Illustrated Japanese Culture

Soba: grain, flour and noodles

蕎麦（そば）

Soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour, often with wheat flour added to help the dough hold together. Milling changes the flour’s colour and texture, while the way the noodles are served creates another set of differences: cold with dipping sauce, hot in broth, or in regional portions and dishes.

Niigata hegi soba, arranged in bite-sized portions in a wooden tray.

Nihachi usually means eight parts buckwheat flour to two parts wheat flour.

Jūwari uses buckwheat as the entire flour ingredient.

A noodle’s colour does not reveal its buckwheat percentage.

What goes into the dough

Buckwheat comes before the noodle

Soba can refer to buckwheat or to noodles made from its flour. Buckwheat has also been eaten as grain, thick paste and cakes.

Nihachi and jūwari

In present-day noodle descriptions, nihachi generally means 80 percent buckwheat flour and 20 percent wheat flour. Jūwari uses buckwheat for all of the flour. Historical explanations of the word nihachi also include a price of sixteen mon, so an old sign cannot always be read as a modern ingredient ratio.

Hikigurumi soba made from a broader range of grain parts.

Pale and dark flour

Flour taken from the inner part of the grain can be quite pale, as in sarashina-style soba. Outer portions contribute darker flour. Milling and blending therefore influence colour as well as the ingredients added to the dough.

Mix, roll and cut

Knead the dough

Roll into a thin sheet

Fold the sheet

Cut into strands

Water turns flour into a workable dough

The flour is mixed with water, kneaded, rolled thin, folded and cut into strands. The strands are then cooked. These stages can be carried out by hand or by machines in commercial production.

Cold zaru soba, with dipping sauce served separately.

Soba in hot broth, shown here with tempura.

Dipping sauce or a bowl of broth

Cold mori or zaru soba is served with sauce for dipping. Hot kake soba sits in broth. Names and toppings, including nori, vary between shops.

Remaining dipping sauce

Add sobayu to taste

Drink the diluted sauce

The drink served after the noodles

Sobayu may be noodle-cooking water, or water separately prepared with buckwheat flour. It can be added to the remaining dipping sauce according to taste. Its preparation and serving style depend on the shop.

The serving vessel changes the meal

Warigo soba served in stackable round containers.

Izumo warigo

Warigo soba is served in stacked round lacquerware dishes, with sauce poured onto the noodles. The dishes divide the meal into portions rather than gathering it all in a single deep bowl.

Niigata hegi

Hegi soba uses funori seaweed as a binder. The noodles are arranged in small, bite-sized bundles on a wooden tray.

Wanko soba: servers repeatedly add bite-sized portions.

Small bowls, repeatedly refilled

Iwate’s wanko soba is served in small portions, with a server adding more noodles as the diner finishes each bowl.

From older foods to the noodle shop

A record of cut noodles in 1574

A contribution record connected with repairs at Jōshōji in 1574 mentions soba-kiri, or cut buckwheat noodles. This establishes that the food existed by then; it does not identify its inventor. Older ways of eating buckwheat continued alongside noodles.

Travellers eating outside a shop in Kuniyoshi’s Shinano Soba.

Shops and street sellers in Edo

Soba shops and mobile sellers became part of urban life during the Edo period. Preparation and sauces developed as the market grew. Kuniyoshi’s print of Shinano soba shows travellers eating outside a roadside shop.

Eating soba at year-end
Practices differ by region and household

A meal at the turn of the year

Toshikoshi soba is eaten on New Year’s Eve. Its long, thin form has attracted several auspicious interpretations, including wishes associated with longevity. Recipes and timing vary between households.

Fresh, dried and instant forms

Handmade specialist restaurants coexist with machine-made fresh noodles, dried noodles and convenience foods. Since soba commonly includes wheat, the name alone is not a promise that a product is wheat-free.

What can you now explain?

What does soba refer to?

It can mean buckwheat itself or noodles made from buckwheat flour.

What is the usual modern nihachi ratio?

Eight parts buckwheat flour to two parts wheat flour.

What does jūwari describe?

Buckwheat makes up all of the flour ingredient.

Can colour tell you the buckwheat percentage?

No. Milling and blending also affect colour.

What are the main noodle-making stages?

Mix with water, knead, roll, fold, cut and cook.

How does cold soba differ from kake soba?

Cold soba is dipped in sauce; kake soba is served in hot broth.

What is sobayu?

A buckwheat-containing liquid, often cooking water, served for drinking or mixing with sauce.

What makes hegi soba distinctive?

Funori seaweed binds the dough, and the noodles are arranged in bundles on a wooden tray.

Does the 1574 record prove when soba was invented?

No. It is evidence that cut noodles already existed.

Is soba automatically wheat-free?

No. Many products contain wheat flour, so check the ingredients.

Sources and images