Soba noodles
(そば, 蕎麦, )
Although soba is the Japanese term for buckwheat, the word typically refers to thin buckwheat noodles. The noodles are usually prepared for numerous hot and cold dishes, and can be consumed at both fast food stands on railway stations and in expensive restaurants.
Soba is commonly eaten with chopsticks, and it is recommended to slurp the noodles while making loud noises, as it's a part of common culture in Japan. Eating soba dates back to the Edo period, when every part of town had a few soba establishments, which were used as today's bars.
The most basic soba dish is called mori soba, where cold noodles are consumed with tsuyu, a soya-based sauce. On New Year's Eve, toshikoshi soba is traditionally consumed as a symbol of longevity. The most popular soba dishes include kake soba, kitsune soba, tanuki soba, and tempura soba, among others. Read more
Of course, there are also regional soba dishes such as wanko soba (Iwate prefecture), ita soba (Yamagata prefecture), matcha soba (Uji), and nishin soba (Kyoto prefecture). In order to prepare pure buckwheat noodles that don't crack and fall apart requires the skills of a true soba master.
The Japanese people often say that it takes a year to learn to make the dough, another year to learn how to roll it, and yet another year to learn to cut the noodles properly.
