Zaru Soba

RecipenKitchen Recipe 30 min · Serves 2 · Japanese

Why make it Chilled buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo-style tray with a light dashi dipping sauce. It is a cooling, quick lunch for hot days that needs no oil and very little cooking.

You’ll need

Serves 2 200 g dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) 300 ml water, for the dashi 5 g kombu (dried kelp), about a 10 cm piece 5 g bonito flakes (katsuobushi) 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce 3 tbsp mirin 1 tsp sugar 2 spring onions, very thinly sliced + 6 more in the full recipe

1 Step 1 of 9 Wipe the kombu with a dry cloth. Put it in a small saucepan with 300 ml water and let it soak for 10 minutes.

2 Step 2 of 9 Heat the pan over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge, about 5 minutes. Remove the kombu before the water boils so the stock does not turn bitter.

3 Step 3 of 9 Add the soy sauce, mirin and sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and leave for 2 minutes.

4 Step 4 of 9 Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cool it to room temperature, then chill in the fridge while you cook the noodles.

5 Step 5 of 9 Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes. The last 4 steps are in the full recipe.

Cook’s tip Rinse the noodles well under cold water. Starch left on the surface makes them sticky and gummy.

Zaru Soba

Ready to cook? Exact amounts, every step, timings and tips, free on RecipenKitchen. Get the full recipe