Izumo soba
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 島根県
Servings: 2人前
Izumo soba, also called Izumo buckwheat noodles, is the signature handmade soba of the Izumo region in Shimane Prefecture and one of Japan's three great soba styles, alongside Iwate's wanko soba and Nagano's Togakushi soba. Locals eat it as cold warigo soba with sauce poured over the noodles, or as hot kamaage soba.
At a glance
About 60 minutes · 2 servings · fairly challenging · about 730 kcal per serving (estimate)
Izumo soba, also called Izumo buckwheat noodles, is the signature handmade soba of the Izumo region in Shimane Prefecture and one of Japan's three great soba styles, alongside Iwate's wanko soba and Nagano's Togakushi soba. Locals eat it as cold warigo soba with sauce poured over the noodles, or as hot kamaage soba. Whole-groat hikigurumi flour makes it darker and more aromatic.
Ingredients
- Buckwheat flour 400 g
- Water 450 ml
- Dusting flour 200 g
- [Dipping sauce] Mentsuyu (3x concentrate) 50 ml
- [Dipping sauce] Water 100 ml
- [Condiments] Green onions (thinly sliced) as needed
- [Condiments] Wasabi as needed
- [Condiments] Toasted nori (shredded) as needed
Steps
- Sift 400 g of buckwheat flour into a large bowl. Have 450 ml of water ready. First pour in about 70 percent (around 315 ml) and quickly work the water into the flour with your fingertips (mizumawashi, or water mixing). If dry flour remains, add about 20 percent more until the mixture looks crumbly. Judging how well it comes together, add the rest of the water a little at a time; depending on how t
- Once the dough forms a single mass, knead it clockwise by pressing your thumb into the center (kiku-neri, or chrysanthemum kneading) to push out air. Press the dough against the sides of the bowl or mixing tub, shape it into a triangular pyramid, and smooth the surface.
- Dust a rolling board with flour and flatten the dough by pressing down with your hands. Adding more dusting flour as needed, spread it thinner by turning it from the center with your hands. Then roll from the near side of the center outward with a rolling pin, turning the dough so the thickness evens out.
- Repeat until the sheet is about 2 mm thick all over. Dust with flour, fold it in half horizontally, then in half vertically. Dust the folds as well so the blade will slide cleanly.
- Set a cutting guide against the dough and cut into strands about 2 mm wide. Dust the cut noodles with flour, loosen them by hand, and spread them on a plate or tray so they do not stick together.
- Bring a large pot of plenty of water to a vigorous boil and add the noodles so they separate. After the water returns to a boil and the noodles float, boil them for about 40 to 70 seconds, judging by the chew. Fresh noodles this thin are best slightly underdone, with a hint of firm core.
- Transfer them immediately to cold water, rinse off the surface slime, then firm them in even colder water (arai, or washing). Drain well and mound in bowls, or in round warigo boxes.
- Dilute 50 ml of 3x mentsuyu with 100 ml of water to make the dipping sauce. Serve it alongside for each person to pour, or ladle it directly over the noodles. Add green onions, wasabi, and shredded nori to taste.
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Notes
Izumo soba is milled by the hikigurumi method, grinding the whole groat without first sifting out the hull, so it is darker and more aromatic than sarashina soba, which is milled from the center of the grain only.
The traditional wheat-flour binder is often around 20 percent. This recipe uses only buckwheat flour and water, so if the dough tears easily, first revisit the hydration, the dusting flour, and the room temperature; if needed, you can add a very small amount of wheat flour. When hand-cutting is too difficult, commercial Izumo soba (dried or fresh) boiled according to the package is a fine substitute.
Local eating styles fall into two main types. In warigo soba, the noodles are firmed in cold water and the sauce is poured directly over them; in kamaage soba, the noodles are not rinsed, they are served hot, and they are eaten with a slightly thickened soba cooking water and condiments. Kamaage is said to have especially close ties to the area around Izumo Taisha.
