Zaru soba (cold soba noodles) is the best way to eat soba (buckwheat) noodles – the simplest form of eating noodles and so fast to make. It is a popular summer dish in Japan of course but if you want to be like a connoisseur and enjoy the soba itself, then eat cold even in winter. Use konbu dashi to make it a perfect vegetarian dish.
I was going to post something more substantial this week but Sydney was suffering from a massive heatwave when I was preparing for this post and I had no energy to cook a dish that requireed some effort. So I decided to post the simplest cold noodle dish – zaru soba (ざる蕎麦, cold soba noodles).
Soba (蕎麦 or そば) is buckwheat in Japanese but when people say “soba”, it often refers to soba noodles, which are made from buckwheat flour or a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours, light brown and very thin. It is quite a contrast to udon which is wheat noodles, white and usually much thicker than soba.
Just like sushi shops in Japan, there are many Japanese noodle shops which specialise in soba. These specialty soba noodle shops make the noodles from buckwheat flour. Often you can see the process of making soba noodles even from the outside the shop.
There are several prefectures which are famous for good soba noodles and one of them is Nagano prefecture where I often go to ski. When I was a child, my father took me and my siblings to Nagano to ski every winter and spring. This annual event lasted until we graduated high school. Soba, particularly cold soba, is my father’s favourite food and we ate freshly made soba noodles every time we went there.
Perhaps because of the repetitive soba eating experience in Nagano since my childhood, I became fond of soba noodles as well. In fact, I like soba better than udon. I like the flavour of buckwheat.
Soba can be served as a cold noodle dish like zaru soba or can be in hot soup with toppings as a noodle soup. But if you really want to enjoy the flavour of soba itself, I would strongly recommend that you eat it cold. I read in a Japanese soba article that some soba fanatics would not consider the soba in hot soup as “soba”. I don’t agree though.
Cold soba is very easy to make and great on a hot summer day when you don’t even have much of an appetite. All you need to do is to boil soba and make dipping sauce which can be made ahead of time.
Zaru soba and Mori soba
When you go to a Japanese soba noodle shop, you will find zaru soba and mori soba (盛り蕎麦). Both are cold soba with exactly the same noodle and dipping sauce. The only difference is that zaru soba has shredded nori (roasted seaweed sheet) on it.
According to soba history, the name “mori soba” came from the verb “moru (盛る)”, which in this context means to pile up on a plate. And zaru soba did not exist initially. Then one of the soba chefs in Tokyo plated soba noodles on a flat bamboo basket/strainer for a change. The flat bamboo basket/strainer is called “zaru (ざる)” and zaru soba was born. Both were just noodles on a plate or bamboo basket/strainer so shredded nori was added on top of zaru soba noodles to distinguish it from mori soba.
Dried Soba Noodles
In Sydney, I buy dried soba noodles from Asian/Japanese grocery stores and simply boil them. I think some supermarkets sell dried soba noodles, too. There are quite a few different brands of dried soba noodles and you might be confused as to which brand might be the best.
Some soba brands indicate the ratio of buckwheat and wheat flours mixed in the soba noodles. The more buckwheat flour, the more flavour and the more expensive. Some contain mountain yam like the soba on the right in the photo above. It is really your preference as to what sort of soba noodles are the best, but in general the more expensive dried soba noodles cook to al dente better. I once bought a pack of dried soba noodles from the supermarket close by. Its colour was close to white instead of the brown colour of buckwheat. When cooked, it was almost crumbly even if I did not cook for a long time.
A pack of dried soba noodles usually come in 2-4 bunches. Each bunch is for one serve and tied with a paper or plastic tape. Remove the tape and spread noodles into boiling water to boil.
It is important to rinse under cold water after boiling. This serves two purposes – to remove stickiness around each noodle and to stop further cooking. This needs to be done regardless of whether you are eating them cold or hot.
