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Soba, Japan’s traditional buckwheat noodles, offers a delicious and healthy way to experience the depth of Japanese cuisine. These thin, earthy noodles are enjoyed both hot and cold, making them a versatile favourite in Japanese households.
Whether you’re savouring them in a warm broth during winter or served chilled with a dipping sauce in summer, Soba’s simplicity belies its rich cultural significance and its long-standing place in Japanese culinary history.
What Is Soba?
Soba refers to noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, though they sometimes contain a small amount of wheat flour for texture.
Their distinctive nutty flavour and slightly chewy texture make them stand out from other noodles in Japanese cuisine, like udon or ramen.
Soba can be enjoyed in countless ways: in a simple broth as kake soba, paired with tempura, or served cold with dipping sauce known as zaru soba.
What makes soba special is its versatility. In the summer, chilled soba is refreshing, light, and paired with a tangy dipping sauce made from soy sauce, dashi, and mirin.
In colder months, hot soba is typically served in a flavourful broth, sometimes topped with tempura, mountain vegetables, or even duck.
Ingredients and Taste
Soba’s primary ingredient is buckwheat flour, which gives the noodles their signature gray-brown colour and nutty taste. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, so 100% soba noodles (known as juwari soba) tend to be more fragile, while noodles blended with wheat flour (ni-hachi soba) have a smoother texture and more elasticity.
The taste of soba is subtle yet distinct. The buckwheat’s nutty, slightly earthy flavour shines when paired with simple ingredients.
In a cold dish like zaru soba, the dipping sauce, made from soy sauce and dashi, enhances the noodles without overwhelming them, allowing their natural taste to come through.
In a hot soup, soba noodles absorb the richness of the broth, becoming a tender, flavourful bite. Soba can also be accompanied by condiments such as finely chopped green onions, grated daikon, or wasabi, each adding layers of texture and brightness to the dish.
A Taste of History
Soba has been a cherished part of Japanese cuisine for centuries, with its origins believed to date back to the Edo period (1603-1868). During this time, buckwheat was grown in mountainous regions where rice farming was difficult, making it an essential crop for those communities.
The simplicity of soba reflects its rural roots, but over time, it gained popularity in cities like Edo (modern-day Tokyo), where soba shops became common.
Soba has also long held a symbolic place in Japanese culture. It’s traditionally eaten during New Year’s Eve in a ritual known as toshikoshi soba. The long, slender noodles are thought to represent longevity and good fortune, making them a meaningful dish to welcome the New Year.
Soba (Buckwheat Noodles) Recipe
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
- 400g dried soba (buckwheat) noodles
- 1.5 litres water (for boiling soba)
- 1/2 cup tsuyu (soba dipping sauce, store-bought or homemade)
- 1 tbsp mirin (if making tsuyu)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (if making tsuyu)
- 1/4 cup bonito flakes (for dashi, optional)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (for garnish)
- 1 tbsp wasabi paste (optional)
- 1 sheet nori (seaweed), cut into thin strips
- Ice cubes (for cooling noodles)
Directions
To begin, bring 1.5 litres of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the soba dipping sauce. If using store-bought tsuyu, skip to step 2. If making it from scratch, combine 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and bonito flakes in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until it simmers, then strain out the bonito flakes. Let the tsuyu cool to room temperature.
Once the water is boiling, add the dried soba noodles to the pot, stirring gently to prevent them from sticking together. Follow the package instructions for cooking time (typically around 5-7 minutes). Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking and prevent clumping.
While the soba is cooking, prepare a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes. This will be used to chill the noodles and stop the cooking process, which preserves their texture and firmness.
Once the soba is cooked to a firm yet tender texture, drain the noodles in a colander. Immediately rinse them under cold running water to remove excess starch and stop the cooking process. This step is essential to achieving the smooth texture of soba noodles.
After rinsing, transfer the soba noodles into the ice water bath to cool completely. Let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes. This enhances the firm texture of the noodles, making them ideal for dipping.
Drain the noodles from the ice bath and arrange them in neat bundles on a serving plate. You can use a bamboo mat (zaru) for a more traditional presentation if you have one.
Serve the soba with a small bowl of tsuyu dipping sauce on the side for each person. Garnish the noodles with sliced green onions, a strip of nori, and a small dab of wasabi (if desired) to add layers of flavour to the dipping sauce.
Enjoy the soba by dipping a portion of the noodles into the tsuyu sauce before each bite. The cold, smooth noodles contrast with the umami-rich dipping sauce, providing a refreshing and flavourful meal. For an extra authentic experience, consider serving the soba with tempura or other traditional Japanese sides.
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