Toshikoshi Soba (年越し蕎麦, New Year's Eve buckwheat noodles)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium pot for dashi
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Large pot for soba
• •Soba strainer or colander
• •Deep noodle bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu gently 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 when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Boil the kelp and the stock turns bitter and faintly slick, which is a poor trade for impatience.

   You're steeping the konbu, not boiling it. That white bloom on the surface is flavor, not dirt.
2. 2

   Add the bonito

   Bring the liquid just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, then turn off the heat. Leave it alone for three minutes, until the flakes sink. Strain through a cloth or fine strainer and let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze, because squeezing presses harsh, oily flavors into the clear stock you were guarding.

3. 3

   Season the broth

   In a clean pot, combine the dashi, shoyu, mirin, and sugar. Warm it until the sugar dissolves, then taste. It should be deeper and saltier than a clear soup, because soba is earthy and needs a firm broth beside it. Keep it hot without letting it race at a boil.

4. 4

   Cook the soba

   Boil the soba in plenty of unsalted water according to the package timing, usually five to seven minutes. Stir once as the noodles go in so they don't cling. Taste early. Soba should be tender but still have a quiet bite, not collapse on the tongue.

5. 5

   Rinse the noodles

   Drain the soba and rinse under cold running water, rubbing gently with your hands to remove surface starch. This feels odd for a hot bowl, but it's the detail that decides it. Unrinsed soba clouds the broth and turns the mouthfeel pasty. Rinsed soba tastes clean.

6. 6

   Warm and serve

   Dip the rinsed soba briefly in hot water to warm it again, then divide it among four warmed bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Set one shrimp tempura on each bowl, scatter scallion, and add a strip of yuzu peel if you have it. Serve at once, before the tempura gives up its crisp edge.

Chef Tips

• •Choose soba with buckwheat listed first if you can. Jūwari soba, made with 100 percent buckwheat, is beautiful but fragile; hachiwari soba, about 80 percent buckwheat, is easier for a home pot and still tastes properly of the grain.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake. Soak 1 piece konbu and 4 dried shiitake in the water overnight, warm gently, then strain. That temple-kitchen stock is honmono, not a compromise.
• •If you buy shrimp tempura, reheat it on a rack in a hot oven until the coating feels crisp again. A soft tempura topping sinks into the broth at once, and then it is only a tired shrimp wearing a coat.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it gently before seasoning the broth.
• •The shoyu, mirin, and sugar can be combined ahead as a simple kaeshi and kept refrigerated for up to one week.
• •Cook and rinse the soba just before serving. Noodles left sitting lose their clean texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 560g)