Wash off surface thickness
Rubbing under cold water is more important for smooth, separate soba than a long ice bath. Work carefully, because soba breaks easily.
Japanese Recipe
Zaru Soba
Rinse away the starch and firm the pasta. The fully cooled dip sauce is based on dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
Total time
50 min
Calories
430 kcal
Servings
4 servings
Difficulty
Easy
Why this recipe works
Cold buckwheat noodles with tsuyu for dipping
At Zaru Soba, noodles and sauce are served separately, with each serving being dipped briefly in the strong tsuyu to preserve the nutty buckwheat flavour. Just as important as the dip sauce is the noodle technique: plenty of water, careful stirring and thorough washing under cold water give a smooth, elastic surface.
Quick Dinners
Lunch
Dinner
Pasta
Recipe
Zaru Soba
Zaru soba are cold buckwheat noodles, rinsed thoroughly and served with concentrated tsuyu dip sauce, spring onions, wasabi and nori.
Ingredients
4 servings
Method
-
1
Cooking Tsuyu base
Bring water, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to the boil. As soon as the mixture comes back to a gentle boil, add katsuobushi, stir briefly and turn off the heat.
-
2
rest and cool dip sauce
Let the Tsuyu cool completely and then pour through a fine sieve. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes until serving.
-
3
Bring plenty of water to the boil
Fill a large pot with plenty of water without adding any salt. Add soba and loosen it gently so that the noodles do not stick together.
-
4
Scarcely cook soba
Cook the pasta according to the package specification until al dente. Regulate the heat when foaming strongly, instead of adding cold water.
-
5
Rinse starch thoroughly
Drain the soba immediately and gently rub it with both hands under running cold water until the water remains largely clear.
-
6
Briefly cool and dry
Place the noodles in ice water for 30 seconds at most, then drain very thoroughly. Distribute loosely on bamboo mats or flat plates.
-
7
Serve separately
Pour the nori over the soba. Fill the tsuyu into small bowls and serve the spring onions, wasabi and optional daikon separately; dip the noodles only lightly.
Kitchen know-how
Tips for Zaru Soba
Use Tsuyu only for dipping
The sauce is intentionally concentrated, only dipping the front end of a portion of pasta briefly, instead of pouring the whole dish over it.
Variations
How to adapt this recipe
Replace katsuobushi with 15 g dried shiitake and 8 g kombu. Let both stand in cold water and remove before seasoning.
Put the pressed daikon directly into the dip bowl. Its mild pungency makes the strong tsuyu fresher and lighter.
Nutrition per serving
430kcal
79.0 gCarbohydrates
18.0 gProtein
4.0 gFat
Values are estimates and may vary depending on the ingredients, brands, portion size and preparation method used.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Zaru Soba
The cold water removes starch from the surface, stops the cooking process and strengthens the pasta. Without this step, it becomes sticky and dull.
No. Many dried soba contain wheat flour for elasticity. If you are gluten intolerant, 100 percent buckwheat and suitable processing must be explicitly stated.
It is a concentrated dip sauce, not a soup broth. The soba are only briefly dipped in each bite, which means that little sauce is absorbed per bite.
Sobayu is the starchy cooking water of soba. In Japan, it is sometimes added to the remaining tsuyu at the end and drunk as a mild warm finish.
Tsuyu can be cooked one day in advance. It is recommended to cook the noodles fresh because they stick together and lose elasticity during prolonged storage.
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