Cold somen suits hot days, with cool, springy noodles. The tricky part is the egg sheet, since one spread too thin tears when it is cut. The eggs are beaten with cornstarch and oat milk, which keeps the sheet soft enough to spread thin and stay in one piece.
The noodles are rinsed in cold water after boiling and then soaked in iced water so they firm up. The shiitake are simmered until the liquid has gone, so they are deeply savory against the noodles.
This batch weighs about 696g, at roughly 164 calories per 100g.
Method
Beat the egg, then season it with a little salt, a little seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon oat milk, and stir until completely smooth.
Pour the egg into a pan and spread it very thin, then cut it into fine strips.
Rinse the tomato and cut it into wedges, rinse the cucumber and cut it into strips, and cut the ham into long strips about 1 to 1.5cm wide.
Soak the shiitake in warm water until soft, rinse and slice them thinly, then put them in a pot with 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon mirin and simmer over low heat until the liquid has gone.
Boil the somen according to the packet, usually 3 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the strands.
Rinse the cooked noodles under cold water, then soak them in a basin of iced water so they stay cold and springy.
Arrange the somen on a plate and lay the egg, shiitake, cucumber, tomato and ham over the top, then scatter over chopped spring onion.
Dip the noodles into the bowl of dipping sauce as you eat, adding a few ice cubes to the bowl for a colder dip.
Tips
Oat milk in the egg mixture keeps the egg ribbons soft, so they spread thin without tearing.
Plunge the noodles into ice water right after rinsing for a firm chewy strand.
Somen can be replaced with fine egg noodles or dried rice vermicelli, with the cooking time per the packet.
Mirin can be replaced with cooking wine plus half a teaspoon of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Cook the shiitake mushroom until the liquid has gone, as that is what concentrates it.
Let the egg sheet cool completely before rolling and slicing, since cutting it hot shreds it.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.