[Yamagata Gourmet] Coolness comes from afar

The sky is overcast, and the afternoon heat of summer is slowly creeping in.
A package arrived.
It was from my best friend in Yamagata.
"I'm sending you a taste of Yamagata's summer early."
At those words, my heart instantly clears like a blue sky.

Chilled ramen.
—Just the sound of it made me feel as if I were standing in a cool breeze.

Chilled ramen—
They say it is a culture nurtured by the people of Yamagata to overcome the hot summer.
It is not zaru ramen.
It is not hiyashi chuka either.
To say it is just hot ramen made cold is simple, but there is a deep story behind its flavor.

Included was a product from Sanko Foods Co., Ltd. in Yamagata City.
The soup is officially meant to be dissolved in water.
Not hot water.
"For toppings, use seaweed, chashu pork, and bean sprouts. It's even better if you have a seasoned egg," my friend told me.
Cucumber goes well with it too, apparently.
We laughed on the phone, saying it sounded like toppings for hiyashi chuka.

In the kitchen, I boiled the noodles quietly without making a sound.
Beyond the steam, memories of that northern city emerged.
The color of the sky in Okitama
that I visited that summer,
the scent of asphalt baked by the heat,
my friend's laughter,
the length of the shadows as we walked side by side.

Once the noodles were well-chilled, I gently transferred them into the bowl of chilled soup.
A fragrance rose softly, as if a gentle breeze had started to blow.

The moment I took a slurp, I thought:
This isn't just 'cold' ramen.
It is 'cold, yet warm ramen'.
It is refreshing, yet the richness and sweetness of the soy sauce linger on the tongue.
The egg noodles are rich in flavor, and their chewy texture soothes my heart with every swallow.
This is the wind.
That very wind that blows through Yamagata.
Thinking that such a dish was born from ingenuity, wisdom, and kindness while facing the heat made my chest feel a little warm.

Yamagata is the place with the highest ramen consumption in Japan.
Winters are locked in snow, and summers are as hot as Kumamoto.
Perhaps it is because it is a land that knows hardship that human ingenuity and culinary wisdom have taken such deep root.

'Chilled' does not just mean cold.
Within that coolness, someone's thoughtfulness and a story of deliciousness reside.
That is why it touches the heart so deeply.

I whispered 'thank you for the meal' and let out a breath.
As I drank the soup to the very last drop, the breeze of Yamagata remained faintly in my mouth.
This flavor, which I don't see in Kumamoto supermarkets.
I will remember it again.
The sky of that summer and the warmth of chilled ramen.

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