The earthy buckwheat soba noodles are our favorite. It often becomes a last minute lunch meal as there is always dried soba noodles in the pantry as well as a bottle of men tsuyu concentrate. In this simple recipe mushrooms are simply cut into bite-size pieces and blanched in hot water and then put onto the soba. The earthy mushrooms are a perfect partner for the noodles.
Kinoko (Mushroom) Soba
Serves 4
½ cup shiméjimushrooms
½ cup shiitakémushrooms
½ cup maitakémushrooms
½ cup namékomushrooms
4 bunches of dried soba
bottled men tsuyu 麺つゆ orめんつゆ
shichimi (seven spice), optional
Heat up a very large pot of water for boiling the soba. Heat up a second large pot of water to cook the mushrooms.
Place the namékomushrooms in a bowl. Cut off the stems of the shiitaké mushrooms and cut the cap into thin slices. Cut the base of the shiméji mushrooms and break into individual pieces. Cut the base of the maitakémushrooms and break into smaller pieces. Put all of the mushrooms in a bowl.
Quickly blanch the mushrooms in hot water and set aside.
In a pot prepare the soba broth according to the directions on the tsuyu bottle.
In the very large pot of boiling water cook the soba according to the packet, usually about 4 minutes. Be careful not to let the pot boil over. Add cold water if needed to prevent them from boiling over. After it is cooked strain. Put the noodles in a soba bowl, top with the hot soba broth and the cooked mushrooms. Garnish with shichimi (seven spice).
