Chilled Carbonara Somen, as Proposed by a Challenger

Cook 40g of bacon in a frying pan without adding oil. Cooking it in advance is the challenger's style.

The 40g of bacon renders its fat as it cooks and reduces to about 30g. Once cooked, transfer it to a separate dish and set aside.

Put 2 egg yolks in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of salad oil and a pinch of salt. Without using mayonnaise, make a mayonnaise-like base from the egg yolks and oil, with no acidity.

Weigh out and add 30g of grated cheese. No umami seasoning is used; the umami comes from the amount of cheese.

Add black pepper and mix everything together well. The oil and egg emulsify into a stiff mayonnaise-like consistency, and once the grated cheese goes in it becomes a quite firm paste.

It is too stiff to be a sauce, so add 1 tablespoon of water to loosen it to your desired consistency.

Put the finished sauce in the refrigerator and chill it thoroughly.

Boil 100g (1 bundle) of somen for 45 seconds. Keep strictly to the cooking time.

Rinse the boiled somen under water, then soak them in ice water for about 1 minute to firm them up to a springy texture.

Drain the noodles well, add them to the chilled sauce, and toss to coat. If there is a lot of cheese and it is stiff, add about half a tablespoon of water to make it creamy.

Plate it like pasta, scatter the cooked bacon over the top, and finish with grated cheese and black pepper.

If you like, drizzle a little shirodashi over the top. It adds dashi umami, but it can clash with the umami of the cheese, so start with a small amount.