The weather has been so hot these past days, and it makes me want to eat more cold noodles.
Our tagine-style donabe is not only a wonderfully versatile cookware, but it also works super as a "mini fridge" because of its remarkable insulation ability. I simply spread the ice cubes in the skillet and arrange the somen noodles on top. Once I cover it with the lid, the noodles stay very cold for a long time while the ice melts slowly.
I served the somen noodles with various condiments including soft tofu, crab meat, scallion, shiso leaves, young ginger, etc. etc. The dipping sauce was made in the morning and chilled in the fridge. It was the dashi stock, mirin, and soy sauce, and the ratio is 5:1:1. I prefer my dipping sauce this way more than 4:1:1 ratio, which is a little too salty to my taste and I get thirsty quickly.
Because my sauce is not too strong, it's good to just pour over the noodles, too. So, with the leftover cold sauce, I made a "bukkake" (pour-over) style cold udon with the simple toppings including tororo konbu (vinegard shaved kelp), tofu, etc.
I love summer noodles.
