Noodles Part 2: Soba

Dried soba noodles.



      Soba noodles are definitely Nihon ryori, or a uniquely Japanese food. They became popular in Japan during the Tokugawa or Edo period (1603-1867) when many Japanese (especially the poor) subsided on white rice alone. Because white rice has insignificant amounts of B vitamins many people suffered from a B vitimin (Thiamin) deficiency called Beriberi which causes terrible symptoms in the nervous system as well as in various other functions of the body. It was discovered that by eating soba which is high in Thiamin, one could avoid the debilatating syptoms of Beriberi.
     Soba is a favorite among Tokyoites, whereas in other areas of Japan Udon is more popular. Soba is probably my favorite type of Japanese noodle. They have a nutty, slightly sweet flavor and a less glutinous texture that I'm quite partial to. It is somewhat similar to a whole wheat thin spagetti. Soba noodles are thin and made of newly harvested buckwheat called shin-soba. Soba is a fast growing grain that takes only three months to harvest, so it can be harvested up to four times in a year. It also grows well in mountainous regions with poor soil. Often, there is some wheat flour added to soba noodles as a binder to the gluten-free buckwheat flour, usually a ratio of 80% buckwheat to 20% wheat flour, but you can find high quality 100% soba noodles in Japan. There are fresh handmade varieties as well as dried ones. I typically use a dried variety that comes in individual portions (as pictured below).



       Soba can be served both warm and cold. The most important step in preparing soba is to wash the noodles by gently rinsing them in cool water and rubbing them to remove some of the starch off the surface of the noodles. This process allows the flavor and texture of the soba to stand out better. At that point the noodles can be served with a strong flavored dipping sauce, or in a more diluted hot or cold soup called mentsuyu. Mentsuyu is a broth made from kaeshi (sauce of soy sauce, sugar and mirin) and diluted with dashi (basic Japanese stock made from konbu (kelp), katsuo boshi (dried fish flakes), and/ or dried shitake mushrooms). You can find instructions for making your own kaeshi and dashi on the awesome website below. Remember: Kaeshi + Dashi = Mentsuyu

Making mentsuyu: http://justhungry.com/basics-kaeshi-soba-and-udon-noodle-soup-or-sauce-base

Detailed instructions for cooking Soba: http://justhungry.com/basics-cold-soba-noodles-dipping-sauce  





Benjamin loves eating soba...

    We eat soba very often at home as it makes for a nice quick and light dinner. Benjamin absolutely LOVES soba, you can ask him any time of the day if he wants some soba and he will undoubtedly answer "Yes" with enthusiasm, and then ask for green onions and fresh ginger to mix into the mentsuyu. That kid LOVES ginger, he eats huge piles of pickled ginger when we go out for sushi...but that post is soon to come. The following is something I have been cooking up for vegetarian nights at home lately. It is a very non-traditional soba preparation, but my soy allergy has been rather unfriendly lately and I have been doing anything I can to avoid soy sauce, so I use Oyster sauce and Sriracha instead as flavoring in my recipe for Soba-don (Soba bowl). You could of course add any other desired ingredients for more flavor. I hope you will try it!




                                                                Soba-don
Ingredients:
3-4 portions of dried Soba noodles (I make one extra for the husband)

5-6 cups chopped veggies: Bok choy, mushrooms: enoki, shimeji, and shitake, and eggplant
* Use what's available to you. Shelled edamame, any mushrooms, diced sweet potatoes and cabbage would be great in this too.

2 tsp. vegetable, or coconut oil

Green onion, 2 stalks whites and greens

2 cloves garlic, minced

Black pepper

Oyster Sauce (to taste, up to 3 TBS.)

1-2 tsp. Rice vinegar

Toppings:
Sriracha, sambal or other chili paste (to taste)

fresh grated ginger

*Yuzu paste, wasabi, sesame oil, and sesame seeds would all be good too.

Directions:

Cook soba noodles to package instructions. Typically they will take around 5-7 minutes on a low boil. You can follow the directions on the link above for cooking perfect soba noodles.

Prep all of your veggies. Chop them into 1/2 inch, to 1 inch pieces for easy chopsticking. I slice half of the green onions in the veggie stir-fry and dice the other half  to reserve and use as a topping. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium-high heat and add oil. Once oil is heated add your veggies that will take longer to cook, I usually give the eggplant an extra minute or two before I add the rest to prevent over cooking. Toss in your minced garlic and the remaining vegetables and stir-fry until tender and start to brown up a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Next, add in your oyster sauce and season to taste with black pepper and rice vinegar. Stir-fry for one more minute and turn off the heat.

At this point I take my rinsed soba noodles and run them under hot water to warm them up a bit, just for a few seconds so they aren't chilly. Then I portion them into bowls and cover the top with the stir-fried vegetables. I garnish with the diced green onion, a bit of fresh grated ginger and of course lots of Sriracha!

Takes about 20 minutes to make and serves 3-4 people.


Japanese Dining Custom:

Benjamin typically reminds us before we start eating to be thankful for our meal. Every night at dinner he stops, makes eye contact with each of us and we take his lead. He puts his hands together palm to palm and loudly expresses his "Itadakimasu!" with a slight bow of his head... it's amazing and wonderful how easily kids pick these things up. So without hesitaion, we have incorporated this custom into our daily dinner ritual.

In Japan you start your meal by saying:

Itadakimasu! (ee-tah-dahki-mas)- literally "Thanks for this feast!"

and when you are finished eating you say:

Gochiso sama deshta! (Go-chee-so-sama-desh-tah) - which means "it really was a feast!", and show completion and gratitude for a full stomach.



Here are some videos I thought were interesting regarding Soba:

Interesting travel video on eating Soba in Izushi, Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F2wrQsK4S4

If you are more visual and prefer to see someone make soba, here is a cute Obachan (Grandma) making Zaru soba with subtitles in many languages:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLnKQJJX3gw



Arigato Gozaimasu Readers!