Noodles
Tai Somen
Amakusa tai somen — somen noodles simmered in the broth of a whole simmered sea bream
Somen noodles are simmered in the broth of sea bream head and bones cooked down whole — a celebratory dish said to reflect the influence of nearby Shimabara's somen tradition. In Yamato's Mamihara, a version called "taimen" simmers the whole fish instead.
- Origin: Kumamoto
- About 950 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
A dish from Amakusa where the broth from simmering a sea bream's head and bones — the trimmings left after making sashimi — is poured over somen noodles. In the former Umanoharu district, a grander version simmers a whole sea bream and arranges it on a large platter with somen noodles standing in for ocean waves. Kumamoto is said to be one of Japan's leading producers of red sea bream, with consumption consistently among the highest in the country.
How it's made
The head and central bone of a sea bream, left over after cutting sashimi, are simmered slowly in a dashi with sugar and soy sauce to make a rich broth. Somen noodles are briefly simmered in this broth, or the broth is poured over the noodles or served alongside as a dipping sauce. In Umanoharu's version, a whole sea bream is simmered and plated on a large dish, with somen arranged around it to resemble white-capped waves. Amakusa's version tends to skip sugar when simmering the fish.
Why it took this shape
The dish is said to have grown out of everyday resourcefulness, turning the trimmings left over from sashimi into a flavorful broth rather than wasting them. Using somen is thought to reflect the influence of nearby Shimabara's noodle-making tradition; in the mountain town of Umanoharu, where fresh sea bream was hard to come by, wealthy merchants are said to have had it hauled in by horse-cart or boat from the coast, a practice believed to be behind the dish's place as wedding-feast fare. Because sea bream are said to mate for life and never leave their nest, the dish was also served to wish both families a lasting bond.
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Dishes in the same style
- Abura SobaNo broth is poured at all — noodles are tossed in a soy-and-sesame-oil tare pooled at the bottom of the bowl, said to have started at shops in the Musashino area in the late 1950s, with vinegar and chili oil stirred in partway through.
- Abura ZomenPork and somen are fried together with a splash of broth, the oil and stock emulsifying into a silky coat on the noodles. Just how somen took root in wheat-free Amami isn't clear, but the dish is a fixture whenever people gather, not least for the August Dance festival.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Kumamoto
- Amakusa DaioA large-bodied meat fowl once kept in Amakusa in the Meiji and Taisho eras, said to have died out in the early Showa period before Kumamoto prefecture spent roughly a decade recreating it; reportedly among the biggest jidori breeds, shipped at 120–150 days.
- Gane-ageSweet potato cut into batons is coated in a ginger-sweetened batter and deep-fried. "Gane" is Amakusa dialect for crab, said to describe the shape of the fried strands, and the dish also serves as a vegetarian offering at Buddhist services.
- Tako MeshiSun-dried octopus is rehydrated, chopped, and either cooked into rice with burdock and carrot or mixed in afterward — a dish that leans on the concentrated flavor of dried octopus, known for the summer sight of octopus hung out to dry in Amakusa's Ariake.
- Baniku SobaFrom the Aso area of Kumamoto: hot soba topped with horse meat simmered sweet and salty. It's said to carry the history of a region where horse meat took root as a restorative food for the injured and ill.
- ButaaeBoiled octopus and eggplant are stir-fried in a sweet, spicy barley miso — an Amakusa home dish said to have begun as a stand-in for pork, once hard to come by, using the local octopus instead while keeping the old name, "pork mix."
- DagojiruWheat-flour dough is torn by hand into dumplings and simmered with seasonal root vegetables in a miso or soy broth. "Dago" is Kumamoto dialect for dumpling, and the dish is said to have long fed farmers between fieldwork.