Cold Somen with Dipping Sauce
This is a straightforward rendition of the popular Japanese dish. Dashi is Japanese fish stock. It's easily made from reconstituted dashi powder (dashi-no-moto), available at Asian markets and specialty stores. If you don't have dashi, your sauce will taste fine but may lack that authentic Japanese taste. Michelle Asakawa adapted this recipe from "Japanese Cooking: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes," by Emi Kazuko (2003, Hermes House). Serves 2.
Ingredients
# 1 7-ounce package somen
# 2 teaspoons dashi
# 3 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium if you have it)
# 1 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine; or substitute 2 teaspoons sugar)
# 1/2 cup ice water
# 1 green onion, finely sliced
# Grated fresh gingerroot (optional)
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the somen and cook according to package directions (usually 1-3 minutes). Drain, then rinse quickly under cold water.
Place the cooked somen in a large bowl and add cool water (and ice cubes, if you like your noodles really cold) to cover. Allow somen to chill while you make the dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce: Combine dashi, soy sauce, mirin and 1/2 cup ice water. Divide the sauce between 2 serving cups.
Divide the somen into 2 serving bowls. Place green onion and grated gingerroot, if using, in very small plates or bowls.
To serve, diners mix the green onion and gingerroot into their dipping sauce, then, using chopsticks, dip the somen into the sauce a few at a time and eat.
Wine ideas: Great somen has such a delicate flavor that you won't want anything to drink but a little of the broth in which the noodles were cooked, spiked with a dash of the dipping sauce. If you do insist on a beverage, make it a clear, crisp cold sake - maybe Sato no Homare "Pride of the Village" from Vine Connections, an importer that helpfully translates its sake labels into English for non- Japanese readers. -Tara Q. Thomas
Matcha (Green Tea) Syrup
Matcha powder is finely powdered green tea, the kind used in the Japanese tea ceremony. It can be purchased at Asian and specialty foods markets. Buy the least expensive kind for this recipe. From Michelle #
Asakawa, makes about 3/4 cup syrup.
Ingredients
# 1 cup water
# 3/4 cup sugar
# 1 tablespoon matcha powder
Directions
Combine water and sugar in a medium heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Using a whisk, blend in the matcha powder. Cool. If small lumps of matcha remain, strain cooled syrup through a fine-meshed strainer or cheesecloth. Refrigerate. Use a squirt bottle or pour over shave ice.
Spam Musubi
Spam musubi is a Hawaiian Islands staple. Nori is dried seaweed; sushi nori (some packages actually say "musubi nori") comes in big squares, which you need to cut down to about 4 inches in width to wrap the Spam musubi. It's available at Asian and some mainstream grocers. From Michelle Asakawa, serves about 4.
Ingredients
# 1 can Spam (regular, low-sodium, or Hot 'n Spicy)
# 4 cups cooked sushi rice, room temperature
# 1/4 cup soy sauce
# 1/4 cup sugar
# 1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
# 5 sheets sushi nori, cut in half lengthwise
Directions
Cut Spam into 10 slices. Fry until slightly crispy. Drain on paper towels, if desired. (Hey, it's Spam - it's got some grease, you know?)
In another pan, combine the soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Add fried Spam slices to the pan of sauce and coat them well. For added flavor, let them sit in the sauce 30 minutes.
Make the musubi: If using a mold, moisten both parts with water. Lay a sheet of nori perpendicular to the mold (the long ends will stick out), then put some cooked rice into it and press flat. Position 2 slices of Spam over the rice, then add more rice and press again. Fold the ends of the nori over the rice, moistening them if needed to get them to stick, and carefully remove the musubi from the mold. Continue with remaining rice, Spam, and nori. This method results in 5 chunky musubi.
If using hands, moisten them with water (and dust with some salt, if you're not worried about sodium), grab a handful of rice, and form it into a solid patty the same dimensions as a slice of Spam. Lay 1 slice of Spam on top (because you won't be topping the Spam with another layer of rice, it's best to use just 1 slice with this method), then wrap the whole thing with a sheet of nori. You get 10 smaller musubi.
If using a bamboo sushi mat, you probably have the method down well enough to figure it out for yourself. (Just a little Hawaiian Japanese humor there - but really, the method is about the same as above.)
Wrap each musubi in plastic wrap and keep in a cool area (such as a basement; never the refrigerator - the rice will get too hard) until ready to eat. Alternatively, slice the musubi into bite-size pieces that resemble sushi, and serve immediately or cover and eat within 2 hours.
Wine ideas: Snobs will roll their eyes, but if there were ever a dish for white Zinfandel, this sweet-salty, Spam-filled roll would be it. Find a drier version of the pink wine - Deloach or Pedroncelli's Zinfandel Rosé, for instance - give it a good chill and enjoy.
