Who’s a fan of cold noodles? This modern, refreshing, and bright Sweet and Spicy Scallion Somen Salad is great served cold.
I always go on about how udon is my favorite Japanese noodles but do you know what my second favorite is? It’s somen!
What is somen?
Somen are white Japanese wheat noodles and are very thin. Because of how thin they are, they only take a couple of minutes to cook, which is great if you are in need of a quick meal.
Usually somen is served plain with a cold dipping sauce (tsuyu) but this recipe is a fun noodle salad! It’s slightly sweet and a little spicy and if you like cilantro, you’d like this. While Japanese dishes don’t usually use cilantro (or pakuchi, as its called in Japanese), this is able to include it without it feeling too not Japanese.
I prefer serving this cold, but you can also eat it warm! It’s really good either way but the cold noodles with the cilantro and spicy sauce make it really refreshing on a hot day.
If you don’t have access to an Asian or Japanese market, head to MY PANTRY or the “Shop this post” section below for somen noodles and the other ingredients!
Sweet + Spicy Scallion Somen Salad / スパイシー素麺サラダ
Ingredients
- 9 oz somen noodles
Sauce
- 1.5 cups green onion chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp chili oil (la-yu)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let it sit for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to develop.
- Boil the somen noodles per the instructions on the package. Drain when done and run under cold water to cool the noodles.
- Add the sauce to the noodles and toss. Serve on greens or by itself!
Shop this post:
Somen Noodles / 素麺
Oroshi Shoga (Grated Ginger) / おろし生姜
La-yu / ラー油
Sesame Oil / 胡麻油
Seasoned Rice Vinegar / すし酢
Soy Sauce / 醬油
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