Dipping Sauce
Making dipping sauce for zaru soba, or mori soba for that matter, is based on the simple ratio of dashi stock, soy sauce and mirin – 4:1:1 respectively. If you read my post Tempura, you will notice that this is identical to the tempura dipping sauce. Other recipes might use slightly different combinations of dashi, soy sauce and mirin but I use this ratio for both and I am happy with it.
To elaborate this further, I can tell you that by doubling the amount of dashi to 8:1:1 (dashi:soy sauce:mirin), you can make broth for hot soba noodle soup. Isn’t it easy to remember?
How to Eat Zaru Soba
Zaru soba is served with a small bowl of dipping sauce, finely chopped shallots (scallions) and wasabi. Usually at soba restaurants, dipping sauce is served in a small bottle and you add an appropriate amount of sauce into a small bowl, which is also supplied. Shallots and wasabi should be mixed into the dipping sauce but it is optional, hence they are usually served on a small place separately.
The best chopsticks to eat noodles with would be a pair of disposable wooden or bamboo chopsticks. I personally prefer wooden ones with a flat tip, not a pointy tip, which makes it easy to pick up few strands of noodles.
Pick up a few strands of noodles and dip only the bottom half of them into the dipping sauce by simply lowering the chopsticks with noodles. Many people drop all the noodles they just picked up into the dipping sauce but this is not a real gourmet way of eating buckwheat noodles. By dipping only part of the soba noodles in, you can taste the flavour of the noodles and enjoy it better.
Can you see that the yaki nori piece at the top of the photo above is not wet while the bottom part of the noodles and yaki nori pieces are dipped in the sauce?
I mentioned this in my blog page “Japanese Eating Etiquette” under the menu “About” that you should make a slurping noise when eating noodles. Zaru soba is not the noodles in soup but it gets dipped in dipping sauce so the same rules apply. Japanese people find it odd to see people eating noodles quietly. It is a cultural signifier to feel enjoyment from the diners.
Yumiko
- 2 bunches of dried soba noodles (note 1)
- 200ml (6.8oz) dashi stock
- 50ml (1.7oz) soy sauce
- 50ml (1.7oz) mirin
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots (scallions)
- Wasabi (Japanese horseradish)
- Julienned yaki nori (roasted seaweed sheet)
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Add dipping sauce ingredients into a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
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When small bubbles start coming up around the edge, let it cook for about 15 seconds and turn off the heat. Cool down at least to room temperature (note 2).
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Boil water in a large saucepan. Remove the tape from each bunch (if it is bunched) and spread noodles into the pan. Mix for about 15 seconds ensuring that each strand is separated.
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Boil for the duration recommended on the back of the pack (4-6 minutes depending on the brand).
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Drain into colander and rinse well under running water. Shake the colander well to remove water at the bottom of the colander and leave until required.
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Plate soba noodles on a large plate to share or two plates for individual serves.
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Sprinkle yaki nori on the top.
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Serve with dipping sauce in a small bowl with condiments.
1. Each bunch is usually 90g (3.2oz) of dried noodles. When cooked, it expands in volume. Depending on how hungry you are, some people might find that a bunch of soba per person is a bit too much. If left over, you can add the soba in clear soup or make salad!
2. You could serve the dipping sauce warm if you like. Some people in Japan eat zaru soba with warm dipping sauce. But I personally like it cool otherwise it seems to defeat the whole purpose of having cold noodles.
3. If you don't use yaki nori, then call it mori soba.
4. You will find that the amount of dipping sauce is quite a lot for the noodles. The leftover can be frozen and used for simmering dishes or noodles soups.
I just made this recipe vegan and gluten free with 100% buckwheat noodles and vegan dashi stock and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing how to make this- I ended up eating 4 servings of noodles worth 😂
I had a lot of leftover dipping sauce even halving dipping sauce amount with 200g of noodles though so people making this should keep that in mind!
Hi Alex, that’s wonderful. I can totally understand how you ended up eating many servings as I often do. Can’t stop it, right?
