Noodles
Nasu Somen
Nasu somen — eggplant simmered with wheat noodles
Eggplant simmered in dashi is finished with boiled wheat noodles — closer to a stew than a noodle dish. It is said to echo the region's past as a somen-producing area, a way to use up leftover noodles.
- Origin: Ishikawa Kanazawa
- About 300 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
Eggplant and somen noodles simmered slowly together in dashi. It is said to be eaten more like a simmered dish than a noodle course. The eggplant turns soft and melting, soaking up the broth's flavor fully, while the noodles lose their firmness entirely, and the color of the broth and soy sauce is said to sink evenly into both, giving the dish a unified taste.
How it's made
Scored eggplant is simmered in dashi, and once mostly cooked, pre-boiled somen noodles are added for one more quick simmer before serving. Soy sauce is the common seasoning, though some households use a miso base, it is said. There is no fixed recipe — some simply simmer dry noodles directly — and methods are said to vary widely from household to household.
Why it took this shape
In an area once known as a major center for making somen noodles, this dish is said to have arisen from an earlier generation's wisdom for making good use of leftover noodles by pairing them with eggplant. The idea of treating it more as a simmered dish than a noodle course is distinctive, and a local word describing how the noodles take on the eggplant and soy sauce's color is said to survive in everyday speech even now.
Before you go
- How to read a ticket machineShops that use a ticket machine (shokken-ki) often place their most popular items in a similar spot.
- 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.
- What staff say, and how to respondCommon set phrases you'll hear at restaurants, with what they mean and what to do when you hear them. You don't need to memorize them — just recognizing them is enough.
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 Ishikawa
- AimazeRoot vegetables from Noto's reddish soil are cut into thin strips and simmered with fried tofu — traditionally made ahead for New Year and other special days, with the choice of vegetables shifting from village to village.
- Beka NabeSardines pickled in rice bran are simmered with napa cabbage, mushrooms, and sake lees in this Noto winter hot pot, said to descend from a preservation method from before refrigeration — its name reputedly a nod to how commonly the cheap fish was eaten.
- Daikon-zushiA fermented sushi from the Kaga region layering daikon radish with dried herring in rice koji. Said to have taken root once herring carried by the Kitamae trading ships reached ordinary tables, it now sits alongside kaburazushi as a New Year staple.
- EbisuMelted agar is mixed with beaten egg, sugar, and soy sauce, then set — said to trace back to an egg-and-agar dish recorded in an Edo-period cookbook, nicknamed "berobero" for its glossy, slippery look, and served on festive occasions.
- Goshiki NamagashiFive kinds of mochi and buns, each representing sun, moon, mountain, sea, and village, are arranged in a lidded box — a Kanazawa wedding confection said to trace back to a gift prepared for a Kaga domain bride, still handed out as a return gift at celebrations.
- UFO RamenA bowl from Hakui, Ishikawa, a town known for its UFO-sighting lore, served under the local Hakui UFO Gourmet banner. Sushi shops and Western-style diners alike top a soy-based broth with saucer-shaped garnishes, each putting its own spin on the town's story.