Cold Soba (buckwheat noodles), is a great Japanese dish to have during the hot summer days. Cold Soba is usually served with a chilled dipping sauce (soup) with a side of wasabi. Common condiments include chopped green onion and nori. Some people also like to add grated daikon. Soba is usually served on a plate with a bamboo mat, but you can use any plate. Soba is quick and easy to make, but the sauce should be made ahead of time since it has to be served chilled. Oh, and it’s absolutely ok to slurp! Take a few strands of noodle with your chopsticks, then dip and slurp away.

Ingredients:

360g Soba Noodles (about 10 oz)
1 to 2 chopped green onion (optional)
wasabi (optional)
thinly chopped nori (optional)

Dipping Sauce
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sake
1/2 cup bonito flakes (about small handful)

Makes about 4 Servings

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place all the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a pan and bring to a boil. Boil about 30 seconds and turn off heat. Once it has cooled down a bit, use a strainer and pour the liquid into a container. Cover and chill.

Step 2: Cook soba according to package directions. Mine usually says 4 to 5 minutes.

Step 3: When the noodles are cooked, transfer to a colander and drain. Pour cold water over the noodles to cool, then rinse the noodles under cold running water. Squeeze and turn the noodles to get rid of any stickiness. Drain and arrange them on a plate or Soba Bamboo Plate.

Step 4: Pour the chilled dipping sauce into a small bowl and serve with the noodles. Dab a little bit of wasabi on the side with the sauce. I like to have my soba with chopped green onion and a little bit of nori.

This post is tagged Japanese, noodles, summer

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