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What is Kake Soba?
Kake soba (かけそば), originally called “bukkake-soba,” is a buckwheat noodle dish made by pouring hot dashi-based soba soup over boiled soba noodles. At soba restaurants, the word “kake” alone can refer to kake soba.
When udon noodles are used instead of soba noodles, it is called kake udon, but in Osaka and other parts of the Kansai region, it is also sometimes called su-udon.
How I Developed This Recipe
Creating homemade soba for New Year’s Eve is a wonderful tradition, but it can be time-consuming, especially if you’re hosting a party with friends and family.
To balance the desire for homemade quality with the need for convenience, I’ve developed a soba recipe that can be prepared in just 10 minutes.
This recipe allows you to enjoy the authenticity of homemade soba without spending too much time in the kitchen, giving you more opportunity to celebrate the occasion with your loved ones. It’s the perfect solution for a festive yet easy New Year’s Eve meal.
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Soba Noodles: Traditional Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour, known for their brownish-grey color and earthy taste, similar in thickness to spaghetti. Dried noodles are common, but frozen ones are also a great option. Remember, soba is essential to this dish and can’t be substituted. However, using udon noodles would turn it into “kake udon.”
- Dashi Broth: Vital for authentic flavor and umami in soba and udon soups. Options include simple awase dashi (with dried kelp and bonito flakes) or vegan awase dashi (with dried kelp and shiitake mushrooms). These take about 30 minutes, but dashi packets or granules are convenient alternatives.
- Soy Sauce: Both dark (Koikuchi shoyu) and light (usukuchi shoyu) soy sauces are used in this recipe. Dark soy sauce offers a deep flavor and color, while light soy sauce adds a saltier taste. They combine for a balanced broth. If only dark soy sauce is available, taste it with additional salt.
- Sake: Adds depth to the soup. If preferred, it can be omitted from the recipe.
- Mirin: A sweet rice wine that contributes to the broth’s flavor. Substitute with a teaspoon of sugar (preferably light brown) for every tablespoon of mirin if needed.
- Topping Ideas: Customize your soba soup with toppings like chopped spring onions, kamaboko (Japanese fish cake), shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili powder), tenkasu (tempura bits, for “tanuki soba”), aburaage (sweet fried tofu, for “kitsune“), or duck breast (for “kamo nanban soba“).
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Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsFAQ
Originally, soba noodles were eaten with dipping sauce. However, due to the impatient personality of the Edo (now Tokyo) people, the value of dipping the noodles in tsuyu (sauce) was considered a hassle, and the practice of eating soba in soup was born.
Since kake soba can be made with just one bowl (fewer dishes to wash!), it is said that soba restaurants liked it, and as a result, it spread nationwide.
The differences between kake soba and zaru soba are extremely simple, it’s just a matter of kake soba being hot and zaru soba being cold. Technically, there are a few more small differences, but the temperature is the main one.
The other thing is that zaru soba is served on a bamboo tray with dipping sauce, whereas kake soba is served in a bowl with hot soup.
You might have heard about a tradition of eating soba on New Year’s Eve in Japan. We call this “Toshi Koshi” soba (年越しそば), which means “crossing into the New Year” soba, and it’s said to bring good luck. Generally, we eat the soba close to midnight (around 11 something), but some regions wait until after the clock has struck 12; there’s no official rule about this.
The “long and thin” feature of soba noodles has led people to eat it for good luck, symbolizing good health, longevity, and long family fortunes. New Year’s celebrations in Japan often involve eating auspicious foods that bring good luck in the New Year.
However, toshikoshi soba is actually not a specific dish, it’s more like a concept that refers to any soba noodle dish you eat on New Year’s Eve. So other than kake soba (which is most common as it’s quick and easy to make), you can also have tempura soba or duck soba…etc.
Of course, New Year’s Eve in Japan is always very cold, so hot soba dishes are preferred, and because it’s a time to spend with family and friends, most people don’t want to spend too much time preparing food on the day. Kake soba is usually the go-to option on New Year’s Eve because it’s warming, comforting, and quick to make.
Traditionally, soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour. However, these days they are often not 100% buckwheat but a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour.
If the soba noodles are made from 100% buckwheat flour then they are gluten free, but many of them aren’t 100% so please check the packaging before purchasing.
I hope you enjoy this Kake Soba recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Soba Recipes
Kake Soba (New Year’s Eve Soba Noodle Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 portions soba noodles
- 500 ml dashi stock use shiitake and kombu dashi for plant-based diets
- 20 ml dark soy sauce
- 20 ml light soy sauce
- 50 ml mirin
- 1 tsp sake
- 30 g green onion hosonegi cut into 5cm pieces
- 2 pinches Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) shichimi togarashi, to garnish
Instructions
- Cook 2 portions soba noodles according to the packaging.
- Add 500 ml dashi stock, 20 ml dark soy sauce, 20 ml light soy sauce, 50 ml mirin and 1 tsp sake to a separate saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower to a simmer and add 30 g green onion. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Divide the cooked soba into serving bowls and pour the broth over the top. Place the cooked spring onion on top of each bowl.
- Sprinkle 2 pinches Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) or your choice of additional toppings (see in post). Enjoy!
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