Noodles
Tai Somen
Tai Somen — a whole simmered sea bream served over noodles for weddings and milestones
A whole sea bream is simmered and set on a large platter of boiled somen noodles, the cooking broth doubling as a dipping sauce. The noodles are linked to the Tanabata weaver-star legend and the fish to good fortune, and the dish has long been served to family at weddings and milestone birthdays.
- Origin: Ehime
- About 670 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Somen noodles are heaped in the shape of a wave and topped with a whole sea bream simmered in its own broth, which then serves as a dipping or pouring sauce. The dish is popular along the Seto Inland Sea coast, and in the Nanyo area it is said to be served with shredded egg crepe and julienned shiitake alongside other garnishes. Somen is said to have once been offered to the stars for Tanabata, its thread-like strands evoking the weaver princess of the legend, and the pairing of auspicious noodles with sea bream, regarded as the king of fish, is said to suit festive occasions.
How it's made
The sea bream is simmered in seasoning until flavored. Dried shiitake is rehydrated, simmered with seasoning, and cut into thin strips. Eggs are cooked into thin sheets and sliced into fine ribbons, and scallion is cut into small rounds. Somen is boiled and arranged on a platter in a wave-like shape, the seasoned sea bream is placed on top, and the shiitake, egg ribbons, and scallion are scattered over it for color.
Why it took this shape
The custom of eating somen at Tanabata is said to have begun in the Muromachi period and spread among ordinary people by the Edo period. Because the dish, with sea bream arranged as if swimming through white waves of noodles, makes such a lavish presentation, it is said to be served often at weddings, house-raisings, and sixtieth-birthday celebrations. The long, thin strands of somen paired with auspicious sea bream are said to carry a wish for a marriage's ties to continue unbroken, and in Uwajima it is said to be customary to set this dish beside fukumen at the place of honor.
Before you go
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- Foods to look for in summerA guide to foods often seen in Japan around summer — eel on the Day of the Ox, hiyashi chuka, somen, shaved ice, edamame with beer, and hamo — with rough pointers for finding them.
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
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 Ehime
- Bote ChaRoasted tea is whisked to a froth with a salted bamboo whisk and poured over black-bean rice with toppings like bamboo shoot — a dish from Matsuyama. Said to have been devised by a domain lord's household during a period of enforced frugality, it's still served at a temple's springtime Buddha festival.
- EbitenSmall shrimp are ground shell and all, worked with white fish and tofu, and fried into a cake — a fish-paste product from eastern Ehime. The salt is kept light to let the tofu's sweetness and the shrimp's aroma come through, with the ground shell left in for a gritty bite.
- Igisu DofuIgisu seaweed and raw soybean flour are simmered into stock and chilled firm like agar, a dish from Imabari. Its cool texture is meant to coax back a summer appetite, and households differ over whether to fold in shrimp or leave it plain.
- SatsumaGrilled fish is flaked and worked into barley miso, thinned with a stock from its own bones, and ladled over hot barley rice — a dish of southern Ehime. Said to have started as a fisherman's trick for making dry barley rice easier to eat, with the fish varying by area and household.
- Ehime Tako MeshiOctopus from the Iyo Sea is cut into pieces and cooked into rice with kelp and root vegetables. It's said to have begun with fishermen simmering their catch right on board, and the finishing touch of mikan peel on top is distinctly Ehime.