheat flour, which is renowned in Hokkaido. Somen noodles are white in color and vary in thickness. They are appreciated for their elastic and soft texture.
The Japanese love to eat them cold in spring and summer, accompanied by tsuyu, a seasoning made from soy sauce and mirin, sometimes with a dash of citrus juice. In winter, somen is mainly eaten hot in a broth with a strong umami flavor (with katsuobushi or dried bonito) or stir-fried, as an accompaniment to fish or seafood, or even grilled meat.
Cooking somen in summer requires careful attention: it is quickly simmered in boiling water, then drained and immediately plunged into ice water to cool it and stop the cooking process. In Japan, it is often served on a bed of ice cubes. The accompanying tsuyu (made from dashi broth, mirin, and soy sauce) is often served with chopped spring onions, grated ginger, wasabi, sesame seeds, and other ingredients.
Shodoshima is one of Japan's four major somen noodle production centers. Hand-pulled somen is made according to a 400-year-old tradition of rolling noodles. “Hand-stretched” pieces, created by artisans, are carefully spread out one by one, and with of “sesame oil” addition, they are a masterpiece of craftsmanship in terms of firmness, softness, and flavor.
Our Somenya artisan mission is to help more people discover delights of hand-stretched noodles, carefully spread out one by one, and to contribute to the region revitalization. By waiting and rolling noodles by hand, noodles quality improves, creating noodles that are full of life. Semi-dried somen are made by carefully drying somen for a long period of time, then adding an additional moistening process to transform them back into raw noodles.
By taking this time and effort, somen guarantee a truly luxurious culinary experience with a smooth and soft texture, while retaining their firmness. Half-cooked or semi-dried somen noodles have a unique crunch that makes them a rare and exquisite dish throughout Japan. These somen noodles are over a meter long.
Before cooking, it is recommended to cut them into 25-30 cm pieces. Then, immerse them in 2 liters of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Stir somen so that they do not stick together. When cooked, place somen in a colander and rinse with cold running water to cool quickly and stop cooking process.
Once somen has cooled, rinse under running water, kneading with your hands to remove starch that causes stickiness. Finally, drain the water.
