• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Asian Test Kitchen

make it better @ home

  • Home
  • Easy Recipes
  • Wine Pairings
  • About
You are here: Home / Ingredient / noodles / Homemade Soba Noodles Sauce Recipe for Long Life

Homemade Soba Noodles Sauce Recipe for Long Life

Published: Jan 16, 2019 · Updated: Sep 10, 2019 · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
soba noodles sauce with soba on plate
purple and green soba noodles on chopsticks

Buckwheat soba noodles are healthy and easy to prepare, but what is in that dipping sauce they come with at Japanese restaurants?

soba noodles sauce with soba on plate

The answer can be found in The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo.

Traditional Soba Noodle Sauce – Tsukejiru

The traditional sauce is called “tsukejiru” in Japan and is made of 2 things:

  1. Kaeshi  – A mixture of soy sauce, tamari, and sugar that is made a week ahead to let the flavors meld.  Traditionalists require this melding time.
  2. Dashi – A fish broth made of bonito flakes, kelp, and water.

These two items are then heated together with additional bonito flakes to make the final sauce.

Quick ‘n Easy Soba Noodles Sauce

Goal: A homemade soba noodle dipping sauce that tastes better than a store bought version that is quick and easy to prepare.

This recipe eliminates the time required for the traditional melding of soy sauces and dashi broths into a one-pot version that can be eaten the same day.

This is accomplished via:

  1. Mirin – for the sugar component that has additional flavor from the alcohol
  2. Soy sauce – for the savory component
  3. Bonito flakes – for the fish flavor component

Since mirin contains alcohol, it is simmered with water for about a minute to burn off the harsh alcohol flavor.  You need the water to thin out the sauce.

Then soy sauce and bonito are added.  It should steep for about 10-15 minutes before straining and cooling completely.

soba noodles on plate with dipping sauce

Make it Vegan

To make this vegan, you substitute a rich mushroom and kelp stock instead of water.

Buckwheat is Gluten-Free but Soba is usually not

Buckwheat, by itself, is not a grain.  Since it doesn’t have gluten, it is difficult to stretch it into a noodle.

You can find 100% buckwheat soba noodles, however, many manufacturers will add some wheat or yam starch to make the dough pliable.  This also results in a chewier noodle.

Buckwheat flour is also more expensive so adding other starches makes it more economical to produce.  More buckwheat flour will result in a darker, nuttier noodle, and you can compare the color of the noodles in different brands.

3 different types of soba noodles

Soba noodles come in many other varieties besides buckwheat. There are green tea and purple yam varieties. Tri-color spaghetti anyone?

Soba is eaten on NYE for Long Life

This cold soba noodle dish is eaten on special occasions such as New Year’s Eve.  As in other Asian cultures, the long, thin noodles represent a long life with extended happiness.

These end of year noodles are called “toshikoshi” soba, which means “cross the year” soba noodles.

purple and green soba noodles on chopsticks

Traditional Serving Method for Soba

Soba noodles would traditionally be laid on bamboo mats to let excess moisture drain from the cold noodles.  They would be served with following accompaniments on the side to mix into your sauce bowl:

  • grated daikon
  • seaweed nori strips
  • sliced green onion
  • wasabi
grated daikon on cutting board

Grate daikon easily with a microplane grater. It achieves a fine texture that can be mixed into the dipping sauce bowl.

Cook soba noodles in about 5 minutes

soba noodles cooking in pot

Soba noodles should be cooked in about 4 times the volume of water than noodle. Cook according to the package directions, usually only 4-5 minutes.

Save that Pasta Water

While many cooks would save the pasta cooking water for Italian pasta as part of the sauce, the cooking water from the soba noodles is actually saved and served in a tea pot.

It can be drunk as “tea” or mixed into the leftover sauce bowl for soup.

Soba can be cooked ahead of time

soba noodles in strainer with cold water

Run the soba noodles under cool running water with some ice if available. Because buckwheat does not contain gluten, the noodles don’t get so sticky and will remain separated.

Because it contains less gluten than an Italian pasta, the soba will not get too sticky.  You don’t need to add oil to the noodles to keep them from sticking.

Instead, leave them to drain the colander and refresh with cold water to loosen before serving.  They can also be left in the refrigerator for a few hours.

