Soba

Japanese food · noodles · buckwheat

Buckwheat noodles. Soba noodles are made primarily from buckwheat flour, which comes from a plant that's not actually wheat at all. The flour gives soba its distinctive ashen brown color and slightly grainy, interesting texture.

Two ways to eat. You can enjoy soba either cold with a tasty dipping sauce or piping hot in a warm broth soup. Japanese people eat soba year-round, but chilled soba is especially refreshing during hot summers.

Wheat flour too. Most soba noodles actually mix buckwheat flour with some wheat flour to help hold them together and make them easier to cook. Different regions of Japan use different amounts, so each place has its own special soba style.

Many dishes. Soba appears in countless Japanese dishes beyond simple noodle soup, from salads to stir-fries to special holiday meals. It's considered a staple food in Japanese cuisine that people have enjoyed for centuries.