Odds-and-Ends Somen

Gather the ingredients you want to use up from the fridge and the dry goods shelf. Set out the somen that breaks easily, green onions, the nearly empty tube of ginger, a large amount of cream cheese, mentaiko close to its expiration date, pickles in their container, and Bonchi Age rice crackers.

Fill a frying pan to the top with water and set it over the heat. It boils with less energy than a pot.

Once it boils, add 2 bundles of somen, turn off the heat, and cover with a lid. Let it sit for about 3 and a half minutes while preventing boil-overs.

While the noodles cook, chop the green onions, dice the cream cheese, and cut the mentaiko into chunks with the membrane still on.

Drain the somen in a colander and rinse thoroughly under running water to wash off the sliminess and salt.

Tighten the noodles well in ice water. They go from limp and freshly boiled to firm and clearly defined with a better texture going down.

Place the noodles in a bowl and pour in barley tea instead of mentsuyu. Barley tea somen gives it a comforting flavor like ochazuke.

Top with all of it: the chopped green onions, cream cheese, mentaiko, pickles, and ginger. The saltiness and sweetness of the toppings dissolve into the broth.

Crush the Bonchi Age rice crackers like tenkasu and scatter them over the top. They add the flavor of frying oil and sweet-savory soy sauce. Mix well and enjoy.

Put plenty of egg yolks in a bowl and add the honey and vinegar. Drizzle in the oil a little at a time while whisking to make a silky homemade mayonnaise.

Soft-boil the eggs, and as soon as you take them out at the set time, cool them in ice water. This keeps the yolks from firming up any further, and the rapid cooling creates a gap between the shell and the white that makes peeling easy.

Place the peeled soft-boiled eggs in a dish, top with the silky homemade mayonnaise, and it's done.