Cold soba noodles
November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ ConnieOriginating from Japan, soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour. According to Wikipedia, because buckwheat easily falls apart when boiled, soba noodles often contain binders, usually wheat flour, but must contain at least 30% buckwheat flour to pass Japanese government standards.
I’ve bought soba noodles in the past, made some mistakes with the preparation, and wouldn’t have bought them again out of sheer frustration had I not seen Nigella Lawson make a cold soba noodle dish on her TV show. I had forgotten the recipe, decided I could just search the web for a good one, then found an article over the Slashfood detailing Nigella’s recipe and saying it is in her book, Forever Summer. Funny, really, because I’ve had that book for months and never saw the recipe. But then again, that may be because I haven’t read the book in its entirety because I have issues with Nigella’s style of writing.
This is basically the recipe as it appears in Nigella’s Forever Summer although I have changed the amounts of the ingredients because it was meant to be a meal for one — me. I also changed the proportions of some of the ingredients to suit my taste.
Boil about 4 cups of water. Drop 100 grams of soba noodles into the boiling water and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain the cooked noodles, plunge in ice water and drain again. Set aside.
Take about 2 tablespoonfuls of sesame seeds (add or subtract according to your preferences) and toast in a frying pan…
…until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate (it will continue cooking if left in the hot pan even after the heat has been turned off) and set aside.
Finely slice some onion leaves.
In a bowl, mix together 1 tablespoonful each of rice vinegar, light soy sauce (I used Kikkoman) and honey. Stir in a dash of sesame seed oil. Add the noodles, sesame seeds and onion leaves and toss until well blended.
The cold soba noodles may be eaten right away or after a few hours which should allow the noodles to soak up the flavors of the sauce. Your decision, really. Personally, I couldn’t wait. 
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Soba sauced with ponzu (a citrus-flavored soy sauce) are also delicious. Who needs Nigella?!
Oooh, I saw ponzu in the supermarket lately but didn’t buy not knowing what I’d use it for. Hmph, I think I’ll go back today and buy a bottle. LOL
I don’t know if you can find this in the Philippines, but Hakubaku makes an amazing chilli soy noodle sauce (http://www.hakubaku.com/content/view/55/77/). It’s really good with cold noodles. I usually make a cold soba noodle salad with green tea soba noodles, raw spinach and julienned carrots topped with grilled salmon. Healthy and great for hot summer lunches
If you can’t find it, here’s the ingredient list: Soy Sauce (28%), water, wheat, soybeans, salt, water, mirin, sesame oil, canola oil, balsamic vinegar, brown vinegar, glucose (wheat), lemon juice concentrate, chilli powder (0.4%), garlic powder, ginger powder.
The replicated sauce with fresh ingredients would probably taste better now that I think about it, haha.
Wow, thanks for deconstructing LOL. Sounds like what Lydia mentioned with a whole lot of spices. I must, I must!
Am so in love with cold soba noodles right now LOL
Oh, wow, this is so timely. I have bought a table hibachi grill and had been using it for weeks now. Medio na-bo-bored na ako sa same condiments that goes with my meat and I told myself I would love some of those cold noodles that I had in some Japanese restaurant. And like you Connie, I have tried making it before.. and with failure, hindi ko na rin inulit. So with this post, ay naku, yeap I will buy them. There’s about 3 kinds nga yata akong nakita sa isang vietnamese market dito. And with the Ponzu sauce, hahaha, I also bought a small bottle yesterday, (medio mahal nga lang), and use it, LOL, walang stopper yung underneath the cap, kaya pag-buhos ko, ayun muntik ng maubos yung isang bote. I did not go to waste, pero I had poured more that I need. And yes I also have Chile Soy Sauce. Ay naku.. exited na akong mag-grill this weekend and use Connies creation with this noodles.. goodbye rice muna for me.
Hi C,
Naalala ko tuloy yung cold ramen I tried at Shinjuku. Tamang tama tong recipe mo for summer! (Buti na lang summer dito hehe)
hi there miss c, i’m browsin’ some recipe that my husband and kids will love, especially ung magugustuhan nila…i will try this one, very easy to make…