Hey guys, Yuto here (@sudachi.recipes)
What are soba noodles?
One of the most popular Japanese noodles
When you think of Japanese noddles, what comes up first?
- Ramen
- Udon
- Soba
You might think of something else too.
Soba is a type of noodle made from buckwheat flour and has a distinctive greyish brown colour.
It has a great history of roughly 1400 years and considered one of the most iconic Japanese dishes along with Sushi or Tempura...etc.
From cold to hot
Soba can be served cold or hot.
As you can expect, people prefer cold soba dishes in summer and soba with hot soup in winter.
Most popular examples:
- Zaru Soba (ざるそば): Cold soba with dipping sauce
- Kake Soba (かけそば): Soba with simple hot soup
- Tempura Soba: Soba (Hot or cold) served with tempura
The list goes on and on! The possibility of soba is limitless!
Summer favourite
What do Japanese people eat in summer?
Do you know what is the most common summer lunch dishes in ordinary Japanese homes?
I'd say cold noodles!
- Cold somen
- Cold udon
- Cold soba
- Cold ramen (冷やし中華)
Those are summery lunch legends!
It can be simply cold noodles with dipping sauce, or you can add extra ingredients like Hiyashi Chuka.
Cold soba with summer vegetables
In today's recipe, I specifically use 3 summer vegetables such as:
- Aubergine (Egg plant)
- Tomato
- Okra
But the vegetable choice doesn't have to be limited to these above, you can use any popular summer vegetables in your country!
Seasonal vegetables are the best!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is soba noodles made of?
Soba noodles are made from mainly buckwheat flour along with normal flour and water.
What is the difference between soba and udon noodles?
Soba is grey-ish brown in colour and thinner than udon, whereas udon is white and tends to be very thick.
Can Vegans eat soba noodles?
The noodles themselves are vegan.
Cold Soba Noodles With Summer Vegetables (夏野菜そば)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 portions 1x
Description
How to make filling cold soba noodles with summer vegetables
Ingredients
- 200g Dried soba noodles
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 50g Mince meat (Chicken or Pork)
- 1 Medium tomato
- 1 Aubergine (Egg plant)
- 3 Okra
- 2 tbsp Chopped spring onions to garnish
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Miso paste
Instructions
- Boil 200g of dried soba noodles as instructed on the packaging.
- Slice a medium tomato, cut a small aubergine into small chunks and cut the okra into 2cm pieces.
- In a frying pan add 1 tsp of sesame oil and 50g of minced meat (of your choice, we prefer chicken but it works well with beef or pork too) and fry on a medium setting.
- Once the meat is browned, add the cut aubergine and continue to fry.
- When the aubergine becomes a bit soft, add 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 2 tbsp of miso paste and mix.
- Now you can add the okra and mix all the ingredients together in the pan.
- Cook until the liquid is reduced and then turn off the heat.
- When the soba noodles are cooked, drain the hot water and transfer to a colander. Put the noodles under cold running water, you can even use ice to make them extra cold.
- Drain well and transfer the noodles to 2-3 plates.
- Evenly distribute the meat and vegetables from the frying pan to the top of the noodles and lay the sliced tomatoes to the side.
- Sprinkle with spring onions.
- Serve up and mix well before eating.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Any minced meat goes well with this recipe, we like chicken the best! You can use meat substitute mince too.
You can use other summery vegetables such as bell peppers, courgette (zucchini) or cucumber. Be creative!
- Category: Noodles
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Japanese
Keywords: Japanese soba noodles,Soba noodle recipe,Summer soba recipe,Cold soba recipe,Soba noodles with summer vegetables,Soba noodles with miso,How to make cold Japanese soba noodles,Summer vegetables Japanese recipe
Leave a Reply