Somen Noodles substitute

Best substitute

Capellini or angel hair pasta

Use the same amount by dry weight as the somen noodles you are replacing

Best for cold somen with dipping sauce

Close match

Capellini or angel hair pasta is the closest substitute in any supermarket and swaps one for one by dry weight, since it is almost exactly the same diameter. Korean somyeon is the same product under another name and needs no adjustment at all. Thin vermicelli or spaghettini works if angel hair is unavailable, a hair thicker but no real loss. The important handling detail applies to every swap: dried somen carries salt in the dough, so it is cooked in unsalted water and rinsed hard, and its job in the bowl is delicacy rather than flavour, a fine slippery strand that lets a light dashi-based dipping sauce or broth do all the tasting.

Other somen noodles substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Somyeon (Korean thin wheat noodles)
Close match
Use the same amount by dry weight
The Korean equivalent, used in janchi guksu and bibim guksu, and made the same way from wheat flour, water and salt.
What changes
Best for
cold noodle bowls, hot noodle soup, spicy mixed noodles
Effectively the identical noodle, so this is a true one for one swap with no adjustment. Some brands are very slightly thicker and hold up a little better in a hot broth. Like somen, they are salted in the dough, so cook them in plain unsalted water and rinse them thoroughly in cold water.
3Thin vermicelli or spaghettini
Different texture
Use the same amount by dry weight
The next size up from angel hair, still thin enough to read as a fine noodle.
What changes
Best for
hot noodle soup, cold noodle bowls, family meals
Noticeably sturdier, which is an advantage if you are worried about overcooking and a small loss if you want that whisper-thin somen texture. It takes four to six minutes instead of two, and it holds its shape in hot broth much longer, so it is arguably the better choice for nyumen even though it is less authentic.
4Hiyamugi or thin udon
Different texture
Use the same amount by dry weight
Hiyamugi sits between somen and udon in thickness and is made the same way; thin dried udon is the next step up again.
What changes
Best for
cold dipping noodles, hot broth bowls, summer noodle sets
Same flour, same salt in the dough, same rinse, just chunkier: chewier and more substantial in the mouth, and a bowl feels heavier. In a cold dipping set that is a legitimate variation rather than a compromise, since hiyamugi is eaten that way in Japan anyway. It needs a minute or two longer to cook.
5Rice vermicelli (gluten-free)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by dry weight
Fine dried rice noodles, the practical gluten-free option since somen is always wheat.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free cold noodle bowls, light noodle soups
The right thinness and a similar clean neutrality, but the texture is softer and more slippery with none of somen's slight wheat chew, and the strands break into short pieces once tossed. Soak in hot water rather than boiling, undercook slightly, and rinse in cold water. In a hot broth they keep softening and absorbing, so add them at the last moment.
6Soba noodles
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by dry weight
Japanese buckwheat noodles, thicker and brown, eaten in exactly the same cold dipping format.
What changes
Best for
cold dipping noodles, hot broth bowls
The format transfers perfectly, because zaru soba and hiyashi somen are served the same way with the same kind of sauce. The flavour does not: soba is earthy, nutty and slightly bitter, so the bowl tastes of the noodle rather than of the dipping sauce. Choose this when you want a good dinner, not when you want somen specifically.

What is Somen Noodles?

Somen Noodles is Somen, sometimes spelled soumen, are very thin, white, dried Japanese wheat noodles stretched with a trace of oil and cut as fine as thread, eaten cold with dipping sauce in summer as hiyashi somen or in a light hot broth called nyumen.

Cooking tips

Do not salt the cooking water for somen or somyeon. Salt is worked into the dough during stretching, and salted water makes the finished noodles taste harsh and stay sticky. Italian pasta standing in for somen is the reverse case and does want salted water.
Cook them for 90 seconds to two minutes and start tasting at 60. Somen is thin enough that the gap between right and ruined is a matter of seconds, and the packet time is often generous. Have the colander in the sink before you drop the noodles in.
Rinse cold and rub the strands between your palms under running water until they stop feeling slippery. Somen sheds a great deal of surface starch and salt, and skipping this leaves you with a salty, gluey clump instead of separate silky strands. For hiyashi somen, finish in a bowl of iced water.
Somen boils over almost instantly because of the starch. Use a much larger pot than the quantity suggests, and keep a cup of cold water beside the stove to knock the foam down when it rises rather than turning the heat off and on.
For nyumen, the hot version, cook and rinse the noodles first and then add them to the hot broth in the bowl. Boiling them in the broth releases both starch and dough salt into it, which clouds the soup and makes it noticeably too salty by the time you sit down.

Frequently asked questions

Is somen the same as angel hair pasta?

Very close in size but not identical in make-up. Both are around a millimetre thick and cook in two or three minutes, which is why the swap works so well. Somen is made from soft wheat flour with salt in the dough and a little oil used during stretching, so it cooks softer and tastes mild and clean. Angel hair is durum semolina with no salt, so it stays firmer and tastes wheatier. Adjust the salted water accordingly and they are interchangeable.

What is the difference between somen, soba and udon?

Thickness and flour. Somen is the thinnest, white, made from wheat flour, and usually eaten cold in summer. Udon is thick, white and very chewy, also wheat, and usually eaten hot. Soba is medium-thin, brownish-grey, made largely from buckwheat, and has a real earthy flavour of its own. In a hot broth all three are interchangeable; in a cold dipping bowl the choice changes the dish quite a lot.

Do I need to salt the water?

Not for somen, somyeon or dried udon, because the salt is already in the noodle and adding more makes the dish taste over-seasoned once the dipping sauce goes on. Do salt the water if you are substituting Italian pasta, since it contains no salt at all. This one detail causes a lot of disappointing home noodle bowls.

Can I serve somen hot instead of cold?

Yes, and it has its own name: nyumen, somen in a light hot dashi broth, often with a little chicken, mushroom and greens. Cook and rinse the noodles first, then put them in the bowl and pour the hot broth over. Because the noodles are so thin they soften quickly in hot liquid, so this is a dish to serve immediately rather than one that sits.

Can I leave the noodles out?

In a cold somen dish there is nothing left, because the noodle is the entire dish and the dipping sauce is a condiment. In nyumen you can serve the broth and toppings over rice instead, which makes a good light meal. If all you have is a thicker noodle, use it and shorten the sauce slightly so it still clings; a thicker noodle is a much smaller compromise than no noodle.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Somen Noodles substitute

Other somen noodles substitutes

2Somyeon (Korean thin wheat noodles)

3Thin vermicelli or spaghettini

4Hiyamugi or thin udon

5Rice vermicelli (gluten-free)

6Soba noodles