Last Updated on June 3, 2023
[ヴィーガン冷やし素麺]
Vegan Cold Somen Noodles with Dipping Sauce is an ideal Japanese seasonal dish that’s perfect to eat in the hot and humid summer days! Silky and smooth somen noodles are served cold with a soy sauce base vegan dipping sauce that’s also cold. It’s prepared in the simplest and the authentic Japanese way to savor the somen noodles and the homemade vegan dipping sauce with a couple of aromatic & spicy condiments!
What Are Somen Noodles?
While udon noodles have gained the popularity outside of Japan, somen noodles are still trying to catch up to the same status of udon noodles.
Somen [素麺 or そうめん] is a type of Japanese noodles that’s very delicate and thin (like angel hair pasta.) When it comes to the ingredients to make somen, it’s the same as udon noodles which is made of:
- Wheat flour
- Salt
- Water
In English, it’s mostly referred as “somen noodles” instead of “somen” (shorter) which how the Japanese call it.
In Japan, there is a variety of local somen noodles from different regions and areas. Each somen has a slightly different method of production using the locally sourced ingredients which may result in a different appearance and/or the taste. For example, some somen noodles from shodoshima in Kagawa prefecture is made with sesame oil.
But overall, they are very similar (almost identical) to one another.
Despite of the similarity, you could taste the difference especially when using high quality ingredients. Some may feel slightly silkier than the others when you savor. Or, you may taste the quality of wheat flour. Not only for the taste, the color may appear to be ever so slightly different. So, I’d recommend trying a couple of different brands/products to find your favorite. I use Organic Somen Noodles from Gold Mine Natural Foods.
You can enjoy somen noodles both cold and hot. But in this recipe, I feature the cold somen noodles.
Cold Somen Noodles
Somen = Summer
If you never had somen noodles before, I would recommend serving cold like this Vegan Cold Somen Noodles with Dipping Sauce recipe. That’s the most basic way to enjoy the taste of somen noodles—The authentic Japanese way!
For most Japanese people, we associate somen as summer food. Somen is such an iconic summer dish that we eat at home!
If you went to Japan in summer, you’d notice right away that it’s brutally humid and hot. Because of that, many Japanese loose appetite during the summer. Also, on those days, you don’t want to stay in front of the stove for too long. That’s when cold somen is perfect because it cooks in no time!
Cold silky noodles dipped into a cold dipping sauce with some aromatic condiments really cools us down. Not only that, because of the thinness and the delicate texture, somen noodles are very light, and easy to slurp and swallow. In other words, cold somen noodles really are a perfect food to eat to fight the weather!
Vegan Cold Somen Noodles
This cold somen noodles with dipping sauce is one of the fastest and easiest Japanese dishes to make for summer! But first, you need to prepare great vegan mentsuyu to make a delicious umami-rich cold dipping sauce.
All Somen noodles (noodles only) are naturally vegan but a typical dipping sauce for cold somen noodles aren’t vegan unless you make your own. So, what’s in the dipping sauce?
Dipping Sauce (Tsuke-tsuyu)
Taste
“Tsuke-tsuyu [つけつゆ]” is a Japanese word for “dipping sauce.”
The cold dipping sauce for this vegan cold somen noodles is one of the highlights of the recipe (besides the obvious—some noodles.) The taste of the dipping sauce is sweet & savory! The savory part comes from soy sauce with a sophisticated umami taste from kombu and sake. It also has a natural sweetness from mirin. For my personal touch, I use sugar to enhance the sweetness!
The thinness and the delicate texture of somen noodles are a great match with delicate soy sauce and kombu dashi-based dipping sauce.
Now, the dipping sauce or tsuke-tusyu is typically made with mentsuyu (Japanese noodle dipping sauce or soup base.) However, commercially available mentsuyu are NOT vegan due to the use of bonito flakes. It may also have MSG or other additives and preservatives.
Good news is that you can make your homemade vegan mentsuyu!
