Mori Soba (もりそば)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Bamboo zaru or square seiro soba tray, or a colander set over a shallow plate
• •Soba-choko dipping cups, or small ceramic cups
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Large pot for boiling noodles

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the 2 cups cold water and warm slowly over medium-low heat, 8 to 10 minutes. Lift it out when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot, before a full boil. Boiling konbu pulls out bitterness and a slick edge, which would be rude in a sauce this plain.

   You're steeping the kelp, not cooking it hard. The white bloom on the surface is flavor, so protect it and keep the dashi clear.
2. 2

   Add the katsuobushi

   Bring the konbu water just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and turn off the heat. Leave it alone until the flakes sink, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth and let it drip on its own. Don't squeeze. Pressing the flakes drives strong, oily flavors into the stock, and this dish has nowhere to hide them.

   The dashi should taste clean and marine, not smoky and heavy. If the stock is clear, the tsuyu can stay precise.
3. 3

   Season the tsuyu

   Put the mirin and sugar in a small saucepan and warm until the sugar dissolves and the sharp smell of alcohol softens, about 1 minute. Add the shōyu and 1 cup of the dashi, then heat only until the surface trembles. Take it off the heat and chill it quickly in a cold-water bath. This tsuyu, the dipping sauce, should taste too strong to drink straight because it will season only the lower third of each bite.

   Don't boil the soy sauce hard. Heat wakes it up, but a rough boil flattens its aroma.
4. 4

   Ready the tray

   Slice the scallion very thinly and grate the wasabi just before serving if you have fresh wasabi. Set a bamboo zaru or square seiro over a tray so the noodles can drain as they sit. A colander set over a shallow plate works at home. The point is simple: cold soba must not sit in a puddle.

5. 5

   Boil the soba

   Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Add the soba and stir once so the strands separate, then cook according to the package, usually 4 to 6 minutes. Taste early. The noodle should be tender with a little resistance, not chalky at the center. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the cloudy cooking water, sobayu, for finishing the meal.

   Use more water than seems necessary. Soba throws off starch, and crowded noodles rub against each other and turn gummy.
6. 6

   Wash and chill

   Drain the soba and rinse it under cold running water, rubbing the noodles gently between your hands until the water runs mostly clear and the strands feel clean. Then plunge them into ice water for 30 to 60 seconds. Washing removes the surface starch, and the cold firms the noodle. This is the detail that decides mori soba.

7. 7

   Drain and mound

   Drain the soba very well, lifting and shaking it lightly so water doesn't cling between the strands. Arrange it in three loose mounds on the zaru or seiro, built with a little height and with at least a third of the tray left open. Pressed-flat soba looks tired and holds water. Leave it room.

8. 8

   Dip and finish

   Pour the chilled tsuyu into small soba-choko cups and set the scallion and wasabi alongside. Stir in only a little condiment at a time. Pick up a small bundle of soba, dip just the lower third into the tsuyu, lift, and slurp. Dunk the whole bundle and the sauce takes over; dip lightly and the buckwheat stays the point. At the end, add hot sobayu to the remaining tsuyu and drink it as a quiet finish.

Chef Tips

• •Buy soba by buckwheat content. Hachi-wari, 80 percent buckwheat, is a fine balance of fragrance and strength. Juwari, 100 percent buckwheat, is more fragile and more direct. If wheat flour is the first ingredient, you can still eat well, but the buckwheat won't speak as clearly.
• •Keep the nori off if you're calling it mori soba. Many shops now treat mori and zaru loosely, but the plain version matters here because nothing comes between you and the noodle.
• •Tsuyu is meant to be strong. If it tastes right as a soup, it will taste weak on the noodle. If it tastes salty in the cup, you're probably closer than your nerves think.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake: soak 8g konbu and 2 dried shiitake in 2 cups cold water overnight, warm gently, and strain. That's the way the temple kitchens do it, honmono, not a compromise.
• •Cook the soba last. Everything else can wait for the noodles, but the noodles won't wait for you.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The tsuyu can be made 3 days ahead. It often tastes rounder after a night in the refrigerator.
• •For meatless dashi, soak the konbu and dried shiitake overnight, then finish the stock the day you serve.
• •Do not cook the soba ahead. Boil, wash, chill, and serve it at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)