🍜 Zaru Soba
Zaru soba is chilled buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo tray (zaru) with a cold dipping sauce of dashi and soy sauce. The noodles are firm and nutty, topped with strips of nori, and each mouthful is dipped into the sauce with scallions and wasabi stirred in. It is a classic summer meal in Japan.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g dried soba noodles
- 250 ml dashi
- 60 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 sheet nori, cut into thin strips
- 2 scallions, finely sliced
- Wasabi, to taste
Method
- Heat the dashi, soy sauce and sugar until the sugar dissolves; chill the sauce.
- Boil the soba according to the packet, usually 4–5 minutes.
- Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water, then plunge into iced water and drain well.
- Arrange the noodles on trays or plates and top with nori.
- Serve with small cups of the dipping sauce, scallions and wasabi.
How to make it lighter
- Dip the noodles lightly rather than soaking them, which also keeps the sodium down.
- Weigh the dry noodles: about 100 g dry per person is a standard serving.
- Add a side of blanched vegetables or salad greens for volume.
History
Soba noodles became popular in Edo-period Japan, and serving them cold on a draining tray grew out of that noodle-shop culture. Zaru soba is now eaten across Japan, especially in hot weather.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →