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–+ servings

Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Homemade Dipping Sauce)

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Chilling Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 portions

Ingredients 
 

Additions

Instructions 

  • Take a small pan and add 200 ml dashi stock, 5 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and 4 tsp mirin. Boil for 1 minute, add ½ tbsp sugar to the pan and mix until dissolved.
    Heating homemade mentsuyu sauce in a sauce pan
  • Take the pan off the heat, pour the dipping sauce into a heatproof jug and add 1 dried shiitake mushroom. Leave to cool, then once cool to the touch, chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
    cooling homemade mentsuyu sauce in a heatproof measuring jug
  • Cook 120 g dry soba noodles according to the instructions on the packaging (usually 5-6 minutes).
    boiling soba noodles in a pot of water
  • Once cooked, pour the soba noodles into a strainer and drain away the cooking water. Rinse under cold water and add a few ice cubes to chill them quickly.
    cooling cooked soba noodles with ice
  • Divide 1 tsp wasabi paste, 1 tsp grated ginger root, 2 tbsp tempura flakes (tenkasu) and 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions between small individual serving plates.
    chopped green onion, grated ginger and wasabi paste in a speckled bowl
  • Place the soba noodles on the "zaru" and sprinkle 2 tbsp kizami nori (shredded nori) over the top. Serve each portion with individual cups of dipping sauce and the plate of additional ingredients to mix in.
    zaru soba on a bamboo tray topped with nori and served next to homemade mentsuyu dipping sauce and a small plate with chopped green onion, wasabi and grated ginger
  • Enjoy it on its own or with crispy tempura!

Notes

  • You can use the same recipe to make zaru udon, just replace the udon noodles with soba noodles.
  • If you're doubling or tripling the recipe, the mentsuyu will take longer to cool.
  • You can keep left over mentsuyu in the fridge for about 1 month so I recommend making extra if you plan to make zaru udon or zaru soba often during the summer!
  • If you want to make it vegan, you can use my vegan awase dashi recipe.