Zaru soba chilled noodles

Cook the noodles: We need to cook our noodles first, so grab a bunch of soba and allow them to cook in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. There is no need to add salt to the water before boiling.

Prepare the soup: While the noodles are cooking we can start preparing the dipping soup. You can of course make the soup yourself by mixing soy sauce, mirin, dashi stock and a little sugar with water, or you can simply buy a pre-made tsuyu (Some tsuyu brands need to be mixed with water before serving).

Drain the noodles: Once you have finished preparing the dipping soup, check the soba are of a suitable consistency and then drain the noodles in a colander with another saucepan underneath to catch the discarded water. Do not throw away this drained water as we are going to use it again later.

Wash the noodles: It is important to thoroughly wash the soba at this stage to get rid of any excess starch. Rinse the noodles under a cold running tap and swish them around until the water runs clear.

Arrange the soba: Grab a traditional zaru bamboo tray and carefully arrange the soba on it. Then shred some nori seaweed and sprinkle on top of the soba noodles before serving. Add a small amount of wasabi and some finely sliced spring onions to your soup and dip the noodles in it briefly before eating.

Mix the water and soup: Remember the drained water we were saving for later? As the soba noodles were cooked in this water it still contains many of the nutrients from the soba. Mix some of this water with the remainder of your dipping soup and drink it as a perfect finish to this tasty dish.