How can I make really good cold soba noodles?!
Answers: I love cold soba noodles. I've had them in a number or restaurants. Some even have ice floating in them! How can I make these at home? They are SO good!
For zaru soba noodle I personnaly like cha soba (green tea flavoured soba) which is a variation of zaru soba noodle as it gives a more refreshing taste. While zaru soba is brown in colour, cha soba is green in colour. Add a raw fresh quail egg and some scalions, mix into the dipping sauce and the cold noodle taste like heaven with the sauce!
You cant make the ingredients from scatch but most of it is available in upmarket supermarket or japanese supermarket. If you are looking for this recipe here is it :
CLASSIC COLD SOBA NOODLES
FOR THE NOODLES:
1 pound Dried soba or cha-soba noodles (see note)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 sheet nori (compressed seaweed)
1/4 cup chopped whole scallions
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger
1 tablespoon wasabi powder or paste
FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lightly packed katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
1/2 cup tamari soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 teaspoons fine sugar
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, add the noodles, and bring the water back to a boil. Pour in 1 cup of cold water and return to a boil. Add another cup of cold water, return to the boil and cook about 3 minutes until the noodles are barely tender.
Drain, rinse noodles under running cold water and drain again. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle on the sesame oil and lightly toss to coat. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.
Toast the nori over a flame (better) or electric burner until it turns bright green and feels crisp. Cut into fine shreds.
Peel and grate the ginger. If using wasabi powder, turn it into a paste with a little cold water and sake.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool, then strain through a fine sieve. Chill.
Serve the noodles on flat can baskets, lacquered trays or chilled plates. You may want to brush the plates with sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Scatter the shredded nori on top and give each diner a small tray containing a little dish of scallions, a mound of ginger, a portion of wasabi, one fresh quail egg and a bowl of the dipping sauce.
(Note : you can enchance the flavor of the noodle by placing ice in the serving tray before putting the noodle)
*Cha-soba are buckwheat noodles colored and flavored with finely ground, bright green Japanese tea leaves.
Have fun!
CHICKEN AND SHRIMP NOODLE SALAD
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
4 oz. Chuka Soba noodles or spaghetti
Boiling salted water
1 tbsp. sesame oil
6 oz. (2 1/2 c.) bean sprouts
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 sm. cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 lb. med. size shrimp, cooked, shelled, and deveined
1/2 c. sliced green onion
Prepare salad dressing and set aside. In a small frying pan over low heat, cook sesame seeds until golden, about 2 minutes. Drop Chuka Soba noodles in large pot of boiling salted water.
When water returns to full boil and noodles float to the top, cook for 2 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again. Toss noodles with sesame oil, then chill. Cook bean sprouts in large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again; chill.
SWEET AND SOUR DRESSING:
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 c. rice wine vinegar or 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Dash of red pepper
Blend all ingredients in bowl.
To serve, place noodles on a serving platter. Arrange bean sprouts, chicken, cucumber, and shrimp on top of noodles. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss until well blended.
Victorgal's answer is impressive, she gave you the details of how to prepare soba.
They are yummy & addictive! Here are a few more recipes, they are just some of my personal favorites:
Spicy Cold Soba Noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons chili oil
3 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
Salt
1/2 pound soba or Japanese buckwheat noodles
1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
Place soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, stir in molasses, and return to simmer. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add sesame oil, tahini, chili oil, and vinegar, and whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt, if desired.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add noodles, bring back to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to soften, about 3 minutes. (Soba noodles can overcook very quickly, so stay nearby.)
Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Drain noodles, plunge in iced water, and drain again. Place in a colander and rinse well under cold running water. Combine noodles and sauce, toss well with scallions, and chill. Serve in small nests on lettucelined plates with Chopped Tofu and Parsley.
**************************************...
Chilled Ginger Soba Noodles
6 ounces soba (buckwheat) noodles*
For dressing:
1-inch piece fresh gingerroot
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar, if desired
Salt
*Available at Asian markets and natural foods stores
In a 4-quart kettle bring 3 1/2 quarts salted water to a boil for noodles. Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water.
Make dressing: Peel and grate ginger to yield 1 tablespoon. In a small sieve set over a small bowl press gingerroot to extract juice. In a bowl stir together 1 teaspoon ginger juice and remaining dressing ingredients with salt, to taste.
Add noodles to boiling water and cook 2 to 4 minutes, or until al dente. Drain noodles in a colander and immediately transfer to ice water. Swish noodles until cold and drain well. Add noodles to dressing and toss well. Noodles may be made 1 hour ahead and chilled, covered. Toss noodles before serving.
**************************************...
Cold Almond-Cucumber Soba Noodle Salad
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
? Juice of 2 limes
? 2 tablespoons soy sauce
? 1 tablespoon sesame oil
? 1/2 pound soba noodles, blanched in salty water, shocked & rinsed well
? 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, julienned
? 1 red bell pepper, julienned
? 1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly
? 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
? 1/4 cup shiso ribbons
? Togarashi for garnish
? Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine lime juice and soy sauce. Whisk in sesame oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add soba noodles, cucumbers, red pepper, scallions, almonds and shiso ribbons; toss to coat and combine.
Check for flavor, season if necessary, garnish with togarashi.
ingredients:
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce add to desired taste
1 tbs minced ginger
soba noodles
cook soba noodles as directed on package
drain the soba noodles
add all the ingredients together mix well add salt or more soy sauce if needed
put in refrig. for 10 mins and enjoy!
I eat soba alot and I do it the easy way. I buy concentrated soup stock and dilute it. Directions are on the bottle. I have made stock from scratch but the concentrate is just as good and alot less work. They are very popular in Japan. The concentrate can be purchased in asian stores or online. Look for "dashi" which means stock. The concentrate can be used for udon, soba, and somen. Left over concentrate can be kepted in the frig for months. Once the basic stock is made, I add what I want such as wasabi, green onions, sesame oil, pepper, etc. whatever floats your boat.
Soba noodles comes in dry packages like pasta. You can buy them at asian markets.
LOL