Here's another cold noodle dish I made the other day for lunch.
It's like eating somen noodles with the cold miso soup, and it's really good!
Before I went jogging in the morning, I made the miso broth and let it chill in the fridge until lunchtime. Then, I prepared the toppings...soft tofu, minced scallion, cherry tomatoes, sliced yama-imo (mountain yam), sliced shiso leaves, and ground roasted sesame seeds.
In the donabe (any classic-style all-purpose donabe or tagine-style donabe would work for serving this dish), I spread the ice cubes in the bottom. A round bamboo mat (you can find it at a Japanese store) was laid over the ice cubes and the somen noodles (cooked and rinsed in cold water) were placed on top. Iga-yaki donabe can get insulated very nicely, so it works like a mini-fridge and keeps the inside very cold!
I tried to put a little amount of the noodles and toppings in the dipping miso broth at a time, but it got so full because I was so hungry for my first bite! Tofu was broken by hand right before added to the broth for the nice rustic texture. This was such a delicious soothing dish. And, the dish was unintentionally vegan (since I made the dashi stock with konbu and shiitake). How satisfying! With my homemade miso, the broth was a killer.
Here's the recipe:
Somen noodles with cold miso broth
Ingredients (2 servings)
(miso dipping broth)
2 1/3 cups dashi stock
2 tablespoons sake
4 tablespoons miso
2 teaspoons light color soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu)
6 oz somen noodles (dry)
(toppings)
soft tofu, minced scallion, cherry tomatoes, sliced yama-imo (mountain yam), sliced shiso leaves, and ground roasted sesame seeds
Procedure
1. In a pot, combine the ingredients for the miso broth and heat through. Let it chill in the refrigerator.
2. Cook the somen noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse with the cold water and drain.
3. In a donabe pot, spread some ice cubes and cover with a round bamboo mat. Arrange the drained somen noodles on the bamboo mat. (If you don't have a bamboo mat, you can arrange the noodles directly on the ice cubes.
4. Pour the chilled miso dipping broth into bowls. Set the topping ingredients in a plate.
5. Add some of the topping ingredients in the broth and dip some of the noodles and enjoy together.
Happy summer donabe life.
