{"id":33,"date":"2007-10-25T09:42:02","date_gmt":"2007-10-25T16:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com\/2007\/10\/25\/somen-salad-tasty\/"},"modified":"2007-10-25T09:42:02","modified_gmt":"2007-10-25T16:42:02","slug":"somen-salad-tasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/somen-salad-tasty\/","title":{"rendered":"Somen + salad = tasty"},"content":{"rendered":"

After\u00a0a week filled with\u00a0gunmetal skies, blustery winds and neverending drizzle,\u00a0the sun decided to pop up and give us a couple of Indian summer days in Seattle. Inspired by the warm(er) weather–it hit 68F in the shade!–I decided to\u00a0make a\u00a0refreshing, cold somen salad. Somen is a skinny Japanese noodle, kinda like vermicelli but\u00a0made from wheat flour instead of rice flour.\u00a0They’re usually\u00a0prettily packaged in neat\u00a0bundles like so.<\/p>\n

\"DSC05892\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My friend Scott Kushino’s mom, Daisy gave me this recipe. Originally from Hawaii, Daisy grew up\u00a0on her mom and grandmothers’ healthy culinary creations made from\u00a0the fresh vegetables homegrown on the island. When she\u00a0moved to Chicago at\u00a018, somen salad\u00a0was one of many childhood recipes she took with her to the Mainland.<\/p>\n

Though somen salad is Japanese in origin, when I told my Tokyo- born and bred (for the most part) friend Yuki about\u00a0it she was a little bemused. “It sounds really good though,” she said. “I bet you can try it with soba (buckwheat noodles) too!” Hence I\u00a0believe this dish is very much a Japanese\/Hawaiian\/American concoction.<\/p>\n

By the way, if you’d like to learn a little more about Asian noodles, check out my article “Oodles of Noodles”<\/a> that was printed in Priority<\/em> magazine, the inflight magazine for\u00a0Singapore Airlines\u00a0(for those who know the commercial, please sing along: “Singapore Girl, you’re a great way to fly …”)<\/p>\n

Somen Salad<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Daisy’s recipe calls for kamaboko<\/a>\u00a0(Japanese fish cake) but\u00a0you can use\u00a0surimi\u00a0<\/a>(imitation crab meat; both kamaboko and surimi are made from the same basic ingredients, i.e. white fish) instead.\u00a0Char siu\u00a0aka barbecue pork is available at most Asian grocery supermarkets with a deli and\u00a0what decent Hong Kong\/Cantonese restaurant doesn’t have char siu on its menu? Like any salad, feel free to substitute or change portions to taste. The dressing goes fabulously\u00a0with\u00a0field greens too.<\/p>\n

Time:\u00a040 minutes<\/p>\n

Makes: 8 servings<\/p>\n

\n

1 (12 oz) pkg. somen<\/p>\n

1\/2 head of small lettuce, shredded (about 2 cups)<\/p>\n

1\/2 lb char siu or ham, cut into matchsticks<\/p>\n

2 eggs, lightly beaten<\/p>\n

1 pkg (6 oz) kamaboko or\u00a06 sticks surimi, cut into matchsticks<\/p>\n

2 stalks green onion, sliced into thin ‘O’s<\/p>\n

\n

Cook\u00a0somen\u00a0as directed on package.\u00a0Do not overcook or the\u00a0noodles will be soggy! Strain into colander, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside to cool.<\/p>\n

\n

Make omelets. Lightly grease a 6″ frying pan. Pour 1\/2 of egg mixture into pan and roll it around to spread evenly, over low heat. When the omelet surface is nearly dry (lift edge to check if underside is cooked), flip. Cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat\u00a0with remaining egg mixture. When cool, roll omelets into fat cigars and cut into very fine strips.<\/p>\n

\n

\"DSC05902\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Transfer\u00a0somen to a large platter and arrange\u00a0lettuce, meat, kamaboko or surimi, green onions and egg strips an top.\u00a0Just before serving, pour dressing (recipe to follow) over salad. Mix well and serve on individual plates.<\/p>\n

\n

Dressing:<\/p>\n

\n

\"DSC05896\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

1\/4 cup canola oil
\n3 tablespoons rice or white vinegar
\n2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
\n2\u00a0tablespoons soy sauce
\n2 tablespoons sugar
\nl teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Screw top on. Shake well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After\u00a0a week filled with\u00a0gunmetal skies, blustery winds and neverending drizzle,\u00a0the sun decided to pop up and give us a couple of Indian summer days in Seattle. Inspired by the warm(er) weather–it hit 68F in the shade!–I decided to\u00a0make a\u00a0refreshing, cold somen salad. Somen is a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,44,46],"tags":[776,777,47],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-appetizers-course","category-japanese","category-salads","tag-noodles","tag-salads","tag-somen"],"yoast_head":"\nSomen + salad = tasty - Pickles and Tea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/somen-salad-tasty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somen + salad = tasty - Pickles and Tea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After\u00a0a week filled with\u00a0gunmetal skies, blustery winds and neverending drizzle,\u00a0the sun decided to pop up and give us a couple of Indian summer days in Seattle. 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