This is probably TastyAsia’s most unfussy recipe. It’s also easy, fast, and delicious.
Somen with vegetables
I suppose the variations are endless, but for tonight’s noodles I used fresh spinach and a red pepper.
Chopped red pepper and fresh spinach
I garnished the noodles with a soft-boiled egg. Here is the egg submerged in its ice water bath, after cooking.
A soft-boiled egg, getting chilly in ice water
INGREDIENTS and PREP:
- 1 egg, placed in boiling water for 7 minutes, then chilled in an ice-water bath for about 10 minutes; then peeled and cut in half. The yolk will be quite soft. (If you’re cooking for one person, sprinkle one half of the egg with nanami togarashi and eat it now, reserving the other half for the recipe.)
- 1 generous handful of fresh spinach and 1 chopped red pepper, both blanched in boiling water for 45 seconds and then drained in a colander and rinsed with cold water (to stop the cooking)
- 1 L vegetable stock, 2 T sake, 3 T light soy sauce
- 4 oz noodles, such as somen
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat the stock mixture (#3) to boiling, then add the noodles (#4) and boil for about 2-3 minutes. The noodles should be just barely done. Remember this bit of noodly advice: chewy is always better than soft.
- Using chopsticks or tongs, move the noodles to your serving bowl. Then place the vegetables (#2) around the perimeter. Add the reserved egg half as a garnish (#1).
- Ladle broth into the bowl until the noodles are almost covered, and serve. This should make about two servings.
Variations: Infinite.
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