Steps

1. In a pot, combine Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine) 3 tbsp, Cooking Sake (Rice Wine) 3 tbsp, Soy Sauce 1 tbsp, Vinegar 3 tbsp, and Dashi Powder 1/2 tsp. Heat over medium heat.
   🕒 01:32
2. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 minute to evaporate the alcohol.
   🕒 01:47
3. Turn off the heat, add Salted Kombu 10g, stir once, and let it cool.
   🕒 01:59
4. Trim the stem ends of 18 pieces of Okra.
   🕒 02:10
5. From the dark, rough part called the calyx, peel upwards to remove the fuzzy bits. You can also just cut it off if it's too much trouble.
   🕒 02:23
6. After preparing all the okra stems and calyxes, sprinkle with salt (amount not specified) and roll on a cutting board to remove any remaining fuzz.
   🕒 02:49
7. Prepare a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Also, prepare a bowl of ice water.
   🕒 03:33
8. Once the water is boiling, add the salt-rubbed okra and boil for 2 minutes. (Key Tip!) Boiling the okra after rubbing it with salt will season it and make its color more vibrant.
   🕒 03:50
9. After 2 minutes, turn off the heat and immediately transfer the boiled okra to the ice water. Chill thoroughly for about 1 minute. (Key Tip!) Cooling immediately in ice water after boiling prevents the color from degrading.
   🕒 04:18
10. Drain the cooled okra in a colander and wrap it in paper towels to thoroughly pat dry. (Key Tip!) Thoroughly drying the okra before pickling will allow the flavors to penetrate better.
    🕒 04:43
11. Place the prepared okra into a zip bag.
    🕒 05:00
12. Pour the cooled pickling liquid over the okra in the zip bag.
    🕒 05:10
13. Remove the air from the bag to ensure the pickling liquid is evenly distributed, seal the bag, and secure with a rubber band or similar.
    🕒 05:18
14. Refrigerate for 1 hour to complete the pickled okra. (Key Tip!) Adjust the pickling time to your preference.
    🕒 05:30
15. Reserve about 3 tbsp of the pickling liquid from the pickled okra.
    🕒 06:18
16. Finely chop 4 pieces of Pickled Okra into approximately 1cm pieces.
    🕒 06:26
17. Place the chopped okra into a bowl.
    🕒 06:44
18. Remove the pit from 1 Umeboshi (Pickled Plum) and finely chop it with a knife, then add to the bowl.
    🕒 06:50
19. Add Somen Noodles 50g to the bowl along with Sesame Oil 1 tsp and the reserved 3 tbsp of pickling liquid. Mix well.
    🕒 07:04
20. Your okra somen dish is ready.
    🕒 07:17