Soba (buckwheat) noodles has a history dating back to the Edo period (17th century) in Japan. These noodles are made using buckwheat and has various nutritional values compared to white rice. 100% buckwheat soba noodles tend to be very brittle so many soba noodles contain a percentage of wheat to combat the brittleness. Soba noodles can be enjoyed cold with tsuyu (dipping sauce) or in a hot soup. Soba is enjoyed all throughout the year in Japan but has a special significance on New Year’s Eve (Toshikoshi Soba) which is a symbol of longevity. Soba is dried like pasta and is available in almost any supermarket in Japan and is available in many asian markets in the US. Although soba can easily be enjoyed at home, there is something different about eating soba at a restaurant especially if they specialize in soba noodles.
There is a nice soba restaurant tucked away in Laguna Hills, CA called Soba Izakaya MINAMI. Established in 2018, Soba Izakaya MINAMI has an extensive menu focusing on Soba noodles and Udon noodles. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by friendly staff and seated us right away. Although it was a cold day, I opted to get some cold Soba noodles. In addition to their regular soba and udon menu, they have a set menu as well which comes with another side. I tried the Nagoya style chicken katsu with cold noodles. Nagoya style katsu consists of a miso sauce that is used instead of regular tonkatsu sauce. The katsu came out hot and the miso sauce was also very tasty. With an order of Soba noodles, you can have up to 3 servings per order. For those who come very hungry, this is a great deal.
Authentic soba is very hard to come by in the US and Soba Izakaya MINAMI had excellent quality soba that tasted fresh and something you could enjoy in Japan. MINAMI is a great place if you are ever craving soba noodles.
WANER POWDERED WASABI
Sizes Available: 2.2 lbs x 10 bags (1kg) (c/s)