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__NOTOC__ Soba (蕎麦) is a thin Japanese buckwheat noodle, usually cooked and served with various toppings and condiments. The standard form is kake soba, "soba in broth". Kake soba consists of cooked soba noodles in a bowl of hot broth called tsuyu that is made of dashi, mirin, and shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) and topped with sliced negi (welsh onions).
In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of situations. They are a popular inexpensive fast food at train stations throughout Japan, they are served by exclusive and expensive specialty restaurants, and they are also made at home. Markets sell dried noodles and men-tsuyu, or instant noodle broth, to make home preparation easy. The most famous Japanese soba noodles come from Nagano. Soba from Nagano is called Shinano Soba or Shinshu soba. Ni-hachi (two-eight) soba, consists of two parts of wheat and eight of buckwheat. Other popular noodles in Japan are udon, ramen, and somen.
Soba is virtually always eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is traditionally considered polite to slurp the noodles noisily. (The Japanese word for this is tsuru-tsuru.) This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth acts to cool them down – very important when eating in a hurry.
Cold soba may be served either with the tsuyu broth on the side, or poured on top as with hot soba. The most famous way to serve cold soba is zaru soba, in which the chilled noodles are served on a sieve-like bamboo tray called a zaru. The noodles are sometimes garnished with bits of dried seaweed called nori. Using chopsticks, the diner picks up a small amount of soba from the tray and swirls it in the cold tsuyu before eating it. Wasabi, scallions, and ginger are sometimes mixed into the tsuyu before the noodles are eaten. This dish is popularly eaten during the summer months.
Soba is also the Japanese word for buckwheat. Roasted buckwheat kernels may be made into a grain tea called sobacha, which may be served hot or cold. Buckwheat hulls, or sobakawa, are used to fill pillows.
Soba is occasionally used to refer to noodles in general. In Japan, ramen is sometimes called chūka soba or shina soba (both mean Chinese noodles). Parboiled chūka soba is used to make yakisoba. Note that these noodles do not contain buckwheat.
Soba is quite popular in the city of Campo Grande (Brazil), due to influence of Japanese (Okinawan) immigrants. It is eaten at street markets or in special restaurants called "sobarias".
Varieties of Soba
- Sarashina soba – thin, light-colored soba, made with refined buckwheat
- Inaka soba – "country soba", thick soba made with whole buckwheat
By location
- Etanbetsu soba – named after the central region of Hokkaido (Asahikawacity)
- Shinano soba – named after Shinano in Nagano
- Shinshu soba – named after the southern region of Nagano
- Izumo soba – named after Izumo in Shimane
By ingredients
- Tororo soba or Jinenjo soba – flavored with wild yam flour
- Cha soba – flavored with green tea powder
- Mugi soba – flavored with mugwort
- Ni-hachi soba – soba containing 20% wheat and 80% buckwheat
- Towari soba or Juwari soba – 100% buckwheat soba
Common Soba Dishes
Like many Japanese noodles, soba noodles are often served chilled in the summer and hot in the winter. They are traditionally eaten on New Years Eve. Toppings are chosen to reflect the seasons and to balance with other ingredients. Most toppings are added without much cooking, although some are deep-fried. Most of these dishes many also be prepared with udon.
Hot
- Kake soba 掛け蕎麦 – Hot soba in broth topped with thinly sliced negi, and perhaps a slice of kamaboko (fish cake).
- Kitsune soba (in Kanto) or Tanuki soba (in Kansai) – Topped with abura age (deep-fried tofu).
- Tempura soba 天麩羅蕎麦 – Topped with various tempura items, especially shrimp.
- Tanuki soba (in Kanto) or Haikara soba (in Kansai) – Topped with tenkasu (deep-fried tempura batter).
- Tsukimi soba – Topped with raw egg, which poaches in the hot soup.
- Tororo soba – Topped with tororo, the puree of yamaimo (a potato-like vegetable with a slimy texture).
- Wakame soba – Topped with wakame, a dark green sea vegetable.
Cold
- Mori soba 盛り蕎麦 – Chilled soba noodles. The noodles are boiled, chilled, and then served on a flat basket or plate. Accompanied by a chilled dipping sauce, usually a strong mixture of dashi, mirin, and shoyu. Eaten with wasabi.
- Zaru soba 笊蕎麦 – Mori soba topped with shredded nori seaweed.
- Bukkake soba ぶっかけそば – Cold soba served with various toppings sprinkled on top, after which the broth is poured on by the diner. It may include:
- Soba maki – Cold soba wrapped in nori and prepared as makizushi.
External links
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