Bring water to a boil in a pot, add sake and wave the pork slices inside the pot ("shabu-shabu" it) to cook. Put the cooked slices in a colander and leave to cool. If you cool in cold water, they will become tough, so leave them to cool at room temperature.

You can use thinly sliced chopped pork or pork loin instead of shabu-shabu pork. Just cook the same way in hot water with sake, for a bit longer than shabu-shabu pork.

★ In addition to the sake, if you also add a few slices of ginger to the hot water, it'll help eliminate the gaminess of the meat, so I recommend it.

If you are using seafood instead, boil it quickly in hot water with sake, drain and allow to cool. Don't put the seafood in cold water or you'll lose all the flavor.

Cut the onion very thinly using a vegetable slicer or mandoline. Sprinkle salt, rub in with your hands, and rinse in water. Soak in a bowl of cold water. If you rub the raw onion with salt, it won't be smelly at all.

Tear lettuce leaves with your hands into bite sized pieces, and wash under running water while squeezing with your hands to break up the fibers and make them easy to eat. Soak the leaves in cold water for a while, then drain into a colander.

Add other vegetables of your choice. Take the stem end off the tomato and cut into wedges. Cut the cucumber into half and finely julienne.

＊Cook the boiled egg ＊: Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into a pan with water and the egg. Heat over high heat and bring to a boil, then cook for 10 minutes. Cool the egg in cold water, crack the shell and peel the egg under running water.

Grill the red and yellow peppers until charred, cool in ice water and peel off the skins in water. Slice thinly lengthwise.

Cut the roots off the radish sprouts, wash and drain. If using green onions, slice thinly.

＊＊If you make everything up to this point in advance and chill in the refrigerator, you can have a nice cold salad. ＊＊

Layer half or a quarter of the vegetables in a plate or deep container. If you layer meat or seafood here too, the salad is fun to eat until the end.

If you are serving the salad in one big serving container, put in 1/4 of the noodles and ingredients in alternate layers, and finish with a layer of vegetables on top. This ensures that all the ingredients will be evenly distributed.

Boil the noodles following package instructions. Rinse well under running water in a colander to remove starchiness, rubbing gently with your hands. Transfer the noodles back and forth between a colander (or sieve) and a bowl.

Wash the noodles very well, changing the water frequently. There's a point where the noodles firm up. When you reach that point, drain into a colander or sieve.

If you can't eat the noodles right away, toss with a little vegetable oil to make the texture last longer. But do try to cook the noodles just before you plan to eat them for the fresh texture!