Cold Somen and Warm Beef Noodle Bowls
a chill noodle for a sunny day
Hello hello!
I’m a firm believer that if there’s poor photo evidence of a party because everyone was busy laughing, stuffing their faces, and passing babies around then it is a sign of a pretty solid gathering. We had such a lovely July 4th bbq and was graced by an actual warm and sunny day. Bay Area summers are weird and it’s been so chilly and windy lately, so we got lucky! We smoked lots of meats, I made extra long hot dog buns for our extra long hot dogs (do you like your dog to stick out of the bun or no?), I proudly selected a perfect watermelon, we made some s’mores, and Olive was a big baby about going into the pool I got her but was a good brave girl meeting the generation of our friend group. We ended the night by watching the illegal fireworks show going off behind our house! All in all, it was a good day and good weekend!
Now we’re back to the grind! As mentioned, the weather here is weird. It’s a sunny but crisp 61F degrees outside right out, it warms up by the late afternoon but I can’t compare this to my midwest and east coast friends experiencing a more true Summer right now. I see everyone’s icy cold noodles and no cook recipes but I’m sitting over here sort of craving a steamy bowl of wonton noodle soup or pho.
I sort of happened upon this half cold and warm noodle recipe a few weeks ago when a friend came over for lunch. I wanted to eat outside and enjoy some of the sun so I set forth to make a noodle dish that was both refreshing and cool but still hardy and satisfying. This cold somen and warm beef noodle bowl was born and it was such a hit! An added bonus is that this came together in about 15 minutes. Yes, it does require turning on your stove but I welcomed the warmth and if it’s not too unbearably hot where you are, the flame is on for 10 minutes max!
This recipe is like a cross between Japanese cold somen and gyudon (beef and onion rice bowls) but without the rice. Somen is really light and delicate and take almost no time to cook. Buckwheat would also be a great sub here. Cold somen is often served with a dipping sauce called tsuyu or mentsuyu, a concentrated soup base of soy sauce, bonito, sake, and mirin. You can actually by bottle of this at a local asian market but I like to make a version of this myself because I have all the ingredients already. My tsuyu follows the same lines as the classic but with the addition of yuzu, I like to get juice from Yuzu Co. and some sesame oil to add richness. I mix my sauce with a lot of ice to it stays cold and then the ice melts and intentionally dilutes it.
I’ve gotten in the habit of picking up a package of thinly sliced beef to keep in the freezer. It is the same kind you would use for hot pot of kbbq. I used this beef in the skewers I share on here last week and having this easy protein in the freezer has been so great for fast meals. You could make this cold/warm noodle, gyudon, throw a few pieces in some soup or instant ramen, or make yourself and a casual philly cheesesteak(?)! If you can’t find already pre-sliced beef, you can freeze some flake or chunk and slice it yourself!
After cooking the beef I like to let it cool down for a few minutes first and then top my cold noodles with them. The beef will cool down as you mix it into the noodles and with the broth but won’t feel like it’s wilting the greens or weighing anything down.
I love this noodle dish and it strikes such a great balance no matter what temperature it is outside! Hope you love it too!
Cold Somen, Warm Beef Bowls
Serves 4
For the noodles:
4 bundles (about 90g each) dried somen noodles
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 lb thinly sliced beef, see note below
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1/2 tsp sugar
For the sauce (tsuyu):
1 1/2 cup ice
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp yuzu or lemon juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant dashi powder, like this one
Toppings:
Little gem or romaine lettuce, chopped
Radishes, thinly sliced
Toasted Sesame Seeds
Sea Moss Seasoning or Furikake
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the somen according to package directions, typically they take about 2 to 3 minutes. Strain the noodles and rinse under cold water. Set aside until ready to plate. Loosen the noodles with some water and shake off any excess water before plating.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and stir fry until the onions are translucent and start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beef and toss to combine. Cook until the beef is nearly cooked through with a little pink left, 3 to 4 minutes, tossing occasionally. Stir in the soy, mirin, and sugar and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the burner and allow the beef to cool until warm.
In a medium bowl or glass measuring cup, mix to combine ice, water, soy, juice, sesame oil, sugar, and instant dashi. Stir well until the sauce is extra cold. The ice is meant to intentionally dilute your sauce while keeping it cold.
Divide the noodles into individual bowls. Top with lettuce, radishes, warm beef, sesame seeds, and some sea moss or furikake. Pour in about 1/4 cup the sauce to start, add more if you prefer, and make sure to include a few ice cubes. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
Thinly sliced beef that is already prepared for hotpot or kbbq is ideal here and if you keep it in the freezer, makes this such a speedy meal. But if you can’t find already thinly sliced beef you can freeze 1 lb of well marbled flank or chuck for about 2 to 3 hours, it should be firm but totally frozen solid and then thinly slice it yourself with a sharp knife. Remember to slice against the grain!
I'm going to make this this weekend. I've been craving cold somen, but wanted something more substantial without making side dishes. Thank you for posting it!
If you live in the right US region, you can buy ribeye sliced for cheese steaks that would work very well in this recipe. I can pick it up at every major grocery store in my town and use it for gyudon and bulgogi all the time.
This recipe is to die for. Your Substack and cookbook have provided most of our meals for the past 6ish months, and I don’t think that will change any time soon.