PROJECT Nyumen

Feb 20, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round

Above, Four Examples of Nyūmen:

Hakusai, Carrot and Shiméji (top left); Egg Drop, Shiméji and Scallions (top right); Chicken and Mitsuba with Sanshō (bottom left);  Shiitaké, Shiméji, Carrot and Mitsuba.

煮麺 ・Nyūmen

This Kitchen PROJECT is about making NYŪMEN (sōmen noodles in piping hot broth) in YOUR kitchen.

On chilly days nyūmen makes for a quick, belly-warming light meal. Use this BASIC RECIPE as a point of departure for developing your own house version.

For those who eat plant-based foods exclusively, and others who would like to increase their consumption of non-animal foodstuffs, note there are MANY vegetarian and vegan options listed in the basic recipe.

Scroll down for several BROTH OPTIONS.

NOTE: the classic version of nyūmen features a subtly nuanced savory broth. Spicy flavorings such as yuzu koshō or shichimi tōgarashi are rarely used, though on occasion, a pinch of tongue-tingling sanshō is added as a finishing touch. There are those who add curry roux, in the same way that some Japanese favor curry udon.

Classic nyūmen is a clear broth soup-noodle dish. However, sōmen is added to miso soup (especially in the summertime in the Kansai region). When sōmen is placed in miso soup it is no longer called nyūmen though. Instead it is called sōmen iri miso shiru, or “sōmen in miso soup.”

Curious about how sōmen is made?  Want to know how to buy, store and cook sōmen?

Take a look the Nyūmen Kitchen Culture blog post.

Simple vegan broths can be made using either Kelp Alone Stock or a mushroom-enriched version called Sankai Dashi (literally Mountain-Sea Stock). Using several varieties of kombu will add depth and complexity of flavor to your noodle soup.

Stocks using fish such as Standard Sea Stock (and Smoky Sea Stock) and Sanuki Sea Stock (made with iriko or niboshi dried sardines) are the most commonly encountered.

PROJECT Springtime Sweets

PROJECT Springtime Sweets

洋菓子・yōgashiWestern-Style Confectionery Japan's food culture includes ingredients, techniques and dishes that have been adopted and/or adapted from non-Japanese sources.  One large category is confectionery. Earliest influences were from the Portuguese in the 16th...

Celebrating Sakura

Celebrating Sakura

The Japanese take great pleasure in celebrating the seasons and SAKURA (cherry blossoms) are emblematic of spring. From the time buds (tsubomi 蕾) first appear to the official pronouncement of blooming (kaika 開花) it is often less than a week. And from there to...

PROJECT Temari Sushi

PROJECT Temari Sushi

This KITCHEN PROJECT  features temari-zushi, bite-sized spheres of tart rice topped with various ingredients. HINA MATSURI is celebrated on March 3 and during the weeks leading up to it, and for several weeks thereafter, scattered chirashi-zushi and/or temari-zushi ...

Cooking Cloth

Cooking Cloth

Cloth is the work horse, and often unsung hero, of the kitchen. In the Japanese kitchen, cloth enables the cook to perform a wide range of tasks such as lining steamers, draining and straining, enveloping, and shaping.Cloths known as fukashi nuno 蒸し布 are used to line...

Recent Posts & Projects