History

Soba shops spread across Edo from the 1690s after a famine pushed buckwheat into the city's diet. By 1860 there were 3,800 soba counters in Edo, with three lineages dominating: yabu (Kanda Yabu Soba), sunaba (Osaka origin) and sarashina (Shinshu origin). Kanda Yabu Soba's 1880 main shop reopened in 2014 after a fire and still serves the canonical seiro and kamo nanban.

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Common allergens: Gluten (most blends), Soy, Buckwheat

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 25 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g dried soba noodles (80 to 100 percent buckwheat)
  • 300ml dashi stock (kombu and bonito)
  • 60ml shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
  • 30ml mirin
  • 1 spring onion, finely sliced
  • Fresh wasabi, to serve
  • Roasted nori, shredded, to serve

Method

  1. Bring a large pan of water to a fast boil. Add the soba and cook for the time on the packet (usually 4 minutes), stirring once.
  2. Drain into a colander and rinse under cold running water until the noodles are completely chilled. Drain well.
  3. Warm the dashi, shoyu and mirin together, then chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  4. Divide the noodles between two bamboo trays or plates. Pour the dipping sauce into two small bowls.
  5. Serve with spring onion, wasabi and nori on the side; pick up a small amount of noodles, dip the bottom third in sauce, and slurp.

Tip from the editors. Save the soba-yu (cooking water) and stir it into the leftover dipping sauce at the end for a hot drink, as is traditional.

Where to eat edomae soba

Edomae soba in Tokyo

Kanda Yabu Soba ★ 4.5

¥¥ Edo-style SobaKanda

Kanda Yabu Soba in Tokyo has served Edo-style buckwheat noodles since 1880 and is the canonical room for the yabu lineage. Sing-song order calls still in use.

OrderSeiro cold soba; kamo nanban duck soba in winter.

TipClosed Wednesdays. Queue from 11:30; afternoons are calmer. Cash and major cards.

Directions

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