Somen Salad

Somen Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 package somen noodles (4 bundles)- You can get these at any Asian market.
• 1/2 head shredded lettuce
• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 2 eggs and 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 stalks green onions
• sesame seeds (as desired)

 Dressing:

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons cider vinegar (I only had white vinegar, and it tasted fine)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 cup oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon shoyu (soy sauce)

Instructions:

1.  Steam the tofu for 2 minutes in the microwave for a minute and then cut it into matchsticks.  Put the pieces onto a paper towel to dry (otherwise, they will break up and the salad will get soggy).

2.  Whisk the eggs and sugar together.  Fry like an omelet and cool.  Pat the eggs dry and cut them into matchsticks.

3.  Cook the somen noodles according to the directions (they cook much faster than spaghetti) and cool.

4.  Chop the lettuce and green onions (but keep them separate).

5.  Layer the ingredients in a 9x13 pan in this order:  somen noodles, lettuce, tofu, green onions, egg, sesame seeds.

6.  Mix the dressing ingredients and drizzle it on top.

I got this recipe from Zakka Life, but modified it.  I left out the kamaboko ( fish cake) and char siu, but added tofu and sesame seeds.  You can see the original recipe for more details.  (Side note:  I love finding recipes online and modifying them, but this one was an especially good find!  She did a great job of adding pictures for each step so you can see if you're doing it right.  This is a really neat website for cooking and crafting, two of my favorite things!)

How it tasted:  Yum!  I'll definitely be making this again.  It is a little tedious cutting everything, but totally worth it.  I can see shredding a little carrot for some color.  Mine lost the color when I removed the kamaboko and char siu.  If you like bell pepper (which I do NOT), that might be colorful, too.  John had seconds, and he doesn't always like trying new things!

Tonight, I served my somen salad with teriyaki tofu and zucchini over rice with edamame on the side.  Yum!  I don't make my own teriyaki sauce, though.  This is so easy and yummy to make, we eat it at least once a week (usually without the zucchini mixed in).  I added this to make sure Audrey had something to eat!