History of Buckwheat in Japan

The Chinese introduced buckwheat to Japan, and by the 8th century, Japan was growing buckwheat along with rice and millet.

Buckwheat soba noodles first appeared in the late 16th century and have since become a fast food staple.

Healthy Fast Food

Buckwheat soba noodles are favorite among the busy lunch time crowd in Japan.  They are cold and can be slurped down quickly (and very loudly).

Loud slurping is so common in Japan and not at all a sign of poor taste or manners.

This recipe for soba noodles sauce is easy, fat free, and pairs with wonderfully healthy and nutritious buckwheat pasta.  It should be in everyone’s repertoire for a quick lunch or special year end meal.

soba noodles on plate with soba noodles sauce

More Quick ‘n Easy Recipes:

Garlic Noodles with Extra Special Garlic

Quickest, Coolest Japanese Tofu Salad

Quickie Miso Mirin Clams

Newsletter

Subscribe for tips, tricks, and time saving hacks!

Please wait...

Thank you so much for signing up!

soba noodles on plate with soba noodles sauce
Print Pin

Cold Soba Noodles with Homemade Dipping Sauce

Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword noodles
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 153kcal
Author Asian Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 4 bundles buckwheat soba noodles about 19 oz of noodles

Homemade Dipping Sauce

  • 1/2 c mirin
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1/2 c loosely packed bonito flakes
  • 3 Tb soy sauce

Garnishes

  • finely grated daikon
  • wasabi
  • shredded nori seaweed strips

Instructions

  • Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add soba noodles and cook according to package directions, about 4-5 minutes.  Drain and cool with cold running water or ice. 
  • Bring 1/2 c mirin and 1/2 c water to a boil.  Simmer for 30 seconds to remove the alcohol.  Turn off heat and add bonito flakes.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Strain and add soy sauce. 
  • Serve noodles and dipping sauce in separate dishes.  Add garnishes as desired. 

Nutrition

Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 21g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 1068mg | Potassium: 285mg | Sugar: 7g | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @asiantestkitchn or tag #asiantestkitchen!

P.S. Do you love long life noodles? Please spread the Asian ♥ and share!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin

Filed Under: noodles Tagged With: dairy-free, japanese, make ahead, quick

Previous Post: « Easy Thai Basil Chicken Recipe
Next Post: French Biodynamic Wine Gets Crabby »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Newsletter

Subscribe for tips, tricks, and time saving hacks!

Please wait...

Thank you so much for signing up!

Popular Posts

korean sesame spinach with sesame seeds

Easiest Ever Korean Sesame Spinach side dish

3 French Cheeses and a bottle and glass of Vacqueyras French red wine

3 MUST TRY French Cheese & Alcohol Pairings #winophiles

easy baked ling cod with a bottle and glass of sparkling riesling

Easy Baked Ling Cod with 3-Ingredient Miso Glaze

bottle of chablis wine with sushi plates, brie cheese, and potato croquettes

Top 5 Chablis Pairings with Japanese Food #winophiles

Winter Recipes

healthy ambrosia salad 5

Coconut Fruit Salad (Dairy Free Asian Ambrosia)

Sliced Japanese pork cutlet on a wooden cutting board with a glass of beer.

Tonkatsu Pork Recipe + Asahi Beer

Fork twirling vegetarian black bean sauce noodles - Korean

Vegan Korean Black Bean Noodles: Jia Jiang Myeon

Egg drop soup in a mini red heart ceramic pot

Easy Egg Drop Soup Recipe (and 3 ways to make egg ribbons)

beef ramen noodle stir fry on wood plate with lambrusco wine

Beef Ramen Noodle Stir Fry in 15 minutes

Vegan Korean Soft Tofu Soup or Soondubu Jigae in black pot

Vegan Korean Tofu Soup Recipe

See More →

Footer

copyright © 2019. all rights reserved.

Amazon Affiliate

Asiantestkitchen.com is a participant in the Amazon Affiliates LLC program.  A very small commission may be received for purchases you make from clicking links on this site, but never at any extra cost to you.

Welcome!

I cooked in restaurants for 10 years but can't stand doing it at home. Let's make this as EASY as possible. Read More…

Copyright © 2019 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in