Soba Now, Mamie Later

What do I know about Soba? Not a whole lot, but after I speak to Mamie, I'll be back with more information. Mamie is from Japan and expert in all things Soba. She is sure to deliver some Soba Enlightenment soon.

Why can’t I wait to speak with Mamie? Because when Sylvia was home last week, we made a very quick and delicious lunch of soba noodles with dipping sauce. The weather is warming up and this seems like excellent information to have under any apron belt.

Start by making the dipping sauce. The flavors can get acquainted with one another while you cook the noodles.

I’m sure there are a million variations (and this is a good place to get creative on your own), but here’s what Sylvia and I made (from Epicurious) and it was a hit.

In a bowl combine:

• 8 Tablespoons of Light Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
• 2 Tablespoons of water
• 1/3 cup of chopped scallions (long skinny green onions- cut off and discard the rooty end and a bit of the top first)
• 4 Tablespoons of pickled ginger, drained

Now for the noodles. Cooking soba is practically identical to cooking pasta. You can review Pasta For Beginners if you're feeling rusty. The biggest difference between what we did last December and what we are doing now is that these noodles will be eaten cold. You should probably skip the extra salt in the water as well (that is unless Mamie says otherwise. I’ll get back to you on this one. In the meantime, there will be plenty of salty-ness in the dipping sauce).

Cook the soba according to the directions on the packet. This means in boiling water for about 6 minutes. Have a large bowl of ice water waiting. When the soba is done ( test a strand to see if it still has a little bite and is not mushy and over cooked) drain, and immediately put the cooked soba into the bowl of waiting ice water. Let it cool completely and drain again (remember your colander?).

Lunch (or snack) time! Here’s a nice little demonstration on YouTube . Basically, your expertly cooked cold noodles (I have every confidence in you) visit the sauce as they travel from plate to dipping sauce to a very happy mouth.