Mild and refreshing, Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles) is the final word ten-minute summer season meal. Slippery buckwheat noodles cool you down quick, and the briny soy-dashi dipping sauce makes each chunk shiny and savory.
Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles) is my household’s go-to when the warmth and humidity soar. Tender, chilled noodles relaxation on a bamboo mat, prepared for a fast dip in icy mentsuyu so you possibly can slurp them up chilly. I’ll present you the best way to make the speedy selfmade sauce, prepare dinner the noodles in order that they keep chewy, and serve them with traditional toppings—all utilizing pantry staples you in all probability have readily available.
In the event you love chilled noodle dishes, strive my Soba Noodle Salad, Hiyashi Chuka, and Japanese Chilly Somen Noodles recipes subsequent!
What’s Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles)?
Zaru soba (ざる蕎麦) is Japan’s traditional chilled buckwheat noodle dish, first loved in the course of the Edo interval (1603–1868). Its identify comes from the zaru, a bamboo strainer that retains the ice-cold noodles lifted so extra water can drain away. Diners shortly dip the noodles in a savory sauce known as tsuyu, brightening every chunk with toppings like inexperienced onion and contemporary wasabi. Zaru Soba is beloved as a fast, cool strategy to beat the summer season warmth.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Fast 10-minute summer season meal
- Cools you down quick
- Makes use of widespread Japanese pantry substances
Elements for Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles)
- Dried soba noodles
- Do-it-yourself mentsuyu (noodle soup base) – for the dipping sauce; or use bottled
- Sake
- Soy sauce
- Mirin
- Kombu (dried kelp)
- Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
- Shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
- Inexperienced onions/scallions
- Iced water
- Wasabi (non-compulsory)
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- Soba noodles: It’s as much as you what kind you employ. Ju-wari soba (十割そば) is product of 100% buckwheat flour; it has a powerful aroma and taste and is extra dry and crumbly. Hachi-wari soba (八割そば) is comprised of 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour; it’s smoother and has an al dente texture.
- Mentsuyu: Comply with my directions to make the selfmade model or purchase handy bottled mentsuyu from a Japanese or Asian grocery retailer.
- Sake: Substitute dry sherry or Chinese language rice wine, or use water.
- Mirin: In the event you don’t have it, strive utilizing 3 elements sake (or water) to 1 half sugar. The flavour isn’t the identical, however it’s shut.
- Soy sauce: Use tamari soy sauce for gluten-free.
Methods to Make Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles)
Preparation
- Simmer the sauce. Boil sake to prepare dinner off the alcohol, then add soy sauce, mirin, kombu, and katsuobushi. Simmer for five minutes, let cool, pressure, and refrigerate.
Cooking
- Boil and chill the noodles. Boil a big pot of unsalted water and fan within the soba noodles. Prepare dinner in keeping with the bundle instructions till simply tender. Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water (sobayu) and put aside for the tip of the meal. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse beneath chilly water, gently rubbing off the starch. Then chill in an ice bathtub for 30 seconds and drain effectively.
Assemble
- Plate. Mound one serving of noodles onto every bamboo mat. Sprinkle with shredded nori. Reduce the inexperienced onion and put it on a small dish.
- Combine the sauce and serve. Dilute concentrated mentsuyu with iced water within the serving pitcher, and pour into particular person dipping cups.
- Serve and luxuriate in. Add your condiments to the dipping cup, then dip the soba noodles, and slurp. End by stirring sizzling sobayu into the remaining sauce and consuming it like tea. End by stirring sizzling sobayu into the remaining sauce and consuming it like tea.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Use loads of water. Soba releases starch shortly. An enormous pot prevents the water temperature from dropping and retains strands from sticking.
- Separate the noodles. Fan them out and provides a fast stir in order that they prepare dinner evenly.
- Rinse totally. Chilly working water removes the layer of starch that will in any other case make noodles gummy.
- Shock for chew. A 30-second ice bathtub companies the feel and locks in that satisfying chunk.
- Save and luxuriate in sobayu. The starchy water comprises dissolved buckwheat vitamins. Mixing it with leftover tsuyu creates a lightweight, nourishing broth to finish the meal.
- Batch your sauce. Mentsuyu retains for a month within the fridge, so make further and also you’ll at all times have dipping sauce prepared for spontaneous noodle nights.
Variations and Customizations
- Serve different condiments. Strive including grated daikon, sesame seeds, or grated ginger to your dipping sauce.
