Name: Tantan Japanese Cold Somen Noodles
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 bundles somen noodles; 150 ml hot water; 2 teaspoon torigara soup base; ½ teaspoon sugar; ½ teaspoon miso; 2 Tablespoon tahini; 1 teaspoon doubanjiang; ½ Tablespoon white sesame seeds; scallion (green onion)

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Tantan Somen is a tasty meal that you can make in 10 minutes! It has some spiciness from Doubanjiang, aka Toban Djan and creaminess from tahini. The noodles used in this dish are somen which are famous as a Japanese summer food!

Are you looking for an easy lunch? This tantan somen is a great choice! This has some spiciness (and you can add more if you want), and creaminess for the perfect flavor match. It also has tasty sesame flavor so it feels so cozy. Another great thing about this is you can make it in 10 minutes!

What is Tantan Somen

Maybe you know ‘Tantan’ because tantanmen. Then what is Tantan somen? Tantan somen is a made by replacing Chinese noodles with Japanese cold somen noodles. I make tantan somen creamier and less spicy than the tantanmen I shared the other day because I think somen is good with less spice.

What is Somen

Is somen noodles? Yes, it is a type of white and very thin Japanese cold noodle made of wheat flour. The pronunciation is so-men. It is eaten mostly in summer time and it has a light taste.

Every summer my mom made somen dishes for lunch and when she started cooking somen dishes, I always felt like summer was coming.

Q&A What is the Difference Between Somen and Udon

It says Noodles with a diameter of less than 1.3mm are called “somen”, and noodles with a diameter of 1.7mm or more are called “udon”. They have similar taste and ingredients to make but the manufacturing processes are a bit different. Somen is made by applying oil to a dough made of wheat flour and salt water, rolling it up, and stretching it into thin noodles. They are called hand-stretched noodles, and after being stretched thinly, the noodles are hung on a stick called ‘Kadohoshi’ to dry out.

Q&A Where Can I Buy Somen?

I see somen so many places including local grocery stores in the states! It is usually in the Asian section and it either says ‘そうめん’ or ‘somen’ on the package so it is easy to find!

If you can’t find at your local grocery store, then try to go to Asian grocery stores. If you can’t go to Asian grocery stores, then you can also find on Amazon!

Tips to Make Delicious Tantan Somen

Here are some tips to make the delicious tantan somen!

Wash the somen well after boiling – somen includes some oil so please wash well with running water after boiling
Keep somen in ice water after boiling – somen should be cold. After washing somen, add it to iced water
Drain water when eating – when you eat somen, drain the water well. I also push lightly to remove water as mush as possible
Use tahini instead of finding nerigoma – nerigoma is used in so many tantanmen or tantan somen Japanese cooking recipes. It is super easy to get nerigoma in japan but so difficult in the states. So use tahini instead.

2 Ways to Eat Tantan Somen

There are 2 ways to eat tantan somen.

1. Add somen and the soup in a deep bowl

This is a minimum dish meal. If you eat quickly, this is a good way to serve this dish but the longer you leave the noodles in the soup, the more soup is absorbed.

2. Add somen and soup in separate bowls

I prefer this way. You prepare 2 separete bowls with the somen and soup. Whenever you eat, dip the somen into the soup.

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