Kitsune Soba Recipe: How to Make Buckwheat Noodle Soup

Kitsune soba is a Japanese noodle soup consisting of buckwheat soba noodles and a savory dashi broth, topped with aburaage, a lightly sweet, deep-fried tofu pocket. “Kitsune” means “fox” in Japanese, and the dish’s name is a reference to the creature’s preference for aburaage in traditional folktales.

Popular variations on the dish include kitsune udon (“fox udon”), made with thick, chewy udon noodles, and tanuki soba, which swaps the fried tofu skin for crumbled bits of fried tempura batter.

Like most Japanese recipes, kitsune soba relies on a simple list of high-quality ingredients. Here are some tips to consider:

1. 1. Choosing the ingredients and toppings: The core ingredients for any bowl of kitsune soba are the soup stock, the buckwheat noodles, and the fried tofu. You can typically find inari age pockets—aburaage seasoned with soy sauce and mirin—in Asian grocery stores. Plain aburaage is available in specialty Japanese shops or online. Top your kitsune soba with additional toppings or garnishes like chopped green onions, a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi chili powder, or sliced kamaboko fish cake.
2. 2. Making the dashi: Make your own dashi with a packet of instant dashi powder or by steeping dried kelp and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) in either hot water or cold water for about thirty minutes. Awase dashi combines kombu dashi (made with kelp) and katsuo dashi for a stock rich in naturally occurring glutamic acids and sodium inosinate—creating dashi’s signature umami flavor. For vegetarian dashi, use only kombu, or add dried shiitake mushrooms.
3. 3. Serving kitsune soba: Serve kitsune soba as a main course, alongside a selection of pickles (tsukemono), steamed edamame, a light salad, or side dishes like carrots and burdock root (kinpira gobo) or miso-glazed eggplant (nasu dengaku).