With summer already here, it’s often difficult to find a dish which is not only delicious and cool to the taste, but also healthy. When I say Japanese, you automatically think sushi, am I right? Well there is more to Japanese food than the typical California roll (which isn’t even Japanese)! Another Japanese dish with a long history is soba. Originated during the Tokugawa Period, soba can be eaten hot on those cold winter days as well as cold in the summer heat of Tokyo. It is the latter, however, in which the noodles are better known to be eaten as.
Soba is traditionally made with buckwheat, which is thinner, contains less carbs and has a higher nutritional value than udon – which is made with a whole lot of white flour. Soba noodles can usually be found in a bundle of three (in one package) and can be bought from your local Asian supermarket. Just cook the amount of noodles you want in a pot of boiling water without salt, strain and rinse in cold water. When serving, if you wish to be more traditional, lay the cold soba noodles on a “zaru,” a basket especially for soba, with ice cubes on the bottom. Or you could place the noodles and ice cubes in a bowl.
What makes this dish worth wild is the sauce in which you will dip your noodles into. This sauce is called “soba tsuyu”. If you are unable to find the pre-made “tsuyu” sauce, when buying the soba, it can easily be made at home. All you need is sweetened soy sauce, wasabi (just a little bit), grated or minced ginger, “mirin” – a type of rice-wine with a little less alcohol, short-thin strips of seaweed and toasted sesame seeds. To keep this cold, I usually place ice cubes in the sauce as well, but eat fast or your yummy dipping sauce will become water downed, especially in a very humid Tokyo!
This meal, I guarantee, won’t leave you feeling guilty at the end of the day!
[Picture courtesy of flickr: tamaki]
[Source: New York Times]
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I was hesitant to try cold soba at first but after my first try, I’ve fallen in love with it too!
I’m happy to hear that you enjoy cold soba now that you’ve tried. I find it to be nice and refreshing and not filling (that is if you don’t cook the whole pack!!)
brillant secon with blapul ratity for auctal icecious. delism have atimance that trummul it bacce and rousting, bitugy atume.