Served hot or cold, soba noodle soup features buckwheat noodles and a flavorful broth. You can make this versatile dish to your preferences by incorporating the vegetables and seasonings you enjoy most.

Soba Noodle Soup: Easy 30-Minute Soba Noodle Soup Recipe

Soba noodle soup is a traditional Japanese dish served either cold or hot and featuring thin noodles made from [buckwheat](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-cook-buckwheat) flour (“soba” is the Japanese word for buckwheat). For cold or chilled soba, the noodles are served separately from the dipping broth. Hot soba is served as a warm noodle soup, with the noodles in the bowl of broth. 

Soba noodle soup and the soba noodles themselves are commonly sold and prepared across Japan with many regional variations. People sometimes use the word “soba” to refer to any thin noodle and reserve the term “nihon soba” to specify buckwheat noodles.

Soba noodles are sometimes confused for [udon noodles](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-udon-noodles), but the two differ. When compared to udon, soba noodles have a lower glycemic value and contain more dietary fiber and protein.
People have eaten soba since at least Japan’s Edo period (roughly 1600–1870) although historical documentation suggests the Japanese might have been eating buckwheat and soba noodles as early as the Nara period (approximately 710–795 ADE) to stave off famine, or possibly even earlier. 

During the Edo period, soba became an important Japanese tradition, especially during New Year’s Eve. On the last evening of the year, Japanese people and others who follow the tradition, enjoy toshikoshi soba by slurping up the noodles (the customary way to eat the dish), which are made to be long and thin—meant to symbolize a long and healthy life.
Soba noodles can contain different ratios of buckwheat to other ingredients. Those that are made purely from buckwheat flour and water are called juwari soba. Since this traditional noodle contains no gluten, an element that gives noodles and breads their structure, it can be difficult to shape. Noodle makers can therefore add different flours to increase the gluten content, resulting in many different variations of soba noodles. Here are a few types you might come across:

- __Juwari soba__: These noodles are 100 percent buckwheat flour and gluten-free.
- __Nihachi soba__: These noodles are 80 percent buckwheat flour and 20 percent other flour (also called 2:8 soba noodles).
- __Gowari soba__: These noodles are 50 percent buckwheat flour and 50 percent other flour. 
Served either hot or cold, Japanese recipes for soba dishes incorporate many different ingredients for various flavor profiles. Here are five popular soba noodle soup dishes to try.

- __Kamo nanban__: This broth is flavored with duck meat, leeks, green onions, and a savory-sweet sauce but can also include mushrooms, spinach, and orange zest. Sometimes people write the name of this dish as kamonanban, or call it nanban soba or just simply nanban.
- __Nameko soba__: This dish is made with soba noodles, sauteed nameko mushrooms, and mentsuyu broth. Sliced scallions serve as a garnish.
- __Okinawa soba__: Originating from Okinawa, where cooks rarely use buckwheat, this dish is made with noodles that primarily consist of wheat flour, with a texture that’s a cross between ramen and udon noodles. This dish includes pork belly cooked in soy sauce and toppings of fish cakes, fish paste, sliced scallions, and pickled ginger.
- __Sansai soba__: Made with dashi stock flavored with mirin and soy sauce, sansai soba is enriched with crispy vegetables, such as asparagus, as well as spinach or shiitake mushrooms. Additional options include fishcakes, eggs, and strips of dry <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-edible-seaweed' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-edible-seaweed","linkCopy":"seaweed","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>seaweed</a>.
Served hot or cold, soba noodle soup features buckwheat noodles and a flavorful broth. You can make this versatile dish to your preferences by incorporating the vegetables and seasonings you enjoy most.

Soba noodle soup is a traditional Japanese dish served either cold or hot and featuring thin noodles made from <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-cook-buckwheat' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-cook-buckwheat","linkCopy":"buckwheat","category":null}'>buckwheat</a> flour (“soba” is the Japanese word for buckwheat). For cold or chilled soba, the noodles are served separately from the dipping broth. Hot soba is served as a warm noodle soup, with the noodles in the bowl of broth. Soba noodle soup and the soba noodles themselves are commonly sold and prepared across Japan with many regional variations. People sometimes use the word “soba” to refer to any thin noodle and reserve the term “nihon soba” to specify buckwheat noodles.Soba noodles are sometimes confused for <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-udon-noodles' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-udon-noodles","linkCopy":"udon noodles","category":null}'>udon noodles</a>, but the two differ. When compared to udon, soba noodles have a lower glycemic value and contain more dietary fiber and protein.

What Is Soba Noodle Soup?

People have eaten soba since at least Japan’s Edo period (roughly 1600–1870) although historical documentation suggests the Japanese might have been eating buckwheat and soba noodles as early as the Nara period (approximately 710–795 ADE) to stave off famine, or possibly even earlier. During the Edo period, soba became an important Japanese tradition, especially during New Year’s Eve. On the last evening of the year, Japanese people and others who follow the tradition, enjoy toshikoshi soba by slurping up the noodles (the customary way to eat the dish), which are made to be long and thin—meant to symbolize a long and healthy life.

A Brief History of Soba Noodle Soup

Soba noodles can contain different ratios of buckwheat to other ingredients. Those that are made purely from buckwheat flour and water are called juwari soba. Since this traditional noodle contains no gluten, an element that gives noodles and breads their structure, it can be difficult to shape. Noodle makers can therefore add different flours to increase the gluten content, resulting in many different variations of soba noodles. Here are a few types you might come across:<ul class="mc-m-4 list-styled"><li class="">Juwari soba: These noodles are 100 percent buckwheat flour and gluten-free. </li><li class="">Nihachi soba: These noodles are 80 percent buckwheat flour and 20 percent other flour (also called 2:8 soba noodles). </li><li class="">Gowari soba: These noodles are 50 percent buckwheat flour and 50 percent other flour. </li></ul>

A Brief Overview of Soba Noodles

Served either hot or cold, Japanese recipes for soba dishes incorporate many different ingredients for various flavor profiles. Here are five popular soba noodle soup dishes to try.<ul class="mc-m-4 list-styled"><li class="">Kamo nanban: This broth is flavored with duck meat, leeks, green onions, and a savory-sweet sauce but can also include mushrooms, spinach, and orange zest. Sometimes people write the name of this dish as kamonanban, or call it nanban soba or just simply nanban. </li><li class="">Nameko soba: This dish is made with soba noodles, sauteed nameko mushrooms, and mentsuyu broth. Sliced scallions serve as a garnish. </li><li class="">Okinawa soba: Originating from Okinawa, where cooks rarely use buckwheat, this dish is made with noodles that primarily consist of wheat flour, with a texture that’s a cross between ramen and udon noodles. This dish includes pork belly cooked in soy sauce and toppings of fish cakes, fish paste, sliced scallions, and pickled ginger. </li><li class="">Sansai soba: Made with dashi stock flavored with mirin and soy sauce, sansai soba is enriched with crispy vegetables, such as asparagus, as well as spinach or shiitake mushrooms. Additional options include fishcakes, eggs, and strips of dry <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-edible-seaweed' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/what-is-edible-seaweed","linkCopy":"seaweed","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>seaweed</a>. </li></ul>

5 Popular Soba Noodle Soup Dishes

Soba Noodle Soup Recipe

Served hot or cold, soba noodle soup features buckwheat noodles and a flavorful broth. You can make this versatile dish to your preferences by incorporating the vegetables and seasonings you enjoy most.

Served hot or cold, soba noodle soup features buckwheat noodles and a flavorful broth. You can make this versatile dish to your preferences by incorporating the vegetables and seasonings you enjoy most.
