Resep Masakan Jepang: Somen Summer Food

Ingridients: (for 4 servings) 300 grams somen, 5 yakumi (Sengiri shiso, sengiri myoga, koguchigiri Green onion, grated ginger, white sesame (roasted and lightly grated)), Soup for somen (1/3 cup mirin(change with lemon+grapefruit juice for halal recipe), 2cups water, 1/3 soy sauce, 20 grams katsuobushi flakes).

How to make: How to boil Somen:

Boil a lot of water in a large deep pot. Spread somen into itB
Keep heating with high flame while stir with chopstick lightly.
When it come to a boil, add a little water to prevent overflowing. Do not add too much at one time or temperature will drop.
When it come to a boil again stop heat, place it on the strainer immediately.
Rinse and wash by hand with running cold water to remove starchiness and oil.

Preparing soup for Somen:

Put mirin in a pot, bring to a boil then stop heat. (nikiru)
Add soy sauce with water in a pot bring to a boil (hitonitachi), add katsuobushi, simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
Let cool down,strain with thin cloth or kitchen towel on top.

Hints:

Nikiru means removing alcohol by boiling it.

Hitonitachi means lightly boiled.

Use cotton string to tie the end of somen together when boiling. It makes it easier to serve somen decoratively on dishes. Somen can be boiled evenly inside and tightly on the surface (aldente) by adding water to lower the temperature when somen is boiling. So that somen doesn't absorb any odor from your hands, be sure to rinse with running cold water to cool down before touching. Somen is made with kneaded wheat flour, stretched into thin strips using vegetable oil. There are 1 year somen or 3 years somen. Oil content decreases as time passes and texture becomes smoother years after made. Colored from shiso, plum, egg, green tea somen can be boiled in a short time. Wash these kinds of somen particularly carefully by hand to remove odor of oil. There is no need to wash 3 year somen by hand, just rinse. Somen yellowed or moulded are too old to use. Keep somen in a closed can, store it in cool and dark place. If somen is more than 1 year old dry under the sun to help remove odor.