My Japanese Summer Foods-Part 1: Mentsuyu, Somen Noodles, and Hiyayakko!

There's no getting around it...summer can get unbearably hot! What a better way to cool off than to help yourself to nearly effortless, refreshingly cold Japanese dishes? Well, that's how I have stayed cool so far! This is the first part of my Japanese summer dish posts because I do plan on making more so stay tuned!!!

This post is about mentsuyu, somen noodles, and hiyayakko~! :D

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Ideally, the first thing to make would be mentsuyu which is a multipurpose sauce that is typically used for dipping during the hot summer months in Japan. Now...let's get cooking, shall we?

Here's what you will need:

Serving: 1 Cup

-1/2 cup soy sauce

-1/2 sake

-1/4 cup mirin

-handful of bonito flakes (katsuoboshi)

Add everything into a pot!

Bring it to a boil.

After it begins to boil, remove the pot from the heat, put on a lid, and allow it to completely cool off. 

After the sauce has cooled down, strain the bonito flakes out of it.

Use a spoon to press down on the bonito flakes to make sure that all of the sauce has been strained into the bottom container.

And...there you have it! You can leave it in the refrigerator and it lasts for a few weeks! I only made this amount because I used all of the sake that I had left to make this. If you have enough of each of the ingredients, I highly recommend making a good amount of this so you have it at the ready! Just remember that mentsuyu is always two parts soy sauce and sake and one part mirin!

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Now onto our first dish of the summer: Somen Noodles!

Somen noodles are thin Japanese noodles made from wheat flour and are usually served cold. They are so delicious and refreshing! 

Here is what you need:

-1/4 cup mentsuyu

-1/2 cup water

-Somen noodles

-Ginger (peeled and grated)

-Green onions (chopped)

-Optional: Nori 

I didn't take any pictures during the cooking process! It's pretty simple so I will just sum it up:

First, cook the noodles according to the package directions and make sure that when you strain them, take special care to get all of the starch out! Treat the noodles like laundry that you just washed in the river! lol xD 

Be sure to place the noodles in a bowl of ice water to keep them cold! If you want, chop up some nori and place it on top of the noodles! Yum! 

Mix the mentsuyu and water together and stir it well with chopsticks. Grate peeled fresh ginger and chop a green onion. Add the green onions and ginger to the sauce, dip the noodles, and enjoy!

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Last, but certainly not least is...hiyayakko!

Hiyayakko (冷奴) or cold tofu, is a chilled tofu dish that can be served with a variety of toppings!

According to Wikipedia, "Hiya means cold, and yakko refers to the servants of samurai during the Edo period in Japan."

Here is what you need for my version:

-1 small block or half a block of silken or soft tofu

-Peeled and grated ginger

-Bonito flakes

-Green Onion

-Karashi

-Soy sauce

All you have to do is carefully take the tofu out of it's package and pat it down gently with a paper towel. Be careful because soft tofu is very delicate! Place it on a plate.

Add any ingredients that you like! This gives you a chance to be creative with the dish! I used what I had in my kitchen at the time: green onions, grated ginger, and karashi (a Japanese mustard, usually spicy), and bonito flakes! I would like to try it with grated daikon next time! 

All you have to do next is pour a little soy sauce over the tofu and it's toppings and that's it! I had this a few days ago and I think it's absolutely delicious! Please give it a try! ^-^