Buckwheat Soba Noodles - Japanese Food Series

Have you tried Soba yet?

Ask many visitors to Japan if they like soba noodles, and it is quite probable that they will respond with a "dunno...never tried it". Of the colourful array of dishes on most Japanese menus one of the most surprising culinary finds are soba noodles. It is easy, at first, to gaze at the plastic replica on display and think "what's all the fuss about?" Yes, they do look quite plain. And a lot like wholemeal spaghetti. But it's at this moment when you have to let the adventure traveller loose and give it a try. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

The fantastic thing about soba noodles is that they can be eaten all year round. The ingenious Japanese simply serve them refreshingly cold in summer, usually on a bamboo tray along with a very tasty dipping sauce. And in winter they are served in a delicious hot broth as a noodle soup. Hence the existence of soba shops on almost every street, where you can also purchase dried soba. Another popular spot is at the train station, where you can park up at a little stand and grab a quick dish of hot or cold soba noodles.

The main ingredient in this uniquely Japanese noodle is buckwheat flour. This gives it its unique brownish-beige colour. It you see soba with a slightly green-tinge it has usually had a small amount of green tea powder added to the mix. Under the Japan Agricultural Standards regulations, the noodles have to contain at least 30% buckwheat in order to be called soba. Noodles with a high content of buckwheat are seen as more desirable.

Soba noodles are also seen by many as an excellent health food. Buckwheat is loaded with vitamins B1 and B2, as well as rutin and choline. Some of the nutrients dissolve and escape into the water, but one way to benefit from these is to finish up your meal by mixing the hot water used to boil the noodles with the dipping sauce, and then drinking it. The drink is nutritious and tastes good as well.

And if you really want to look like you know what you're doing, along with managing the chopsticks of course, it is traditionally considered polite to slurp the noodles noisily. By drawing the hot noodles up quickly into the mouth, it actually helps to cool them down.

So what are you waiting for? Next time you see those plain looking noodles, why not give them a try.