Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce
Chilled buckwheat soba noodles served with a savoury soy-mirin dipping sauce, scallions, nori and wasabi. A refreshing Japanese lunch for warm days.
By Tasty Nest Recipes Editorial TeamPublished
18 min total 2 servingsEasy
Photo: joyosity · CC BY 2.0. Illustrative photo; your results may look different.
About this recipe
Zaru soba is one of the simplest and most refreshing Japanese dishes: buckwheat noodles cooked, rinsed in cold water and served chilled, with a small bowl of savoury dipping sauce on the side.
Rinsing the cooked noodles thoroughly removes excess starch, so they stay springy and separate rather than sticky. Dip each mouthful into the sauce with a little scallion and wasabi.
Equipment you'll need
- Large pot
- Colander
- Small saucepan
Tips for success
- Do not add salt to the cooking water for soba.
- Stir the noodles as they cook to stop them sticking together.
- Many soba noodles contain wheat; look for 100% buckwheat (juwari) soba if you need them gluten-free, and use tamari.
Substitutions and variations
- Use water instead of dashi for a vegetarian sauce, or add a small piece of kombu while simmering.
- Top with shredded cucumber, a soft-boiled egg or tofu for a heartier lunch.
- Use store-bought noodle soup base (mentsuyu), diluted, instead of making the sauce.
Storage
To store: The dipping sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 1 week. Cooked soba is best eaten the day it is made.
Recipe
Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce
Chilled buckwheat soba noodles served with a savoury soy-mirin dipping sauce, scallions, nori and wasabi. A refreshing Japanese lunch for warm days.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Total
- 18 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
Tick off ingredients as you gather them.
Dipping sauce (tsuyu)
Noodles and toppings
Instructions
Step 1: Make the sauce
Bring the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar to a simmer in the small saucepan, then remove from the heat and chill until cold.
Step 2: Cook the noodles
Cook the soba in plenty of boiling water according to the package, usually 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender.
Step 3: Rinse and chill
Drain the noodles and rinse them under cold running water, rubbing them gently with your hands to remove the starch. Finish with a quick dunk in ice water and drain well.
Step 4: Serve
Pile the noodles onto plates and top with nori strips. Serve the dipping sauce in small bowls with scallions, wasabi and grated daikon to stir in.
Cuisine: Japanese · Course: Lunch
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370
- Protein
- 14 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 77 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Sugars
- 8 g
Approximate values estimated from typical nutrition data for the listed ingredients, excluding optional toppings and serving suggestions. Actual values vary with brands, portion sizes and substitutions. Not verified by a dietitian or laboratory analysis.
tastynestrecipes.com/recipes/cold-soba-noodles
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