Kitsune Soba is one of the very traditional noodle soups, with just seasoned aburaage (fried tofu) and green onions as toppings. The sweet aburaage on the noodles is so delicious. If you use udon noodles instead of soba, it becomes Kitsune Udon.
By using a vegetarian dashi stock, you can make it a perfect vegan noodle soup.
You might wonder why today’s noodle soup is called Kitsune Soba instead of Aburaage Soba. There is a good reason for it.
‘Kitsune’ (狐 or きつね) is fox in Japanese. In the second oldest book of classical Japanese history (early 8th century), the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) fox appears as a messenger of god. That’s why you see statues of foxes at some shrines in Japan.
A statue of fox at inari jinja.
Those shrines with fox statues are called ‘inari jinja’ (稲荷神社), and worship the god of rice and other agricultural produces.
According to Japanese mythology, foxes are fond of aburaage and people offer a sheet of aburaage to the shrine and pray. Hence the name ‘kitsune’ became associated with aburaage. Incidentally, the name of the dish, Inari Sushi (Inarizushi) also came from it, i.e., aburaage and inari jinja.
Kitsune vs Tanuki (Fox vs Racoon Dog)
There is an equally simple noodle soup called Tanuki Soba (or udon). Instead of using seasoned aburaage as a topping, you put in tempura bits called ‘tenkasu’, which are deep-fried tempura batter bits.
Left: Kitsune Soba. Right: Tanuki Soba
‘Tanuki’ (狸 or たぬき) is racoon dog in Japanese. The fox and racoon dog are often compared and considered to be rivals. In old Japanese tales, both the fox and racoon dog are known to bewitch people. They are cunning and crafty.
Since the name of the simple noodle soup with aburaage is kitsune, the similar noodle soup with a different topping is called tanuki.
However, in the Kansai region, udon noodle soup with aburaage is called ‘kitsune’ and ‘tanuki’ is the soba noodle soup with aburaage on it. The udon noodle soup with tenkasu is called ‘haikara’. So confusing!
What’s in My Kitsune Soba (Buckwheat Noodle Soup with Fried Tofu)
- Dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)
- Finely chopped green onion
- Shichimi tōgarashi (optional)
Shichimi tōgharashi is always served with soba or udon noodle soups in Japan. It gives a bit of spiciness to the broth. See the specks of shichimi tōgarashi on the aburaage below.
Broth
The ingredients for the broth is identical to my Tempura Udon noodle soup. If you have a sweet tooth, you can add some sugar to the broth.
- Dashi stock
- Soy sauce
- Mirin
Seasoned Aburaage
If you want to make Kitsune udon, replace the soba with udon. If you are making tanuki soba/udon, replace the Seasoned Aburaage with a plenty of tenkasu. Instead of dried udon noodles, you can follow my recipe here and use fresh Home-made Udon Noodles.
How to Make Kitsune Soba (Buckwheat Noodle Soup with Fried Tofu)
There are three distinct components to today’s recipe as per the steps below, but none of them are difficult.
Making Seasoned Aburaage
- Pour boiling water (not in ingredients) over the aburaage to remove excess oil.
- Put all the Seasoned Aburaage ingredients in a small saucepan and cook until the liquid evaporates.
The flavour of aburaage is very similar to the aburaage used for Home-made Inarizushi. If you want a short cut, you can buy a pack of seasoned aburaage pouches and use them as a substitute. This will certainly speed up the process of making Kitsune Soba! You can find details about store-bought seasoned aburaage in my recipe Quick Inari Sushi (Inarizushi).
Boil Soba Noodles
- Bring plenty of water (not in ingredients) in a large saucepan to a boil.
- Boil the noodles for the duration recommended on the packet of your dried noodles.
- Rinse well under running water.
Step 5 is very important when you boil soba or udon noodles. When noodles are boiled, the starch comes out of them, and it makes the surface of the noodles slimy. The starch also makes the broth cloudy. Rinsing the noodles in cold running water not only removes the starch but also firms up the noodles.
Making Kitsune Soba
- Make a broth.
- Heat the soba noodles in hot water (not in ingredients) to warm them up, then transfer to a serving bowl.
- Pour the broth into the bowl, then put aburaage and green onion on top.
- Serve immediately with shichimi tōgarashi if using.
Using today’s recipe, Kitsune Soba (Buckwheat Noodle Soup with Fried Tofu), you can make the 4 simple noodle soups as below. It’s a bonus!
- Kitsune soba – buckwheat noodle soup with seasoned aburaage as a topping.
- Kitsune udon – udon noodle soup with seasoned aburaage as a topping.
- Tanuki soba – buckwheat noodle soup with tenkasu as a topping.
- Tanuki udon – udon noodle soup with tenkasu as a topping.
I like all of them!
To add colour to the dish, some noodle shops put a couple of slices of pink kamaboko or narutomaki (see the photo below), which are steamed fish paste.
Yumiko
Kitsune Soba is one of the very traditional noodle soups with just seasoned aburaage (fried tofu) and green onions as toppings. The sweet aburaage on the noodles is so delicious.
By using a vegetarian dashi stock, you can make it a perfect vegan noodle soup.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 200g/7oz dried soba noodles (note 1)
- 600ml/1.3pt dashi stock
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 500ml/1.1pt boiling water (can be more)
- 2-3 tbsp green onion finely chopped
- Shichimi tōgarashi (optional)
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Cut each aburaage in the middle to make 4 square pieces.
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Place the aburaage pieces in a sieve or a colander and pour half of the boiling water over them. Turn the aburaage pieces over and pour the rest of the boiling water over them.
