Kimchi And Somen

Song:  Gymnopedie #1

Artists:  Salastina Music Society

Last night...

my mother only wanted something light...

and so, I made Somen for her.

(She gets excited like a child when I make this for her.

It is one of her favorite meals).

Somen is a fine noodle Japanese dish 

which consists of noodles which have been quickly boiled (just a few minutes)...

and then added to a cold sauce made from a mixture of Memmi and water

(at a ratio of 1 Memmi to 4 parts water)...

and with the addition of chopped green onions and wasabi in the resulting 

Somen sauce.

Somen noodles are easily obtainable at almost any Asian market...

or from Amazon.

I had my mother chop the green onions while I spiced up the Kimchi.

Last year...

I had purchased this 1 kg bag of finely ground Korean hot peppers.

What I do, is use an older container of Kimchi...

and I add new Kimchi to the container to about one third full.

I then add about one sixth a cup of the finely ground Korean hot peppers to it.

I then thoroughly shake the Kimchi in the container

to fully coat the Kimchi with the pepper powder.

What is unique to these peppers is that...

while they have some heat to them...

it is not over bearing.

It is mostly the deep richness of the flavor which adds 

so much to a batch of store bought Kimchi.

Now...

I don't like garlic so much.

Why do I like this Kimchi?

While this brand of Kimchi is delicious by itself...

it has no discernible garlic taste

(it is low in garlic...but high in flavor)...

and with the addition of this extra flavor to your store bought Kimchi...

you will enjoy it like never before.

Also...

eating foods high in capsaicin has...

not only a great thermic effect in the body

(revs up the metabolism...resulting in a higher output of body heat...

which burns excess calories...and makes the body more resistant to insulin resistance)

(not, so far as I know... a medically proven fact...however, it stands to reason)...

it also has a natural anti inflammatory effect

(medical research has shown this).

However...

I add it because it just has so much more flavor with it.

It is also much more economical.

As each bite of the modified Kimchi is so much more satisfying...

you won't feel the need to eat so much of it.

Simply bring water to a roiling boil.

The water here is not yet ready.

I wait until the water rolls over upon itself...

as pictured below.

When this happens...

the noodles don't need to be stirred...

as they are in constant motion...

from the bottom of the pot...

up the sides...

and back down in the middle.

You must carefully monitor the noodles...

as they can easily be over cooked.

You will want to strain them as soon as they stop being hard.

(simply sample the noodles every 15 - 30 seconds after the first two minutes).

Over boiling them will result in the noodles becoming soggy

and clumping together in the strainer.

You may also choose to add ice cubes to the noodles after they had been strained.

This chills the noodles...

and keeps them from clumping...

as well as adding an additional sensation to the palate.

We eat them both ways...

still hot...

or sometimes...

chilled.

An important point about the sauce...

add the amount of desired wasabi to the sauce...

and...

carefully mix it in until there are no discernible clumps.

To leave clumps of wasabi in the sauce

will result in you ingesting a clump of wasabi in the noodles...

and...especially as you slurp the noodles in...

the resulting sting throughout your sinuses will make you feel as if

your hair is standing on end.

Then add the green onions to the sauce.

That is it...

you are ready to eat them.

Now...

there are two basic ways to eat your Somen.

One way is to fill the sauce with the noodles...

and to then eat the fully soaked noodles straight from the sauce.

This is my mother's preferred way to eat them.

With me...

I like to take a mouthful of noodles at a time

and to then dip them halfway into the sauce...

just to flavor them while still enjoying the full noodle flavor...

without them being over powered by the sauce.

(I first fill a large bowl with just the noodles so I may take them directly from it).

If you are new to eating Somen...

I highly recommend eating them my way first.

This way...

you may control the ratio of sauce to noodle...

and you may then easily balance the resulting flavor

by how far you dip the noodles into the sauce.

My mother had eaten three full bowls of the noodles.

I had eaten the rest.

For a meal for two people...

if you are not particularly hungry...

five bundles of noodles will be just about right.

That is what we had consumed on this night.

However...

7 bundles is our usual amount.

We will often have a side of shrimp...

or other meat to go with our Somen...

along with Kimchi.

However...

it is a delicious and quick snack without any accompanying meat...

especially for late at night.

It was almost midnight before we finished our meal on this night.

Afterwards...

I went to our local Super Walmart to buy the ingredients

for the Japanese Char Siu I will be marinating tonight...

and cooking in 5 days.

We will then be able to have this meat to consume with our Somen...

and for just snacking upon while we watch TV.

I usually shop at Super Walmart between the hours of midnight and 4 AM.

(it is open 24/7).

There are very few people there at this time of night...

and so, I may get in and out quickly.

(How many men do you know who love to shop?  :)