4

I remember having been in Japan and ate several meals of cold soba. Their cold soba broth taste like soy sauce with only a stint of saltiness; it doesn't taste like it's made of sushi type sweetened soy sauce; neither does it taste like a simple mixture of soy sauce and water.

Instead of using pre-made cold soba broth, I want to replicate these Japanese cold soba broth at home. Googling directs me to different recipes: some suggest mixing soy sauce with chicken broth (I can't recall any stock-ish taste); some suggest mixing with Mirin (alcohol in a soba broth - I don't think so..).

Does any know how to make cold soba broth or at least know the essential ingredients?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

The basis for any sort of Japanese soup dish is going to be dashi stock, a stock made of fish and seaweed. It has a much lighter flavor than chicken broth, so you might not have identified it easily. You can buy it in a powder form for convenience, and it can be sprinkled into other liquids rather than reconstituted.

This recipe is for soba with a dipping sauce, but it'll give you a good idea of the flavor profile you're looking for: Dashi stock plus kaeshi, which is made of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar (and simmered so it's not strongly alcoholic).

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    I've got to disagree with one of your statements. As long as they can get the ingredients and boil water anyone can make a basic dashi stock. That being said, powdered Hon Dashi (kobikitchen.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/what-is-hon-dashi) is a useful thing to have if you are in a hurry or can't get konbu or bonito flake. As David Chang says "...there’s no reason in the world not to have a jar of instant dashi powder on hand: it’s cheap, it has some flavor, and it really is instant. Sometimes it’s a lifesaver"
    – Didgeridrew
    Commented Jul 21, 2012 at 23:01
  • @Didgeridrew I was thinking from scratch as in hand-shaving your bonito and all that -- I forgot about the existence of shaved bonito flakes. Mea culpa,.
    – Yamikuronue
    Commented Jul 22, 2012 at 23:57
  • I didn't consider hand-shaving bonito... or starting from fresh skipjack either...(cheftaro.com/foodamentals/how-katsuobushi-made) So I'll take a little of that culpa too.
    – Didgeridrew
    Commented Jul 23, 2012 at 2:18

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.