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Cool them down a bit, then squeeze the water out of the aburaage pieces.
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Put the aburaage pieces and the rest of the Seasoned Aburaage ingredients into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.
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Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes with a drop lid on until the liquid almost evaporates. Turn the aburaage pieces over halfway through cooking to evenly stain the aburaage with a dark brown colour.
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Turn the heat off and leave until required.
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Bring water (not in Ingredient list) in a large saucepan to a boil (note 4). Put the dried buckwheat noodles in the boiling water and stir for about 15 seconds, ensuring that each strand is separated.
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Boil for the duration that is recommended for your dried buckwheat noodles (note 4).
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Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are completely cooled down. Shake the colander well to remove the excess water.
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Put the Broth ingredients into a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
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Turn the heat off (note 5).
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Fill the boiling water in a separate saucepan or a bowl which can easily fit in a medium-size sieve.
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Place half of the soba noodles in the sieve and dip the noodles in the hot water for 10 seconds or so to warm them up.
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Shake the sieve well to drain water off the noodles and transfer the noodles to a serving bowl.
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Repeat the steps 2 and 3 for the second serving (note 6).
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Pour the broth into each bowl, place two aburaage pieces each on the noodles, and scatter the green onions next to the aburaage.
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Serve immediately with shichimi tōgarashi, if using.
1. I usually use 100g/3.5oz of dried soba noodles for a serving. However, my soba pack contained 250g/8.8oz of dried soba and it indicated 2 servings. I think 125g/4.4oz of dried soba noodles makes a large serving, but it might be just right if you are very hungry or a big eater.
2. Seasoned aburaage freezes well. You can make many of them and stock up in the freezer. It will speed up the cooking process.
The flavour of seasoned aburaage is very similar to the aburaage used for Home-made Inari Sushi (Inarizushi). If you want a short cut, you can buy a pack of the seasoned aburaage pouches that I used in my recipe Quick Inari Sushi (Inarizushi).
3. If you are a vegetarian, you can use a vegetarian dashi such as konbu dashi and shiitake dashi.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can add some sugar.
4. The recommended amount of water to boil the noodles and the duration to boil them is usually written on the back of the package. The cooking duration does vary depending on the brand of the noodles and the percentage of buckwheat included in the dried noodles.
If you don’t have instructions, boil in a generous amount of water and check the doneness by eating a strand from time to time. The centre of the noodle should be just cooked through.
5. It would be good if you make it just in time to serve. If you make a broth too early, bring it to a boil again.
6. I warmed the noodles per serving because it was easier to handle. But you can warm all of the noodles at once, then halve them to serve if you prefer.
7. If you want to make kitsune udon, instead of Kitsune Soba, replace the soba noodles with udon noodles.
As mentioned in my post, tanuki soba is topped with tenkasu, instead of seasoned aburaage. By swapping the topping and noodles, you can make tanuki soba or tanuki udon using this recipe.
To add colour to the dish, you can put a couple of slices of kamaboko or narutomaki.
8: Nutrition per serving. It is assumed that you drink all the broth. If you only drink half of it, you can cut back sodium by almost 50%.
serving: 498g calories: 320kcal fat: 18g (28%) saturated fat: 3.2g (16%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 5.8g monounsaturated fat: 7g cholesterol: 3mg (1%) sodium: 2664mg (111%) potassium: 702mg (20%) carbohydrates: 23g (8%) dietary fibre: 1.1g (4%) sugar: 20g protein: 16g vitamin a: 2.1% vitamin c: 3.3% calcium: 15% iron: 11%
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
I needed to pick a main dish that contains a good amount of protein and vegetables. Jibuni goes very well with Kitsune Soba.
When you order a bowl of soba at a restaurant, it is often served with a small serving of pickles. So, I chose a traditional Pickled Nappa Cabbage for one of the side dishes.
Kitsune Soba serves as a rice dish as well as a soup. So, I decided to pick an extra dish to go with it. I think that a vinegar-based side dish like Octopus and Cucumber Sunomono gives a variety of flavours to the meal. A seaweed dish goes well as an extra side dish.
- Main: Kanazawa-style Simmered Chicken and Tofu (Jibuni) – make ahead for marinating.
- Side dish 1: Octopus and Cucumber Sunomono (Vinegar Dressing) – you can boil octopus ahead of time.
- Side dish 2: Hijiki Seaweed Salad (Hijiki no Nimono) – make ahead.
- Pickles: Japanese-style Pickled Nappa Cabbage – make ahead.
- Noodle Soup: Kitsune Soba (Buckwheat Noodles with Seasoned Fried Tofu) – today’s recipe. You can make seasoned aburaage ahead of time.
Hi Yumiko,
I love your website, and the fact that it is Australian!
have you got a recipe for home made aburaage?
Thank you
Hi Veronique, I have never made aburaage myself. The following is a brief recipe that I obtained from a Japanese website. You will need momen tofu/firm tofu and oil to deep-fry.
1. Slice tofu into 0.5-1 cm thick sheets. 0.5cm is ideal but difficult to do. 1cm makes puffier aburaage.
2. Wrap the tofu slices in a thick towel and leave it overnight. This is to remove water from tofu. The more you remove the water in the tofu the more successful your aburaage making will be.
3. Fry the tofu slices at 130°C for about 8-10 minutes until the tofu sheets puffed up. Turn the sheets over occasionally.
4. Bring the temperature of the oil to 160°C and continue to fry for about 5 minutes until the surface of the tofu becomes yellowish brown.
If removal of water from the tofu is not sufficient, the centre of the tofu pieces will not puff up in step 3. These tofu pieces will never puff up like a normal aburaage.
Good luck!