Cook Time: 3 minutes

If you want to try something that will knock your socks off, try Japanese somen noodles! These thin wheat flour noodles are usually served chilled, but also taste great in soup or warmed with a light soy sauce. Because of their narrow width, they cook in just three minutes, making them an excellent option for dinners in a dash.

Somen can be purchased at East-Asian grocery stores. It looks like white spaghetti and is sold in small bunches that are bound with paper. Each bundle is equal to one serving, so when cooking for four people, you use four bundles. This is my kind of math!

If you are having a hard time finding somen, use spaghetti or spaghettini. It's not quite the same, but it also tastes great with a ginger sauce.

This recipe is for a chilled somen dish. If you would rather have it hot, omit the ice cubes and heat the ginger sauce like soup. Follow the same cooking instructions and add the noodles to the ginger sauce after they have been cooked and rinsed otherwise the soup will become starchy.

For 2 servings

2 bundles somen

Pot of boiling water

Ginger Sauce

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoon grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon mirin or sherry

2 scallions, chopped

ice cubes for garnish

Method

Boil somen for 3 minutes or until soft. Drain and rinse in cold water. This will ensure that the noodles stop cooking and help prevent them from sticking together. In a bowl combine soy sauce, water, ginger, sugar, and mirin. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Place a bamboo mat over a plate and add a few ice cubes. The mat is like a drain cover and the melted water will seep below it. Top the ice with somen noodles so they remain cold, and garnish with chopped scallions. Serve with sauce on the side.

Image from Flickr.com