Zaru soba is a Japanese cold noodle dish that my wife and I make every summer. It's incredibly easy to make and tastes best on an extremely hot day. I used to make my own dashi stock for this, but now I think the powdered stuff actually tastes better.
It's the last 30 days of summer and I can't believe I'm only now sharing my zaru soba recipe. Zaru soba is literally one of my favorite summer dishes. If it's still hot where you live, maybe you can try making it!
I remember the first time I had zaru soba was at a small mom-and-pop shop in Tokyo a few years ago. I can't remember the exact name of the restaurant but it was near a train track by Gotokuji temple. I just remember how refreshing and tasty it was after such a long and hot day. Here is a picture of it:
What type of noodles to use?
The type of noodles you use is very important. You want to buy buckwheat noodles, sometimes called soba noodles. The package should have instructions on how to cook them, but usually, you just need to boil them for 3-4 minutes. Here are the noodles I'm using:
After cooking, I like to soak them in a pot of ice water until serving time. You might be worried they'll get overly soft, but in my experience, they still taste pretty firm for at least 30 minutes. Just make sure you don't soak them for much longer than that.
How to make the dipping sauce
You will need dashi powder, mirin, sake, and soy sauce. One very important step is to boil the dipping sauce for at least 15 minutes. The reason I do this is to cook out the alcohol. I personally hate the flavor of alcohol in zaru soba because I think it leaves a very harsh taste in the back of the tongue.
For the dashi powder, this is the brand I am using:
In the past, I used to make my own dashi stock with kombu and bonito flakes, but now I actually prefer the taste of storebought dashi powder- probably because it has MSG in it.
Toppings for zaru soba
These are the toppings that I usually prepare in advance. From left to right: grated radish, sliced green onions, grated ginger, furikake, and wasabi.
Zaru Soba (Japanese Cold Noodles)
Ingredients
- 1 package buckwheat noodles
Dipping sauce
- 4 cups dashi stock (made from storebought dashi powder)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup mirin
- ¼ cup sake
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Toppings
- grated radish
- grated ginger
- wasabi
- thinly sliced green onions
- furikake/nori/sesame seeds
Instructions
- To a medium pot, add the dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, about 15-20 minutes.
- Taste the sauce and add extra seasonings as needed. Let it cool down to room temperature before serving. To do this quickly, I submerge the pot of sauce in a cold water bath.
- In another pot, cook the buckwheat noodles according to the package instructions (usually this is about 3-4 minutes).
- Drain the noodles and rinse a few times in cold water to bring the temperature down. Then transfer to a bowl of ice water for holding.
- To serve, portion the noodles and dipping sauce into bowls, and provide the toppings on the side. Enjoy!
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