Zaru soba, a Japanese dish featuring cold noodles and a savoury dipping sauce, is a popular choice during periods of summer heat and humidity, according to Namiko Hirasawa Chen of Just One Cookbook. The dish is described as simple and satisfying, capable of being prepared in 15 minutes.
The noodles, traditionally served on a bamboo mat, can be accessorised with various sides such as crunchy salads, sweet seafood, or creamy tofu for a more substantial meal. While other chilled noodle dishes exist in Japan, buckwheat soba noodles are more widely available in larger UK supermarkets.
Yumiko Maehashi of RecipeTin Japan suggests that the nutty flavour of these noodles is best enjoyed cold. The dipping sauce, known as mentsuyu, is typically intense in flavour, made from ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, seaweed, and dried, smoked tuna flakes. Chef Masaki Sugisaki of Dinings SW3 in London advises that, after finishing the noodles, the reserved cooking water can be heated and added to the dipping sauce to be drunk as a soup, as it contains nourishing minerals.