Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

Soba is more popular in Japan. A tradition which originated from the Tokugawa period when the population of Edo (Tokyo), being considerably wealthier than the rural poor, who were more susceptible to beri beri due to their high consumption of white rice, which is low in thiamine.

Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). They are roughly as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot and cold dishes. The most basic soba dish is zaru soba in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a Soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu).

Like pasta, soba noodles are available in dried form in supermarkets, but they taste best if freshly made by hand from flour and water. Soba making has also become a popular tourist attraction for domestic and international travellers. The activity is offered by many community centres and travel tour companies.

They often form the basis for traditional cold dishes, including soba topped with Japanese yams, daikon radishes, sliced okra, or fermented soybeans. Hot soba noodles are frequently served in soup. In particular, hot tsuyu is a thinned version of cold tsuyu that serves as a dipping sauce for cold soba noodles.

Small cafes and little stands at train stations are popular spots for grabbing a quick dish of hot or cold soba noodles. Many people also make them at home and can easily purchase dried soba noodles from grocery stores. Both soba noodles and udon may be offered in local cafes.

For zaru soba, the noodles are then boiled and cooled down with cold water, before served with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu), wasabi, nori seaweed and negi (Japanese leek). The water used to boil the noodles (soba-yu) is often added to the remaining tsuyu and drunken at the end of the meal.

Other popular soba dishes are noodle soups with various toppings, such as Kitsune Soba, Tanuki Soba and Tsukimi Soba. Despite the name, the popular dish Yakisoba is not made with soba noodles, but rather with Chinese style noodles (chukamen).

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