Any ideas/suggestions out there?
Thanks.
Michael, I don’t know just what you are looking for, since Soba broths follow a rather narrow formula in Japan, Soba - Wikipedia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In “Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking” by the talented cook and author Harumi Kurihara, she has a recipe for Soba Chirashi. In this case you make a mentsuyu using 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup mirin, 3/4 cup water, and 2 tablespoons of katsuobushi or “fish flakes.” “Microwave uncovered for 3 1/2 minutes” and allow to cool.
As always the soba noodles are cooked separately in water.
Chirashi means you will have stuff scattered on top, like chirashi-zushi in which raw fish pieces are scattered over flavored rice, but here it is the noodles and broth.
The toppings include grated daikon radish, grated ginger, shichimi togarashi (hot pepper powder), toasted white sesame seeds, roughly chopped coriander leaves (cilantro or if you are lucky enough, mitsuba), wasabi, and chopped green onions.
More substantial toppings include tempura, kamaboko, and tamago (sweet egg omelet pieces).
Hope this helps…
there’s a lot of Soba sauce at Japanese Markets that’s bottled already. Let me find the bottle I have and i’ll reply with an update.
Charlie, thanks for that…have a great asian market about 5-10 minutes from the house.
Frank, thanks for the recipe…I’ll have to get motivated and do it…sounds fairly easy.
I’d go with a tonkotsu based broth.
http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/basic/ramen/ramen.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Jorge, that looks delicious, but Chinese ramen noodles are quite different from soba, and I don’t think the buckwheat taste of soba noodles would go well with ramen ingredients.
It’s a real tangle – I mean you could cover them with marinara sauce and it might taste good but why ignore the cultural origins of these noodles?
I am not crazy about soba because of that buckwheat taste. And I am a little obsessed with ramen after re-watching Tampopo and “The Ramen Girl” – but if you want to make pork broth etc., get the right noodles to go with it.
Frank, you’re absolutely right. Nonetheless, since we’re not being “traditionalists” here, couldn’t one simply substitute noodles? Instead of ramne, go with soba or even udon? I honestly don’t care…love Japanese broths so much, you could even throw linguini in there and I’d happily slurp them down too.
You may know this already but Linguini has become quite popular in Japan…
Mentaiko Pasta (明太子パスタ - Japanese Spicy Cod Roe Pasta)" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I did a short stint in a Japanese kitchen and we did a traditional hot soba dish with tempura…
Soba - Wikipedia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
seems like there are many options hot or cold.
I usually keep a bottle of Kikkoman noodle broth base in the house. I’ll use it to enhance a chicken or shrimp stock or even use it straight. Hit it with some grated ginger and top it with sliced scallions and shichimi togarashi and the protein of your choice.
Here’s an idea:
Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe
1 8 ounce package soba noodles
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segements (or other in season veg)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup peanuts
12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (feel free to heat the tofu in a skillet if you like, but cold is good too)
Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the soba noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you’ll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.
Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. I reserve a bit of each ingredient to sprinkle on top of the serving platter to make it look nice. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!
Serves 6 - 8.
I have no idea what is going on here (can someone explain?) but this looks beautiful.
Ah, OK, I found out. This is cold Soba Tokyo style, the strong broth is served in a cup and the noodles are dipped into the broth before eating.
chirashi soba ＊ Osaka style(my style :P) | The ingredients f… | Flickr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Looks very similar to Zaru Soba.
After reading the nutritional values of Soba, me thinks I’ll have to come up with something for dinner tomorrow night.
Thanks a lot, Frank. Now I’m dying for Soba!
I sent this thread to Heidi so she can get some ideas for dinner - we all love Soba, even Ella, and since Heidi’s vegetarian, it’s just about the perfect option for her. Throw some veggies on there - kickin’
yep, classic soba preparation. Some places also do a cold udon rendition which is really nice in the summer. Great now i’m hungry… thanks frank!
Zaru soba does indeed mean cold soba. I lived for a year in Japan and my host family introduced me to zaru soba and I love it. I have bought the bottled sauce at Japanese markets before (you just add like 3 parts water) and made it at home with decent results, and fortunately there are very authentic restaurants to get it here in NYC too.
On a slightly unrelated note, there is another cold Japanese noodle dish called hiyashi-chuka (the chuka part of it actually means Chinese style) that I love to have on hot summer days.
Hot soba in tsuyu with day boat scallops, wild caught shrimp, surimi…
