Cold Shoyu Somen with Ginger Poached Chicken
Keep your cool with a big bowl of this Cold Shoyu Somen with Ginger Poached Chicken decked out with seasoned eggs and cucumber and poached shiitakes.
Equipment
- Large, deep skillet
- small saucepan
Ingredients
- 363g (12.8oz) dried somen noodles
- 1 batch Ginger Poached Chicken (see below) chilled and sliced
- 1 batch Shoyu Broth (see below) chilled
- 3 Seasoned Eggs (see below) halved
- 3-4 Persian cucumbers quartered and coarsely chopped
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- Furikake for sprinkling
Ginger Poached Chicken
- 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
- 2 L (2 quarts) water
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 (1-inch) knob ginger thinly sliced
- 2 scallions ends removed, cut into thirds
Shoyu Broth
- Poaching liquid from the Ginger Poached Chicken (see above)
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 12-14 whole shiitakes stems removed
Seasoned Eggs
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup sake
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup mirin
- 1½ tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place the chicken, ginger and scallions in a large, deep skillet. Whisk the water and the salt together until the salt is nearly dissolved. Pour the mixture over the chicken, the chicken should be fully immersed.
- Place an instant-read thermometer in the liquid and place the skillet over low heat. You want the temperature of the liquid to reach 160°F and you want it to stay relatively steady. ** Cook the chicken like this for 1 hour or until the thickest part of the chicken registers a temperature of 150°F.
- Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and transfer it to a plate. Let cool to room temperature, then wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill.
- Strain the poaching liquid through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Discard the solids and transfer the liquid to a large pot to make the shoyu broth.
For the Shoyu Broth
- Place the pot with the poaching liquid over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Whisk the water, mirin, sake, soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil together in a large spouted measuring cup. Pour the mixture into the simmering poaching liquid.
- Add the mushrooms and simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the broth and transfer them to the fridge to chill. Pour the broth into a resealable container through a fine-mesh strainer. Let the broth cool at room temperature until luke warm, then seal and transfer to the fridge. Let the broth chill for 3-4 hours.
For the Eggs
- Fill a small saucepan with water and place over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and stir in the baking soda. Reduce the water to a low simmer and, using a slotted spoon, lower the eggs into the water. Cook for 6 1/2 minutes.
- Remove the eggs from the water and transfer them to an ice bath. Let the eggs hang out for 15 minutes. While the eggs are chilling, whisk the sake, soy sauce, mirin. and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.
- Carefully peel the eggs and add them to the marinade. The vessel should be deep and narrow enough that eggs are fully immersed. Transfer the eggs to the fridge and marinate for 4 hours and no longer. ***
To Assemble
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the somen. Cook according to the package's instructions. Drain the noodles and rinse in cold water. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and drizzle with a little sesame oil. Toss to coat and set aside.
- Divide the noodles amongst 4 to 6 bowls. Top the noodles with 2-3 chicken slices, a handful of shiitakes, a handful of cucumber, half a seasoned egg, a sprinkling of scallions, and a sprinkling of furikake. Pour the chilled shoyu broth over top of the noodles and serve immediately with cold sake.
Notes
** Allow yourself a 20° margin of error. I found it best to place the skillet over the heat, then remove it once it got close to 170°F. I would return the skillet to the heat once the temperature fell to 150°F.
*** If you want to serve the eggs later, simply remove them from the marinade at the end of the 4 hours and chill until ready to serve.