Somen, delicate, thin flour noodles, are a beloved summer staple in Japan, known for their light, refreshing taste.

The combination of Somen and Shiitake is a heavenly culinary match, offering many possibilities for delicious and satisfying meals.

There are many recommended collaboration patterns between Somen and Shiitake.

- Add the Shiitake broth to the Somen-Tsuyu (Soup Base for Somen Noodles).

- Cook your own Somen-Tsuyu from Shiitake broth.

- Add slice braised Shiitake to Somen-Tsuyu. (photo)

- Eat sliced braised Shiitake as a garnish with Somen.

- Add Shiitake to leftover Somen to cook Somen-Chanpuru (Okinawan stir-fry dish)

The easiest way is using Shiitake broth to dilute the concentrated Somen-Tsuyu.

Here are some tips to make it more delicious. Boil the Shiitake broth for about 10 minutes to reduce its strong aroma. This will remove the Shiitake's strong smell and strengthen the Umami's taste.

In particular, when you get high-quality Somen noodles, you will want to make your Somen-Tsuyu from scratch because the ready-made Somen-Tsuyu will not match the high-quality noodles.

In Kyoto, people cook Somen-Tsuyu by hand using Shiitake broth. That's Kyoto, the capital of gastronomy!

A recipe for somen-tsuyu made from shiitake mushroom stems has been prepared!

The remaining ingredients, strained through a colander, can be chopped into small pieces and used as a tasty filling for Onigiri (rice balls).

Shiitake mushroom stems are rich in chitin and chitosan, found in crustaceans, and have powerful antioxidant properties♪ (research by National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan).

I thought they were as hard as they should be! If it's good for you, chop it up and eat it well.