Abura Zomen (油そうめん) is Somen noodles stir-fried with meat and vegetables.  It is a Japanese southern island regional food, but there are no hard-to-get ingredients or difficult steps in the recipe.  This easy-to-make but tasty noodle dish will appeal to a lot of people from the young to the old.

Abura Zomen is originally from the southern Amami islands of Kagoshima, Kyushu.  The name means “Oil Somen noodle,” but it’s not greasy at all.  It uses a not insignificant amount of water, or Dashi stock if you prefer, in the process of making fried noodles, so it may really be more braising than stir-frying.  The water and oil emulsify along the way, and it becomes like a thin sauce for the noodles.