What are Soba Noodles?

The word soba (そば | 蕎麦) means buckwheat in Japanese. It usually refers to noodles made from buckwheat flour; however, regular wheat flour is sometimes added to help add structure to the thin soba noodles. Sometimes dishes will have the word soba in the name, but won’t actually be made from buckwheat. Yakisoba (焼きそば), Chuukasoba (中華そば), and Okinawa Soba (沖縄そば) are good examples of the dishes where soba just means noodles rather than specifically buckwheat noodles. Regardless, there are many different dishes you can make with soba noodles and they can be served either hot or cold.

Common Soba Dishes

Hot Soba:

Hot soba is served as a noodle soup, typically in a soy-based dashi broth with different toppings or additions. Hot soba dishes are typically served in the winter.

• Kake soba – Topped with finely chopped scallions and optional fish cake (kamaboko).
• Kitsune soba – Topped with aburaage (deep fried tofu). However, in the Kansai region it’s called Tanuki Soba.
• Nameko soba – Topped with Nameko mushroom.
• Tempura soba – Topped with either shrimp or vegetable tempura.
• Tanuki soba – Topped with tenkasu (bits of deep fried tempura). However, in the Kansai region its called Haikara soba.
• Tsukimi soba – Tsukimi means viewing the Moon, which is why this is topped with a raw egg that poaches in the hot soup.
• Tororo soba – Topped with tororo (grated Chinese yam called nagaimo).
• Wakame soba – Topped with wakame (a type of edible seaweed).

Hot soba is eaten with chopsticks and it’s okay to slurp the noodles; however, it’s a myth that slurping is highly encouraged in Japan. After the soba noodles are gone, you then drink the remaining broth straight from the bowl—no need for a spoon. However, it’s okay if you can’t drink all of the broth.

Cold Soba:

Cold soba dishes are normally served on a plate or bamboo tray with tsuyu (dipping sauce) on the side. Tsuyu is normally made with dashi, sweetened soy sauce and mirin, but it can vary. Cold soba dishes are typically served in the summer.

• Mori soba – Plain soba noodles served with tsuyu on the side.
• Zaru soba – Mori soba, but it’s topped with shredded nori seaweed.
• Hadaka soba – Plain soba served without anything else

When eating cold soba, first mix toppings like green onion and wasabi into the tsuyu. Then, using chopsticks, dip a couple soba noodles at a time into the sauce and eat them. Once you finish it, some restaurants will bring out sobayu, which is the water the noodles were cooked in. You then mix the sobayu with your remaining sauce and drink it. You don’t need to drink all of it, so add the sobayu to your own taste.