Soba-A soul food of tokyo

Delicious hot or cold

Made from buckwheat flour, soba is a traditional noodle dish in Japan and is considered to represent Japanese cuisine along with sushi and tempura. Soba is served in a hot soup, or is cooled and served on a strainer along with dipping sauce. Simple cold soba menus include zarusoba (with nori seaweed topping) and morisoba (without nori topping). Soba is a very common menu Japanese people regularly eat and is available at various types of eateries, from specialty restaurants to tachigui (stand-and-eat) shop. Soba cup noodles are also popular to eat at home, as it is ready within a few minutes after pouring hot water.

Dark-colored soup in Kanto; light-colored soup in Kansai

Just like many other Japanese dishes, there are some local differences for soba noodles. In the Kanto region, a soup for soba is dark-colored and strongly flavored, as it is prepared by boiling katsuobushi (bonito flake) dashi stock with koikuchi (dark-colored) shoyu, mirin, and sugar. On the other hand, soba in the Kansai region is served in a soup whose flavor centers that of bonito/kelp dashi stock. It is seasoned and lightly colored by usukuchi (light-colored) shoyu.

Slurping is not a bad manner

Chopped negi onion is a common condiment that accompanies both hot and cold soba noodles. To add a spice, hot soba is served with shichimi togarashi (hot pepper sprinkles) while cold soba comes with wasabi. At many soba restaurants, servers bring a pot of sobayu to the table when customers finish eating cold soba, such as morisoba or zarusoba. Sobayu is cooking water from boiling noodles and is added to a dipping sauce cup to thin down the sauce for enjoying the flavor of soba until the last drop. Although making noises while eating is generally considered a bad manner at the table, soba and udon noodles are an exception in Japan, and it has been customary to slurp up the noodles to eat. It is said that soba tastes better because a flow of air is created when slurping to bring aroma of soba to the mouth.

Other noodle dishes

Ramen

Chinese noodles were introduced to Japan and developed in its own unique way to become today's Japanese ramen noodles. Ramen is one of Japan's national foods and is very popular throughout the nation.

Hiyashi-chuka

Hiyashi-chuka is a Japanese original version of cold Chinese noodles served with special sauce. A typical hiyashi-chuka is topped with such ingredients as cut vegetables, ham strips, and strips of thin omelet. It is one of the standard menus in summer.

Udon

Udon is thick, white wheat noodles and is made by adding a bit of salt water to the flour, kneading the dough, and shaping it into noodle strips. It is served with bonito dashi stock and shoyu, or with dipping sauce. Sanuki udon is well known for its taste as a specialty food from Kagawa Prefecture.

Somen

Somen noodles are very thin (less than 1 mm in diameter) white wheat noodles. Typically, boiled somen is rinsed in cold water and is served cold with chilled dipping sauce. Its smooth texture also makes somen a popular menu during the summer.

Yakisoba

Yakisoba originated from Chinese chow mein, which is a salt-flavored stir-fried noodle dish, and developed in a unique way in Japan. Today, typical yakisoba uses yellowish noodles and sweet and spicy sauce, and is a popular dish for a wide range of generations.

Naporitan (Neapolitan)

Naporitan is an Italian-inspired Japanese pasta dish. Spaghetti is cooked with onion, green pepper, bacon, and other ingredients and is seasoned with ketchup. It is said that the first Naporitan pasta was created by a chef at a hotel in Yokohama who was inspired by a military ration for American soldiers.