Vegan Mentsuyu
My vegan mentsuyu is savory and rich in umami and slightly sweet! It’s very easy to make and the best of all, you can make a batch and keep it in the fridge for about a month. You can also use it for other Japanese noodles like udon and soba as well as seasoning stir-fries etc..
It’s a must ingredient in order to make the cold dipping sauce for this somen noodles.
With good somen noodles and the vegan cold dipping sauce, all you need is some aromatics!
Condiments (Aromatics)
Typical condiments for cold somen noodles with dipping sauce are;
- Scallions *
- Toasted Sesame Seeds *
- Grated Ginger *
- Wasabi *
- Kizami Nori (shredded nori)
- Green Shiso (perilla leaves) **
- Myoga (Japanese ginger)
* shown in the 1st photo below
** shown in the 2nd photo below (on the somen noodles)
You can use all of them or some of them or however you like! If you make your own toasted sesame seeds and sprinkle in the dipping sauce, it tastes beyond your imagination!
Be sure to check out the “Step-by-Step Instructions (w/ Photos)” after the Printable Recipe!
Vegan Cold Somen Noodles with Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce
- 4 tbsp Vegan Mentsuyu use my recipe
- 1/2 cup purified water preferably cold
Cooking Somen Noodles
- 7.8 oz dried somen noodles
- 2 qt water for cooking somen noodles
Suggested Condiments
- 1 scallion finely chopped
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Grated ginger
- Wasabi
- Kizami nori (shredded nori), julienned
- Green shiso (perilla leaves), julienned
- Myoga (Japanese ginger), julienned
Instructions
- Prepare the dipping sauce. In a small serving bowl (but tall enough to hold the sauce), combine mentsuyu and water (see “How to Make Cold Dipping Sauce for Somen Noodles” in the “Notes.”) Mix well and keep it chilled in the fridge until serving.
- Prepare the somen noodles. In a large pot, pour plenty of water (about 10x the weight of somen noodles) and let it boil.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath and set it aside (preferably in the fridge to keep it cold until serving.) Also, prepare the condiments of your choice (see the “Suggested Condiments” in the "Ingredients” section.)
- Once the water is boiling, add somen noodles and cook for 2 minutes. To cook them properly, keep it at boil throughout and keep an eye on it to avoid overflowing.
- Use a colander to drain. Immediately rinse with cold running water to remove the starch. Shake off the excess water then transfer the somen noodles to the ice bath to shock them.
- Soon after the ice-bathing, start plating the somen noodles. There are a few different ways to plate (serve) somen noodles. Serving Method 1 (see the instruction photos on the recipe post!): Pick up a small amount of somen noodles (enough to be a bite size) from the ice bath. Strip off the water as much as possible then wrap the noodles around your finger. Gently drop them on a serving plate (or bowl.) Proceed to step 7.Serving Method 2: Use a colander to drain and shake off the excess water very well. Serve on a plate or bowl as is. (Noodles may stick to each other after a few minutes which becomes a bit inconvenient.) proceed to step 7.Serving Method 3: Serve directly from the ice bath (bring the bowl with the ice-bath and the noodles to the table.) Proceed to step 7. (At the table, pick up noodles from the ice water using chopsticks. Wait for the water to drip down, then dip into the dipping sauce. Note that the dipping sauce will be diluted as you keep dipping the noodles from the ice bath. For that reason, I’d suggest to prepare the sauce on a little bit saltier side or add more mentsuyu as needed.)
- Transfer the cold dipping sauce to a small serving bowl. Serve immediately with your choice of condiments on the side.
Notes
Vegan Mentsuyu
- Mentsuyu is concentrated Japanese noodle soup base. It’s such a versatile ingredient that you can make cold noodle dipping sauce and hot noodle soup for udon, somen and soba. You can also use as multipurpose seasoning for cooking and more.
- Use my Vegan Mentsuyu Concentrated Noodle Soup Base recipe.
How to Make Cold Dipping Sauce for Somen Noodles
- The below are my suggestions for finding the right taste to your preference.
