Somen salad is a Japanese-Hawaiian potluck fixture — thin wheat noodles cooked, rinsed ice-cold, and tossed with julienned toppings and a light sesame-shoyu dressing. It shows up at the same tables as mac salad but leans lighter and brighter, a good counterweight to a plate full of rich, salty mains.
Rinsing the noodles thoroughly in cold water is the one step you can't skip — skip it and the noodles clump into a gummy brick instead of staying separate and slippery.
