About the Ika Somen Recipe Video

Many people are probably used to preparing sashimi from already prepared sections of fish, but it's rare that people fillet fish and make sashimi from scratch at home.
Preparing Japanese food may also seem like an incredibly time consuming task if you aren't Japanese yourself.

In this video, the chef demonstrates how to fillet and prepare spear squid, called yariika in Japanese (ヤリイカ), to make the dish Ika Somen.
The tips and techniques shown in this video are a must-see for anyone interested in Japanese cuisine!

Preparing the Squid to Make Ika Somen

Photo：Squid sashimi

Preparation is the key to making delicious Japanese food.
The majority of people who eat sashimi at home tend to buy it already prepared from the supermarket as the process of making it (filleting squid in particular) is rather complicated.

This video will show you how to fillet and prepare squid, a useful skill which can be applied to a variety of Japanese dishes.
Please feel free to refer to this article whenever you need a reminder of how to prepare squid!

First, the squid's innards must be removed.
Place your hand inside the body of the squid and simply pull out the innards.
Pinching the fins at the top of the squids body while removing the innards will make this step easier.
Next, the cartilage must be removed from inside of the body of the squid.

Tips to Make Your Ika Somen Taste Delicious

Source :YouTube screenshot

It's important to properly remove all of the skin from the squid.
Holding the fins, peel off the skin of the squid from top to bottom.
With the skin intact, the squid appears red, but removing the skin will reveal the white, smooth flesh underneath.
After removing the skin, insert your knife into the area where the cartilage used to be and cut the squid vertically to open it up.

If, after opening up the squid, you find some remaining innards, use the knife to remove them and quickly clean the flesh.
Next, you must cut into the flesh near the top of the squid to help you remove the thin membrane that is attached to the inside of the body.
Doing this will ensure the flesh is smooth and improve the texture of the squid.
Prepare the fins of the squid in the same way.

Finally, give the squid a quick rinse with cold water and use a dish cloth to remove any excess moisture.
You can use the dish cloth to lightly scrub the skin in order to remove any remaining membrane or innards.
This is another key tip to ensure your squid tastes delicious.
Your Ika Somen is almost ready!

Time to Turn the Squid Into Ika Somen

Source :YouTube screenshot

All that's left to do now is to line up the edges of the squid and cut the flesh into thin strips.
This is the highlight of the video!
To make the Ika Somen, first the outer flesh must be removed, as only the inner flesh will be used to make Ika Somen.
To do this, the chef inserts the knife at one end of the flesh and carefully slices off the thin outer layer.
You can see how this is done at 9:50 in the video.
As you can see, this requires a lot of skill and experience to do well.

Next, take the prepared squid flesh and cut it vertically into thin strips.
Cutting the flesh with the knife in a pulling motion, as you would with meat or fish, is one of the fundamentals of Japanese cooking.

Squid Sashimi Goes Great With Alcohol!

The prepared squid sashimi, or Ika Somen, is usually served roughly mixed in a Japanese style dish.
The squid is then topped with grated ginger and lightly dressed with soy sauce.
It's best to mix the squid with the toppings before eating.
At 13:00 in the video, you can see the squid being served alongside Japanese sake (called "nihonshu" in Japanese).
If you enjoy drinking, you'll really appreciate this delicious dish that goes down smooth with a drink.

In this video, the Japanese chef demonstrates how to prepare Ika Somen using fresh squid.
We hope you enjoyed learning some of the tips and tricks required to prepare this dish.
After watching the video, are you feeling up to making your own Ika Somen?