Sansai Soba (山菜そば, mountain vegetable soba)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium pot for dashi
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Large pot for soba
• •Bamboo draining basket (zaru), or a colander
• •Deep soba bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the sansai

   Drain the sansai and rinse them under cool running water. Soak in a bowl of fresh water for 15 to 20 minutes, changing the water once, then taste a piece. It should taste gently seasoned and earthy, not sharply salty. The soup will carry soy sauce later, so the vegetables must not bring a second bowlful of salt with them.

   If your sansai are only lightly packed in water, a quick rinse may be enough. If they are deeply salt-cured, give them more soaking time and trust your tongue.
2. 2

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't scrub away the pale surface bloom. Put it in 5 cups cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about 10 minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Boil it hard and the dashi turns bitter and a little slick, which is a poor bargain for impatience.

3. 3

   Add the flakes

   Bring the konbu water just to a gentle boil. Add the katsuobushi all at once, turn off the heat, and let the flakes sink for 2 to 3 minutes without stirring. Strain through a cloth-lined sieve and let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze, because squeezing presses out the stronger oily flavors and clouds the clean stock you need for soba.

4. 4

   Season the broth

   Return 4 cups of the dashi to the pot. Add the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sea salt, then bring it to a quiet simmer. Taste it now. It should be a little more seasoned than plain soup, because the soba will soften its edge, but it should still taste like dashi first.

5. 5

   Warm the vegetables

   Add the drained sansai to the broth and warm them for 3 to 5 minutes. Keep the heat gentle. These vegetables have already been cooked or cured, so hard boiling only roughens their texture and dulls their spring bitterness.

6. 6

   Boil the soba

   Boil the soba in plenty of unsalted water according to the package timing, usually 5 to 7 minutes. Stir when the noodles go in so they don't clump. Taste one strand near the end: it should be tender but still have a clean bite, with the buckwheat fragrance intact.

7. 7

   Rinse and rewarm

   Drain the soba and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the noodles lightly with your hands until they feel clean and no longer slippery with starch. This is not fussing. It keeps the hot broth clear. Dip the rinsed noodles back into hot water for a few seconds, then drain well.

8. 8

   Assemble the bowls

   Divide the warmed soba among four deep bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles, then lift the sansai onto the surface in small, loose piles rather than spreading them flat. Finish with sliced scallion and a small pinch of shichimi tōgarashi if you like. Serve at once, while the broth surface is clear and bright.

Chef Tips

• •Look for sansai mixes with recognizable pieces, not a tired tangle the color of old rope. Warabi should still have shape, fuki should keep its pale green-brown stem, and the vegetables should smell clean after rinsing.
• •Don't replace the dashi with powder here. The broth is most of the bowl, and instant granules bring salt before fragrance. If you want a meatless table, make dashi from konbu and dried shiitake. That is temple-kitchen logic, and honmono in its own right.
• •Cook soba in unsalted water and rinse it well. The noodles shed starch as they cook, and that starch would cloud the broth and make the surface dull. Clear soup asks for clean noodles.
• •For fresh sansai, prepare each vegetable according to its nature. Warabi needs proper aku-nuki, lye or baking soda treatment to tame its harshness, while fuki is rubbed with salt, blanched, peeled, and simmered. Freshness comes first, but wild plants ask you to know them.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently before seasoning, and don't let it boil hard.
• •Salt-cured sansai can be rinsed and soaked a few hours ahead, then drained and refrigerated. Taste again before cooking, since salt can settle unevenly.
• •Do not cook the soba ahead for this dish. Boil, rinse, rewarm, and serve it close to the table, while the noodles still have their clean bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 540g)