Exotic Ingredient: Soba

I love soba noodles, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

*gulp* *quick glance around*

Nope, not ashamed.

While soba is every day food in Japan, it is much more rare here. I can sometimes find soba noodles at my local ShopRite, but more often than not, I just head to the Asian Market in Cherry Hill, NJ. The noodles there are better quality and far less expensive. If you have trouble reading labels in foreign languages, just keep your eyes peeled for squared noodles with a darker, brownish gray color. They're usually about 8 inches long, and pre-bundled in serving size for convenience.

Soba noodles are a type of Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour as opposed to regular wheat flour. The buckwheat flour gives the noodles a brownish gray color when raw, and a soft yet subtly chewy texture when cooked. Unlike regular wheat flour noodles, soba has a slightly sweet flavor that is not masked by stronger flavors.

Soba can be served chilled or hot, and is especially good when tossed in a peanut or teriyaki sauce. Cold soba salad is often served with sesame flavored sauces, which really allow the flavor of the noodle to stand out.

 Here is one of my favorite recipes with soba. The thick salty-sweet sauce clings to the soba and really accentuates the noodles' flavor.

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs w/ Soba Noodles

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press or minced
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• Enough soba noodles for six people

Directions

Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sherry, vinegar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and add the chicken. Seal the bag and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, turning once, for 1 hour. The chicken can be marinated for up to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, cook soba as per directions on the package. Heat the broiler to high. Arrange the chicken on a broiler pan skin side down and broil until brown and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and broil until almost cooked through, about 8 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cook until the seeds turn golden brown and the chicken is done, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

While the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a small pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes to make sure all the raw chicken juices are cooked. Then toss the soba noodles with enough of this sauce to coat and enjoy!

Recipe Test #1 - Noodle Soup for Needy People

My dear, loving husband Paulo has been really needy lately. Okay, so I really have no idea what the title of this recipe means. Maybe Nigella came up with it for a homeless shelter? All I know is, it appealed to me and my husband, and it doesn't contain any of our temporarily "excluded" foods. This recipe is by Nigella Lawson, whom I love, and I have adapted it only slightly to avoid buying ingredients I would never use before they expired because I *hate* throwing away food!

Noodle Soup for Needy People

• 6 ounces udon noodles (dried, from a packet) [I used Soba noodles, as we already had them]
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable or dashi broth [I used low-sodium chicken stock]
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce [I used light soy sauce]
• 3/4 cup bean sprouts [I used soy bean sprouts]
• 3/4 cup sugar snaps
• 3/4 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms [I used baby portabellas: it's a half hour drive to the Asian Market]
• 2 heads baby bok choy, finely sliced [I used regular bok choy]
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions and while the water is boiling fill a nearby saucepan with stock, brown sugar, star anise, ginger and soy sauce. (When the noodles are done, just drain them and put half in each bowl.)

When the flavored stock comes to a boil, add the vegetables. They should be cooked before 2 minutes are up.

Pour half into each bowl, over the cooked and drained noodles and sprinkle with cilantro.

Result

The broth has great potential. It is a bit bland, but I attribute much of that to my salt reduction dietary restrictions. A few drops of Tabasco made it tastier. I found the cilantro flavor to be much too strong, most likely due to it not being cooked in the broth. It really overpowers the delicate vegetables in this dish. As for personal preference, I think next time I will toss the cilantro in with the broth while it's cooking, for a subtler cilantro flavor.

I think the main redeeming factor of this soup is just how fresh it tastes. You have the soft, slight chewiness of the soba noodles with the crispy crunch of the fresh veggies. I doubt this soup will taste as good tomorrow reheated! The only real regret I have in this case is failing to use shitake mushrooms. The baby portabellas I used are far too subtle, and this soup would really have been improved by the meaty flavor of shitakes.

So, is it worth trying again? I think so, although I think next time I will cook it exactly as written, the only exception being the cilantro. It was just a bit too strong for my tastes.

Feel free to leave recipe suggestions in the comments, I'm always looking for new ideas!

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Welcome to Andrea's Kitchen! I started this blog in order to share recipes and cooking tips. I hope to update it three times a week, so keep your eyes "peeled"!