Nyumen vs Somen : The Difference between the 2 Noodle Dishes
In Japan, the summer season is nearly upon us, and it is getting hotter day by day. Accordingly, since a while ago, convenience stores where I often shop have been handling precooked chilled noodle dishes.
When you think of chilled Japanese noodles, what comes to mind? For many Japanese, “Somen (素麺)” is one of the most common noodle dishes eaten in summer.
If you are acquainted with Japanese things, you should know Somen noodles. Then, have you ever heard of “Nyumen (にゅうめん)”, a Japanese noodle dish similar to Somen?
Somen and Nyumen
For those who know neither of them, this time I want to explain both Somen and Nyumen in detail.
Somen (素麺)
Somen are traditional Japanese noodles made with wheat flour, salt and water. They are fine white noodles and feature having a cool appearance in addition to a smooth texture.
Strictly speaking, the definition of Somen noodles produced by machine is what has the long diameter of less than 1.3 mm.
After boiled, Somen noodles are chilled with cold water and then served on a plate with ice cubes.
The sauce for Somen noodles is typically made from water, soy sauce, Mirin sweet cooking rice wine, sugar and “Dashi (出汁)” soup stock, and served in a glass cup separately from Somen noodles. Thus, you eat Somen noodles dipping in the sauce each time.
Nyumen (にゅうめん)
Nyumen is sometimes represented as “煮麺” by the “Kanji (漢字)” Chinese character. The kanji, “煮麺” literally means simmered noodles, and as this indicates, Nyumen is a hot noodle soup served in a bowl.
Nyumen is known as a local specialty of Nara, the prefecture known as the birthplace of Somen noodles. The traditional Somen that Nara Prefecture boasts, “Miwa Somen (三輪素麺)” actually features not falling apart even if it is boiled for a long time.
From this, the noodle prepared for making Nyumen is Somen. Nyumen is not only eaten in Nara, but the hot noodle soup with Somen is sometimes enjoyed in Japanese households as well.
| Hime Dried Somen Noodles, 28.21-Ounce |
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| Amazon.com |
(Reference pages of this article : Wikipedia 素麺, Kotobank にゅうめん )