- For lighter taste (my favorite), combine 2 tbsp/30 ml mentsuyu with 4 tbsp/60 ml water. Mix well. [6.1 oz / 90 ml total per serving] --- 1-part mentsuyu to 2-parts water
- For darker taste, combine 3 tbsp/45 ml mentsuyu with 3 tbsp/45 ml water. Mix well. [6.1 oz / 90 ml total per serving] --- 1-part mentsuyu to 1-part water
- Adjust the amount of mentsuyu and water to your taste.
Somen Noodles
- Somen noodles are Japanese thin noodles made with wheat flour, salt and water.
- My recommendations are;
- Organic Somen Noodles from Gold Mine Natural Foods
- Shimano Hikari Handmade Somen Noodles from Umami Insider
- Somen Noodles from The Japanese Pantry
Condiments
- My recommendations are on the “Suggested Condiments” in the “Ingredients” section.
- You can use all of them or pick some of them to combine.
- Make your own Irigoma (Toasted Sesame Seeds)! It’s so aromatic that you’ll never go back to store-bought ones.
- Kizami nori: Check out Kizami Nori (Shredded Nori) on my Vegan Japanese Pantry Guide.
- Green shiso: Check out Green Shiso (Perilla Leaves) on my Vegan Japanese Pantry Guide.
Step-by-Step Instructions (w/ Photos)
1. Prepare the dipping sauce. In a small serving bowl (but tall enough to hold the sauce), combine mentsuyu and water (see “How to Make Cold Dipping Sauce for Somen Noodles” in the “Notes.”) Mix well and keep it chilled in the fridge until serving.
2. Prepare the somen noodles. In a large pot, pour plenty of water (about 10x the weight of somen noodles) and let it boil.
3. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath and set it aside (preferably in the fridge to keep it cold until serving.) Also, prepare the condiments of your choice (see the “Suggested Condiments” in the “Ingredients” section.)
4. Once the water is boiling, add somen noodles and cook for 2 minutes. To cook them properly, keep it at boil throughout and keep an eye on it to avoid overflowing.
5. Use a colander to drain. Immediately rinse with cold running water to remove the starch.
Shake off the excess water then transfer the somen noodles to the ice bath to shock them.
6. Soon after the ice-bathing, start plating the somen noodles. There are a few different ways to plate (serve) somen noodles.
Serving Method 1:
Pick up a small amount of somen noodles (enough to be a bite size) from the ice bath.
Strip off the water as much as possible then wrap the noodles around your finger.
Gently place them on a serving plate (or bowl.) Proceed to step 7.
Serving Method 2:
Use a colander to drain and shake off the excess water very well. Serve on a plate or bowl as is. (Noodles may stick to each other after a few minutes which becomes a bit inconvenient.) proceed to step 7.
Serving Method 3:
Serve directly from the ice bath (bring the bowl with the ice-bath and the noodles to the table.) Proceed to step 7. (At the table, pick up noodles from the ice water using chopsticks. Wait for the water to drip down, then dip into the dipping sauce. Note that the dipping sauce will be diluted as you keep dipping the noodles from the ice bath. For that reason, I’d suggest to prepare the sauce on a little bit saltier side or add more mentsuyu as needed.)
7. Transfer the cold dipping sauce to a small serving bowl. Serve immediately with your choice of condiments on the side.
If you enjoy the recipe, please share, leave a comment below and tag us @plantbased_matters on Instagram! We appreciate your kind support 🙂
![BRAZIL NUT PARMESAN
[パルメザン風ブラジルナッツ]
My simple & classic vegan nut cheese, Brazil Nut Parmesan, never gets old! I sprinkle this deliciousness on just about everything — pasta, salad, toast, and more!
I love making a big batch and keeping it in the fridge for whenever I need a quick and flavorful topping.
Want to try it? The complete recipe with step-by-step instructions is available at plantbasedmatters.net](https://plantbasedmatters.net/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
1 thought on “Vegan Cold Somen Noodles with Dipping Sauce”