Kake Soba (かけそば)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot for boiling noodles
• •Medium pot for dashi and broth
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth or paper towel
• •Soba zaru or colander for rinsing noodles
• •Deep donburi bowls, warmed before serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about ten minutes. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Boiling the kelp draws out bitterness and a slick edge, and kake soba has no heavy garnish to hide a careless stock.

   That pale dust on konbu is not dirt. It is part of the flavor, so wipe gently and protect it.
2. 2

   Add bonito flakes

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes sink for two or three minutes without stirring. They give their aroma quickly, and stirring roughens the stock for no gain.

3. 3

   Strain the dashi

   Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth or paper towel. Let it drip by itself and don't squeeze the flakes. Squeezing presses out stronger, oily flavors, and the clear broth you wanted becomes heavy at the very moment it should stay light.

4. 4

   Season the broth

   Return the dashi to the pot. Add the mirin and simmer for one minute to soften its raw alcohol edge, then add the soy sauce. Taste before adding salt. The broth should be a little stronger than soup sipped alone, because the noodles will temper it, but it should still taste of dashi first.

5. 5

   Boil the soba

   Bring a large pot of plain water to a rolling boil and cook the soba according to the package timing, usually five to seven minutes for dried noodles. Stir once after the noodles go in so they don't cling. Taste a strand near the end. It should be tender with a little firmness, not chalky at the center.

6. 6

   Rinse the noodles

   Drain the soba and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the noodles gently between your hands until the water runs mostly clear. This washes away surface starch, which keeps the broth clean and lets the buckwheat aroma read clearly. It feels odd for a hot bowl, I know. Do it anyway.

7. 7

   Warm and serve

   Dip the rinsed soba back into fresh hot water for ten to fifteen seconds, just long enough to warm it. Drain well, divide between two warmed bowls, and pour over the hot kakejiru. Finish with thinly sliced scallion and, if you like, one strip of yuzu peel or a light pinch of shichimi tōgarashi. Serve at once, while the noodles still have their shape and the broth is clear.

Chef Tips

• •Choose soba with buckwheat listed first if you can. Juwari soba, made from 100 percent buckwheat, is beautiful but fragile; hachiwari soba, roughly 80 percent buckwheat and 20 percent wheat, is easier to cook and still honest.
• •Don't skip the rinse because the bowl is hot. Soba sheds starch as it cooks, and that starch clouds the broth and dulls the noodle's fragrance. Rinse clean, then rewarm quickly.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake. Soak 10g konbu and 2 dried shiitake in 4 cups cold water overnight, then warm gently and strain. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a compromise.
• •Keep the garnish narrow. Scallion is enough. A strip of yuzu peel in winter is lovely, but a crowded bowl turns kake soba into something else. Leave it room.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently before seasoning, and don't boil it hard.
• •The kakejiru can be seasoned a day ahead. Reheat it just to a quiet simmer while you cook the soba.
• •Cook the soba just before serving. Once boiled and rinsed, it loses its clean texture if it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)