🍜 Nasu somen

This home-style dish is made with seasonal eggplant and Shodoshima's specialty somen noodles and flavored with red pepper, making it a perfect staple or side dish. Somen is a convenient ingredient to have on hand when there is not enough rice to go around, and as the saying goes, "let the eggplant hold the somen," eggplant somen is a dish that is widely popular among housewives because it is very easy to handle and does not require a great deal of skill. Eggplant is soft and hearty, and is said to help prevent summer fatigue, even in the hot summer months when people lack appetite. Mitoyo eggplant, a variety grown in western Kagawa Prefecture that is about three times the size of a typical eggplant and has a softer skin, is often used. Traditionally, eggplant somen was made with only chili peppers and somen noodles, but here, fried tofu and ginger are added.