Hydration changes with the freshness of the flour and the humidity, so do not add all 450 ml at once; add about 70 percent, then 20 percent, then the rest as needed. If the dough becomes too sticky, correct it with dusting flour.
Izumo soba is known as one of Japan's three great soba styles, alongside wanko soba from Iwate and Togakushi soba from Nagano. It is a different regional noodle from Niigata's hegi soba (bound with funori seaweed), Okinawa soba, and Yamaguchi's kawara soba.
It is available year-round, but the aroma is at its best when the autumn new-crop soba appears. Dust the cut fresh noodles with flour and boil them the same day if you can.
Time and temperature
Water mixing and chrysanthemum kneading: 10–15 min · roll to about 2 mm: 15–20 min · cut about 2 mm wide: 10 min · boil: 40–70 seconds after they float in a rolling boil · rinse and firm in cold water: 1–2 min · add sauce and condiments
Nutrition
730 kcal · Protein 25 g · Fat 6.5 g · Carbs 142 g
1 of 2 servings (about 200 g flour plus sauce), estimate
Substitutes
- 400 g buckwheat flour → 2 servings commercial Izumo soba, as labeled
- 200 g dusting flour → buckwheat or cake flour (knock off the excess)
- 50 ml 3x mentsuyu + 100 ml water → bottled soba tsuyu diluted as labeled
- Green onion, wasabi, and nori → grated daikon or sesame also work
- Cold warigo style → skip the rinse and serve hot with soba cooking water
Storage
Dust the cut fresh noodles, spread them out, and refrigerate; boil the same day. Drained cooked noodles keep, sealed, for the same day (chew and aroma drop by the next day). Store sauce and condiments separately. Freezing handmade dough is not recommended, as it cracks easily. Follow the package if you use dried noodles.
FAQ
- Why won't the dough come together, or why does it tear?
- The water often has not been worked in fully, or too much was added at once. Add about 70 percent, then 20 percent, then the rest as needed; cover with a damp cloth if the surface dries.
- Why do the noodles break or go soft as soon as they boil?
- Usually they stuck together from too little dusting flour, or they were boiled too long. Loosen them after cutting, boil only 40–70 seconds after they float, and firm them at once in cold water.
- Can I cut the noodles ahead of time?
- Yes. Dust them, spread them out, and refrigerate, then boil the same day. The sauce can be chilled separately. Do not boil them far in advance; flavor and texture fade.
- What is the difference between warigo and kamaage soba?
- Warigo soba is rinsed in cold water, packed in round stacked boxes, and dressed with sauce. Kamaage is not rinsed, is served hot with cooking water and condiments, and is closely tied to the Izumo Taisha area.
- Can I use store-bought Izumo soba instead?
- Yes. Skip the hand-cutting, boil according to the package, then choose a cold rinse or the hot kamaage style. The sauce and condiment amounts on this page still apply.
Origin and history
Izumo soba is the signature buckwheat noodle of the Izumo region in Shimane Prefecture, and it is counted as one of Japan's three great soba styles, alongside wanko soba from Iwate and Togakushi soba from Nagano. Tradition holds that the style took root after Matsudaira Naomasa, the first lord of the Matsue domain, brought soba craftsmen with him when he transferred from Matsumoto in Shinshu in the early Edo period. Ordinary buckwheat flour is milled in grades from first flour to third flour, but Izumo soba is hikigurumi, milled from the whole groat, so the color is darker and more of the aroma and nutrition remain. The wheat-flour binder is kept fairly low, around 20 percent. Warigo soba, in which cold noodles are dressed with sauce poured directly over them, is said to come from the stacked lunch boxes once carried in the castle town, which changed from hard-to-wash square boxes to round ones; kamaage soba, served hot, is associated with festival stalls around Izumo Taisha. This recipe makes about 2 handmade servings from 400 g of buckwheat flour. From water mixing through rolling, cutting, and boiling, it takes about 60 minutes.