- Strive totally different noodle flavors. Serve it with inexperienced tea soba (cha soba, 茶そば) flavored with matcha powder for a delicate style and inexperienced tint. You too can strive soft-pink ume plum soba (ume soba, 梅そば) flavored with Japanese ume plum.
- Make Oroshi Soba. Serve your chilled soba in a bowl with dashi-based sauce and garnish with grated daikon, dried bonito flakes, and tempura scraps.
What to Serve with Zaru Soba (Chilly Soba Noodles)
Make these chilly buckwheat noodles right into a extra substantial meal with these Japanese dishes:
Storage Ideas
To retailer: Retailer any leftover selfmade mentsuyu in a clear, hermetic container within the fridge for as much as a month. I like to recommend cooking the soba noodles simply earlier than serving.
For the Do-it-yourself Mentsuyu (Concentrated Noodle Soup Base)
Stop your display from going darkish
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Earlier than You Begin: On this recipe, I present you the best way to make selfmade concentrated noodle soup base known as mentsuyu. I often make it forward of time and preserve it within the fridge to make use of in noodle recipes. If you do not have time to make it, you should utilize a bottle of store-bought mentsuyu obtainable at Japanese or Asian grocery shops. Now, collect all of the substances.
To Make the Do-it-yourself Mentsuyu
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Add ¼ cup sake and ½ cup mirin to a medium saucepan. Deliver it to a boil over medium-high warmth and let the alcohol evaporate for a couple of seconds. Then, add ½ cup soy sauce . Nami’s tip: I often add an additional 1 Tbsp mirin for my household‘s choice.
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Add 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) and ½–1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). Use the utmost quantity of katsuobushi for extra intense bonito taste.
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Deliver it to a boil and simmer on low warmth for five minutes. Flip off the warmth. Let it steep and funky fully. Pressure the mentsuyu and put aside. Nami’s tip: You possibly can preserve this concentrated soup base in an hermetic container and retailer it within the fridge for as much as a month.
To Boil the Soba Noodles
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Boil lots of water in a big pot. Not like pasta, you don’t add salt to the cooking water. Add 14 oz dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) to the boiling water, distributing them across the pot in a round sample to separate the noodles from one another. Prepare dinner the noodles in keeping with the bundle directions. Stir often in order that they don’t stick to one another. The noodles are accomplished when simply tender; don’t overcook. Reserve 1–1½ cups of the cooking water known as sobayu and put aside to take pleasure in on the finish of the meal.
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Drain the soba in a sieve and rinse them beneath chilly working water together with your arms to eliminate the surplus starch. This can be a crucial step to maintain the noodles from sticking to one another.
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Shake the sieve to empty the water fully. Then, switch the noodles to a big bowl of iced water. Chill the noodles for 30 seconds, drain effectively, and put aside.
To Serve
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Place bamboo sieves or mats over particular person plates (to catch the draining water from the noodles). Place one serving of soba noodles on every mat and garnish with shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori) on prime.
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Put together the soba dipping sauce utilizing a 1-to-3 ratio of selfmade mentsuyu to water. Mix 6 Tbsp mentsuyu (concentrated noodle soup base) and 1⅛ cups iced water in a measuring cup and verify the style. If it‘s salty, add extra water, and if it‘s too dilute, add extra mentsuyu. Divide the dipping sauce into particular person cups.
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Chop 2 inexperienced onions/scallions and placed on particular person small plates. Add a little bit of wasabi to the plates. Serve with the soba noodles and particular person cups of dipping sauce. While you’re accomplished with the noodles, pour the reserved soba cooking water (sobayu) into the remainder of the sauce in your dipping cup and luxuriate in it as a soup broth.
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For a extra substantial meal, take pleasure in this Zaru Soba with a wide range of greens like mushrooms, carrots, daikon radish, and lettuce/cabbage-based salads. It‘s additionally widespread to serve zaru soba with tempura, known as tenzaru (天ざる). Strive it with Vegetable Tempura and Shrimp Tempura.
Energy: 348 kcal · Carbohydrates: 75 g · Protein: 15 g · Fats: 1 g · Saturated Fats: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fats: 1 g · Sodium: 629 mg · Potassium: 267 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 60 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 39 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Editor’s Word: The put up was initially revealed in August 2011. It’s been up to date with new pictures and the video in July 2016. The put up has been republished with extra useful content material on June 26, 2025.
