Somen salad is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of cold somen noodles topped with a variety of meats and veggies. It’s perfect for hot summer days and bringing to potlucks! My favorite part of somen salad might be the easy soy sauce dressing, which I use on all my Asian-ish salads. Keep reading to see how it’s done!
What is Somen Salad?
Alright, I’m going to start off this seemingly innocent recipe post with something controversial: to me, somen salad is a cold noodle dish. Not really a salad.
The reason for this is because the main base of somen salad is somen noodles, not vegetables. Somen salad is made by dumping a bunch of somen noodles in a large bowl, topping it with a variety of thinly sliced meats and veggies, and then drenching it in a soy sauce dressing.
Somen noodles are a type of Japanese noodle. They’re super thin and made from wheat… some have likened them to Japanese angel hair pasta, but I feel like the comparison is just weird. Sure, they have a similar thinness, but somen tastes and looks much different. I’ve also seen somen compared to vermicelli, which I think is a much closer descriptor, as somen is almost white in color and has a very soft bite and mild flavor.
Now, I have also seen some people call somen salad a pasta salad, but that label also makes go, “Ehhhhhhh.” While I guess this is technically true, I associate pasta salads with the midwest. Besides, in Asia, cold noodle dishes are very common. AND, they’re not called salads there. They’re just… cold noodles. In fact, if you’ve ever had a hiyashi chuka dish (a cold ramen dish in Japan), it’s almost exactly like somen salad!
Somen Salad – Hawaiian or Japanese?
So given that the main ingredient in somen salad is a Japanese noodle… why did I say that somen salad was Hawaiian? Well, most likely somen salad is another Hawaiian x Japanese fusion dish born from the Japanese immigration to Hawaii in the 1800s. Many of the toppings for somen salad are not strictly Japanese (e.g. char siu). But those toppings ARE very commonly found in other Hawaiian and Japanese American foods. Being part of the Japanese American community in California growing up, somen salad was a really popular dish at family gatherings and potlucks. And while somen salad has not traditionally been a Japanese food, I am told that it’s starting to become popular in Japan as well.
Somen Salad Toppings
Speaking of the toppings, here’s where you can have some fun. There are no strict rules when it comes to the somen salad toppings. Use whatever you like! The only thing to keep in mind is that the toppings do best when they are very thinly sliced, to match the thinness of the somen noodles. Here are some popular topping suggestions:
- char siu
- ham
- spam
- lettuce
- takuan
- cucumber
- carrot
- kamaboko
- egg omelette
- cabbage
- cilantro
- pea shoot
- green onion
- edamame
Really, as long as it tastes good cold, it’ll probably work.
Somen Salad Dressing
Is it weird to say that the dressing may be my favorite part of the salad? I seriously LOVE this somen salad dressing. I feel like it really makes the dish. My dressing recipe is also so easy, you can memorize it. AND you can use it on other salads that have Asian flavors (think Chinese chicken salad and salads for bentos). It’s one part soy sauce to two parts each rice vinegar, sugar, and oil. I add a splash of sesame oil for a little extra sesame flavor.
And that’s really all there is to it! I hope you give this somen salad a try. If you’re interested in more Asian x Hawaiian recipes, check these out:
Somen Salad
Ingredients
For Salad
- 3 bundles somen noodles See notes
- 1/4 lb shredded kamaboko
- 1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
- 1/3 takuan thinly sliced
- 1 cup romaine lettuce shredded
- 1 cup pea sprouts
- 2 eggs
- 2 green onions finely chopped
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook somen noodles according to package instructions (usually around 2 minutes).
- Drain cooked somen and immediately dunk in ice water to cool.
- Prepare your vegetables and kamaboko if you haven't already, slicing them thinly.
- Make omelette: using one egg at a time, lightly beat the egg in a bowl, then pour into a heated and oiled skillet on stovetop. Cook over medium heat until the thin omelette is cooked through and remove to a cutting board. Repeat with the other egg.
- When the omelettes have cooled down, slice into thin ribbons.
- Assemble your somen salad by placing drained somen at the bottom of a large bowl. Arrange your sliced and shredded toppings on top of the noodles (in any pattern or formation you like).
- Make salad dressing by mixing sugar, rice vinegar, oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce together until homogenous (I like to shake it in a mason jar).
- Pour dressing over arranged salad and top with green onions. You can serve your salad like this, allowing guests to choose toppings as they like, or you can mix the salad together before serving. Somen salad is best eaten the day it is made.
Video
Notes
- This recipe says 3 bundles of somen, but I have made this with as many as 5 bundles for feeding an extra large crowd. If you use more noodles, don’t forget to increase the amount or number of toppings you use.
- Somen salad toppings are completely customizable, the ones listed in this recipe as just suggestions. Other potential toppings include ham, char siu, shredded carrot, hijiki seaweed, edamame, and more!