Something I Ate: “Girl Noodles”

by Jay Friedman on September 17, 2010

Okay, time to close out this inadvertent “noodle trilogy” with a confession of sorts: I did not prepare the yakisoba or the hiyashi udon discussed the past two weeks. And I certainly wouldn’t want to claim preparation of the “girl noodles” in this week’s “Something I Ate.” The better half is from Japan. She’s the mistress of Japanese noodles in my house, and she asked that I set the record straight.

Not that there’s anything wrong with “girl noodles.”

That’s not the real name of the dish–it’s something sorta sexist I made up because noodle dishes like this are especially popular with women in Japan. Or so I’m told.

The “girl noodle” dish actually comes close to something called “salada udon,” which is basically salad over cold noodles. Udon is great to use, but in the summer, we she likes to use somen noodles.

Being a busy week, the noodle dish pictured (which will get me in trouble, as it’s rather unsophisticated) is a very basic version with ham, lettuce, sliced cucumber, and Japanese mayonnaise. The dressing can be tsuyu sauce, or an improvisation of soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, lemon, and/or whatever else you like. Additional toppings like shiso, avocado, nori, and maybe even tuna or tomatoes can spice up your “girl noodles.”

And at the risk of getting in even more trouble, may I suggest that pork belly would help turn them into “boy noodles”?

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