Noodles for Chuka Soba
WHAT IS IN A NAME? – thus the famous rhetorical question goes. Yes, indeed.
Answering what noodles match “Chuka Soba” best inevitably entails deciphering what “Chuka Soba” is in the first place.
The question of what is Chuka Soba is not quite straightforward by itself, and requires for its understanding a journey to the times when “Ramen” was first introduced to Japan from China – a country which in the Japanese language alongside “Chu-goku” is also called “Chu-ka”.
Long story short, when what is currently referred to as Ramen was first brought to Japan, it was called “Chuka Soba” or Chinese Soba.
Soba is, of course, buckwheat noodles, but this word was adopted rather for the shape of Soba than for its main ingredient.
(!Now you know how to answer this piece of Japanology-related trivia – “How much buckwheat is in Chuka Soba?” — “Absolutely zero!”)
This ambiguity in terminology exists to these days when the same dish can be called both Chuka Soba and Ramen.
However, since Ramen has greatly evolved and diversified throughout the process of its development, for the most part the expression Chuka Soba is currently reserved to such Ramen dishes that resemble those that have been popular at the beginning of its history in Japan.
So, what kind of noodles would suit Chuka Soba dishes best ? — The general answer would be noodles that match relatively thin (i.e. low density) soy-sauce based Ramen.
To learn what those noodles are (their ingredients, size, thickness, length, hardness, texture, color etc.) and how you can make them join our free online class dedicated to this topic scheduled for April 15, 2022.
The class is Free, and its live broadcast is accessible by the link that will be sent to your email address after you sign up.
IMPORTANT:
a link to the class’s livestream will be sent to your email address 30 minutes before the start
(NOTE: we are looking forward for, and would definitely welcome your watching the live broadcast, but should that be difficult, you would still be able to watch a recording of the class using the same link)
Time schedule
| Time (Japanese time) | Contents |
| 4:30~4:35 (P.M.) | Introduction |
| 4:35 ~ 4:50 | A lecture on the history of Ramen and Chuka Soba, as well on noodles best suited to make Chuka Soba dishes with |
| 4:50 ~ 5:20 | Practical demonstration of production techniques to make noodles for Chuka Soba |
| 5:20 ~ 5:30 | Cooking and plating session |
| 5:30 ~ 5:35 | Q&A |
*April 15, 4:30 P.M. Japanese time will be:
April 15, 00:30 A.M. in Los Angeles;
April 15, 2:30 A.M. in Dallas;
April 15, 3:30 A.M. in New York;
April 15, 10:30 A.M. in Helsinki;
9:30 A.M. in Berlin;
8:30 A.M. in Lisbon
*Schedule and timetable may be subject to change
*The workshop will be conducted in English
How to register for the class
You will receive an email with instructions for how to log in to the class’s livestream.
NOTE:
Please feel free to tell us about what kind of noodles you would want to see featured or any particular topic covered during the class.
Featured in the class
