Cycle 5 – Item 345

16 (Tue) December 2014

Nyumen with Grilled Prawns & Fresh Spinach

2.5

by me

in my apartment

-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

solo

Somen is a type of Japanese noodle.  Each strand is thin – “small (so) + noodle (men)” – thinner than angel hair pasta.  Made of flour.  Produced and packaged dry.  Cooked in boiling water for a minute or so.  In Japan, it’s served plain with a soy-based dipping sauce, similar to zaru soba – the term “somen” refers by default to such a dish.    Also as a warm noodle soup, in which case the dish is called “nyu(simmered)men.”  Koreans also make somyeon in broth and as an accompaniment to spicy stir-fried squid/octopus.  In any case, somen/somyeon provides a light touch, more silky than starchy.

I’d purchased a packet of high-end somen on my trip to Kobe/Osaka, where the regional style favors nyumen.

While I would typically chop and sauté spinach to make a topping, I was suddenly inspired to lay out the spinach in its raw form as a bed for the noodles and then pour the broth over everything, allowing the vegetables to soften a bit from the heat but retain some freshness.  It kinda worked, but I used too much spinach, and the broth wasn’t hot enough.  But it’s an idea that I’ll try again.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)