Cold Natto Soba is a delightful summer dish perfect for days when hot weather suppresses your appetite. Cold soba noodles are easy to swallow, and the dish is rich in nutrients from Natto (fermented soybeans) and other vegetables. This recipe involves minimal cooking on the stove, helping you avoid unnecessary heat.
Kitsune Soba is cooked soba noodles in savory Dashi based broth topped with sweet and salty Aburaage fried tofu. Kitsune means “fox” in Japanese, but this dish has nothing to do with the animal. Kitsune Udon with large slices of fried tofu is more common, but here we use soba noodles instead of udon, and we cut the Aburaage thinly and simmered with sliced green onions. Warm noodle soup with sweet and salty fried tofu is so flavorful and comforting. This is a perfect lunch food on any day!
Cold Soba buckwheat noodles are the best food in summer when it’s too hot and you have no appetite. They are cold, delicious, and nutritious. In this recipe, we add green vegetables, so it’s even healthier! Fried Tofu croutons are crunchy, packed with protein, and a good alternative to bready croutons. This also uses all plant-based ingredients, so safe to eat for vegetarians. If you want to make it ahead, prepare greens and soba separately, and don’t mix with the dressing until just before you eat. That way the dish stays fresh, not soggy. Hope you like it!
Zaru Soba (ざるそば) is cold buckwheat noodles with dipping sauce. It is a cool noodle dish often served in summer in Japan. Zaru means a colander or a strainer in Japanese, and cold Soba noodles are usually served on a slotted bamboo mat that lets water drip through. Zaru Soba is a great dish to beat brutal summer heat and humidity in Japan.
Soba Sushi (そば寿司) is rolled Sushi made with cooked Soba inside instead of Sushi rice. The soba is seasoned with rice vinegar just like Sushi rice. This interesting and refreshing taste of a Soba dish may not be an everyday dinner, but it is a wonderful appetizer for special gatherings.
Tanuki Soba (たぬき蕎麦) is hot Soba noodles in soup with Tenkasu fried Tempura batter bits. It is a Soba dish with a pretty simple topping, but that addition gives the dish richer flavor.
“Tanuki” literally means raccoon dog which is an animal found in Japan and a popular character in stories and culture there. One theory is that Tanuki Soba was named as a counterpart for another noodle dish – Kitsune noodle dishes. “Kitsune” means fox, but we don’t quite know why somebody wanted to give symmetrical animal names to noodle dishes. Another idea is that “tanuki (tane-nuki)” sounds kind of like “ingredients removed” in Japanese. Since Tenkasu doesn’t have any vegetables or shrimp like regular Tempura but is only crumbs, the dish may have been named this way.
Ankake Soba is Soba noodle soup that is thickened with starch. The thick soup not only keeps the dish hot much longer than regular noodle soup, but also coats the noodles with tasty soup in every bite. The soup includes a variety of mushrooms, which add a lot of Umami flavor. Hot and savory soup makes it a perfect hot noodle dish in the cold season.
Shippoku Soba is hot soba noodle dish with various toppings. It is often on the menu at Soba noodle restaurants in Japan, but not seen as much at Japanese restaurants in the US, since it is a more regional Japanese food. Shippoku Soba can be eaten at any time of the year, but you can try it as Toshikoshi Soba which is the famous noodle dish for the end of the year in Japan.
Tempura Soba is hot Soba noodle soup with Tempura. Light Soba noodles in tasty soup could be a great everyday lunch. With Tempura, the dish is hearty and fulfilling enough to be dinner too. There are a lot of Soba restaurants to get Tempura Soba in Japan (lucky for people there). Even if you don’t have such a restaurant in your town, don’t worry, you can easily make this tasty and authentic dish yourself at home.
Tororo Soba is a Soba noodle dish with gooey grated Nagaimo. It could be hot or cold although the recipe here is a cold version. Zaru Soba is the very basic and most popular soba dish, but Tororo Soba is also found on the menu at any Soba restaurant in Japan. Cold Tororo Soba is a great dish during summer for Nagaimo’s rich nutrition and coolness of Soba when you don’t have much appetite from heat outside.