Comments on: Makin’ Soba

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:07:01 +0000

Hey Whit, you’re making me hungry and kitchen curious with this post…
sad that you won’t be home yet when i’m back in a couple weeks… we’ll have to have double fun in dec.

By: Karen PJ

Karen PJ — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:12:10 +0000

Making soba was one of the highlights of our recent trip to Nanae. Whitney-san, thank you so much for all of the sights and experiences, and for shepherding us through the intricacies of sharing another culture. I miss it already.

By: Mom

Mom — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:36:02 +0000

So you’ll be making us Japanese specialties when you get home, right…?

By: Tess

Tess — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:36:56 +0000

I think you might be right about Japanese people not eating soba as a “salad.” I’ve never been to Japan, but I have been studying Japanese cooking for more than a year, so I’d say you could serve a sesame dipping sauce with udon or somen—both are wheat noodles. That sauce is thin and sort of like Tsukejiru, like the cold dipping sauce you describe. So possibly you could serve a sesame dipping sauce for the soba, and vegetables and pickles on the side. Soba is delicate so mixing it with in a salad does not let you enjoy the noodles.
Or you could serve chukasoba (ramen) noodles with a spicy sesame sauce. From my research of recipes, the sesame sauce can be mixed with the noodles, but the toppings go on top or are served on the side.