Grated daikon radish (oroshi)Squeeze out the water and drop a small mound into the dip.
Grated mountain yam (tororo)Pour it over the noodles. It is slippery, so slurp.
Natto (fermented soybeans)Stir it until sticky and pile it on cold noodles with green onion.
Sesame dressing and vegetables (soba salad)Toss the cold noodles with shredded vegetables just before eating.
Shredded noriScatter it over the noodles at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Sliced long green onion (negi)Slice it thin and stir it into the dip.
Soba rolled in nori (soba maki)Slice the roll into rounds and dip each piece in the sauce.
Soy and dashi dipping sauce (tsuyu)Pour a little into a small cup and dip a few noodles at a time.
WasabiStir a small dab into the dipping sauce.
Toppings for a bowl of hot soba 14
Cooked dried herring (nishin)Lay the fillet across the noodles and flake it as you eat.
Curry broth with chicken or pork (kare nanban)Ladle it over the noodles and top with sliced long onion.
Duck and long onion (kamo nanban)Slice the duck thin and fan it over the noodles.
Fish cake slices (kamaboko)Two or three thin slices on top are enough.
Fried tofu pouch (aburaage)Lay one flat on the noodles and let it soak up the broth.
Mountain vegetables (sansai)Drain them well and pile them in the middle of the bowl.
Nameko mushroomsSpoon them over the noodles with a little grated daikon.
Raw egg (tsukimi)Crack it onto the hot broth and leave the yolk whole.
Seven-spice chili powder (shichimi togarashi)Shake a little over the hot broth at the table.
Shrimp and vegetable tempuraLay it on a hot bowl at the last moment, or on a plate beside cold soba.
Simmered bamboo shoots (takenoko)Cut them in thin wedges and tuck them beside the noodles.
Tempura crumbs (tenkasu)Sprinkle a spoonful over the broth just before eating.
Tempura fritter of shredded vegetables (kakiage)Rest it on the rim of the bowl and break pieces into the broth.
Wakame seaweedSoak it soft, drain it and add a small handful.
Beside the noodles 5
Buckwheat dumpling (sobagaki)Pull off pieces with chopsticks and dip them in soy sauce.
Chicken and egg rice bowl (oyakodon)A small bowl next to plain cold soba makes a set meal.
Fried-tofu sushi pouches (inari sushi)Two on a small plate turn a bowl of noodles into lunch.
Rolled omelette with dashi (dashimaki tamago)Slice it thick and serve it warm with a little grated daikon.
Tempura rice bowl (tendon)A small bowl for the hungry, eaten between mouthfuls of noodles.
Drinks 2
Buckwheat tea (sobacha)Hot in cold weather, over ice in warm.
The noodle cooking water (sobayu)Pour it hot into the leftover dip and drink it like a soup.
How it works
What to eat with soba noodles depends on the bowl: cold soba is dipped, hot soba is topped. 30 ideas in four groups: the dip and its garnishes, hot toppings, sides and two drinks.
Read the full guide
How soba is served in Japan
Soba is served either chilled with a dipping sauce or hot in a broth. Chilled noodles often come on a bamboo tray called a zaru, sometimes with dried nori on top. Wasabi and sliced long onion are stirred into the sauce, and each mouthful is dipped. Afterwards many people pour the noodle cooking water into the leftover sauce and drink it. Popular garnishes on a hot bowl are sliced long onion and seven-spice chili powder.
What to eat with soba at home
Decide cold or hot first. For cold noodles, set out the sauce and two or three garnishes, with tempura on its own plate. For a hot bowl, choose one topping and let it lead.
Slurping is fine. In Japan it is considered acceptable, and it cools hot noodles on the way in.
Questions and answers
What to eat with zaru soba?
Zaru soba is plain chilled soba under shredded nori, so the rest is yours to add: grated daikon or mountain yam in the dip, a plate of shrimp and vegetable tempura, and a rolled omelette to share.
What can I eat with soba noodles in hot broth?
A kakiage fritter, fried tofu, duck with long onion, cooked dried herring, mountain vegetables, nameko mushrooms, wakame, or a raw egg, which poaches in the soup.
What do you eat soba with besides dipping sauce?
Natto stirred until sticky, or a sesame dressing with vegetables for a soba salad. Soba maki is cold soba rolled in nori and sliced like a sushi roll.
What to eat soba noodles with as a side dish?
Fried-tofu sushi pouches, a small chicken and egg rice bowl or a tempura rice bowl. Sobagaki, a dumpling of buckwheat flour and hot water, keeps the whole meal buckwheat.
What do you drink with soba?
Without alcohol: buckwheat tea, hot or over ice, or sobayu, the noodle cooking water stirred into the leftover dip.