Somen Cold Noodle Nagashi Somen Flowing Presentation — Cook

Ingredients

400 g somen noodles, tokujou grade; kanenshi (aged) preferred — Ibonoito or Miwa somen
4 litres water, for cooking — large volume, vigorously boiling, unsalted
For the tsuyu
600 ml dashi, cold
100 ml light soy sauce, lighter than soba tsuyu proportion
60 ml mirin, restrained quantity — the delicate noodle requires restraint in the dipping sauce
Garnishes
4 myoga, finely sliced
8 leaves shiso, chiffonade
3 green onions, finely sliced
To serve
500 g ice, for serving bowls — sufficient to maintain cold temperature throughout eating

Method

1
Combine the dashi, light soy sauce, and mirin for the tsuyu. Stir to integrate. Refrigerate until thoroughly cold. The tsuyu should read as light and clean on the palate — noticeably more delicate than soba tsuyu.
2
Bring 4 litres of unsalted water to a vigorous, rolling boil. Lower the somen in loose bundles. Cook for exactly 90 seconds from the moment the noodles enter the water. This is where the dish lives or dies: at 90 seconds the noodles are done; a further 30 seconds collapses the delicate structure irreversibly. The noodles should offer the faintest resistance when a single strand is pressed between two fingers.
3
Drain immediately and transfer the noodles to a large basin of cold running water. Rinse thoroughly, working the noodles with both hands, until the water runs completely clear and the surface starch is fully removed. The noodles must feel distinct and slightly slippery, not tacky or gummy.
4
Arrange the rinsed somen in neat coiled portions in individual bowls packed with ice, or set directly into bowls of ice water. The noodles must be visibly cold — condensation on the bowl is a reliable sign that serving temperature is correct.
5
Serve the cold tsuyu in individual dipping cups alongside. Present the sliced myoga, shiso, and green onion in separate small dishes so each diner composes their own garnish. The herbaceous sharpness of the garnishes should be immediately perceptible on approach — if the shiso has wilted or the myoga has browned, the freshness is lost.