Japanese Food Tips

Soba (buckwheat noodles) is made from buckwheat flour and represents any thin Japanese noodle. Specifically, buckwheat noodles made from a new crop of buckwheat seed are named shin soba (shin is Japanese for new). Because the new crop is harvested in autumn on the main island of Japan, many soba gourmets look forward to going to soba restaurants in autumn. However, in recent years the new crop in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, starts in summer, and shin soba can be enjoyed from summer season. The main characteristic of shin soba is an aromatic flavor. The most popular shin soba dish is zaru-soba, which, although eaten cold, is popular all year-round. When eating zaru-soba, good soba flavor can be especially discerned. It is said that cold noodles are not eaten in many countries. However, Japanese like cold noodles including zaru-soba. Because it is difficult to buy shin soba in Japanese markets, it is usually not enjoyed at home. We have provided a delicious zaru-soba (cold buckwheat noodles) recipe using dried soba. Please enjoy it. By the way, the shin soba shown in all pictures was harvested from this autumn’s new crop.