Thanks for the note on the amount of dipping sauce. I must admit that the portion per serving is quite large. I should mention that in the note. Having said that, it is common in Japan to have a bit of excess sauce left. The traditional way of finishing zaru soba is that you drink the dipping sauce after diluting it with the hot water that was used to boil the soba noodles. Instead of draining the hot water after boiling the noodles, you preserve it as it contains good soba flavour.
Hi Yumiko…Thanks soo much for your ZARU SOBA recipe and background narrative. I was introduced to ZARU SOBA here in Northern California by a Japanese friend in her Sushi restaurant; and have loved it ever since (no matter the season!). I order it every time I find it on the menu (which, unfortunately is not often enough). It’s good to know the proper way to prepare and enjoy it when I can. You have a wonderful blog (very Professional! ) which I will reference often in my own attempts at preparing Japanese food at home. I didn’t notice if you have a recipe for ODEN (or is it ODIN?); but I would like to try that sometime.
Thanks.
Gary
Hi Gary, thanks a lot! I can eat Zaru Soba all year around too. I posted Oden sometime ago. Here is the link. I love Oden too.
I also thank you Yumiko. I find so many healthy recipes that I am able to use in my kosher kitchen. Many times you give me a vegetarian version as in your dashi recipes. These are building blocks for your other delicious posts.
I also loved the post about etiquette. I will do my best to translate most of that one into Hebrew for my granddaughters. Jewish custom is to avoid pouring liquids back-handed. It is how the dead are washed before burial. It is interesting to know these traditions and avoid insulting the people you wish to befriend. I love Mexico, so I would never give yellow chrysanthemums since they are used for the Day of the Dead.
Hi Debbie. thanks a lot! It is always good to know customs of the country you are visiting, isn’t it? My children and I went to Mexico in 2015 when the Day of Dead was on. Gold flowers were everywhere and we had great time there.
I’m very interested in buckwheat recipes. I find I am more and more unable to eat wheat, and am told buckwheat is NOT a wheat. Yay! It’s a member of the rhubarb family. Imagine.
Do you have a recipe for a cold, but spicy soba noodle dish? Don’t know where I’ve eaten it but I’d love to make it.
I did not know that buckwheat was not a member of wheat family and I am glad that you can eat buckwheat.
I have not made a cold spicy soba noodle dish. I will look into it and if I find a recipe, I will let you know.
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Thank you Yumiko! I want you to know that your blog is the Japanese version of “Cooks Illustrated” or “Serious Eats” to me. Please keep up the good work! I really appreciate your narrative about your recipes.
Hi Heather. Thank you so much! Wow, it is honoured to be equated to these famous sites!
Yumiko, I wanted to write and tell you how happy I am that I found your blog. I am really enjoying your posts. I spent a year in Japan in high school as an exchange student and ate many delicious meals in the home of my host family. In the many years that have transpired since then I have forgotten many of them and regrettably never learned to make much more that curry from a box. Not only are your recipes simple and delicious, but they bring back such memories for me! In addition, I so appreciate your detailed directions and advice on which products to buy when abroad. As we all know, a good home cook can make a dish look deceptively easy, and so it is only by knowing their “tricks” that I can hope to replicate it. Thank you so much for sharing all of this!!!
Hi Donna. It is my pleasure and I will feel great if my site brings your fond memory back.
Thank you for posting this recipe. We enjoy eating this during the hot evenings in summer(which are months away)–quick and easy to prepare, light but, so worth it. I enjoy it also with nagai-imo which, by the way, took me awhile to appreciate. Definitely making this when summer rolls around.
Writing a recipe post from Down Under makes it a bit awkward as I am torn between making a dish for the hot summer or the cold winter.
Eg. I feel like posting a hotpot for the readers in northern hemisphere but then Aussie wouldn’t want to even read about it, especially at the moment when we are suffering from the heatwave!