Shinshu Soba

Shinshu soba is the soba of Nagano Prefecture (formerly Shinshu province). Wikipedia documents Nagano as one of Japan's premier soba regions. The cool highland climate of the Japanese Alps is ideal for buckwheat cultivation; the region produces some of Japan's highest-quality soba flour. Shinshu soba is characterized by its firm texture, clean buckwheat flavor, and the traditional togarashi-seasoned dipping sauce. The dish is a staple of Nagano mountain cuisine, served cold (zaru style) in summer and hot (kake style) in winter.

A bowl of Shinshu soba brings up firm, nutty noodles — either cold, arranged on a bamboo mat with a savory dipping sauce, or hot, in a clean dashi broth. The buckwheat flavor is pronounced, earthy, and slightly sweet; the texture has a satisfying bite that holds up to the sauce. Eaten with a hint of wasabi and sliced scallion, it is the taste of the Japanese Alps.

Shinshu soba rests on the quality of the buckwheat flour and the noodle-making technique. Buckwheat — gluten-free — cannot form a stretchy dough on its own; soba makers add a small proportion of wheat flour as a binder (typically 80% buckwheat to 20% wheat, known as nihachi soba). The dough is kneaded, rolled thin, and cut by hand or machine. The key to good soba is using the freshest possible buckwheat flour — buckwheat's oils oxidize quickly, so freshly milled flour gives the cleanest, most aromatic noodles. Nagano's climate, with its cold nights and dry air, produces buckwheat with a higher concentration of the aromatic compounds that give soba its characteristic nutty fragrance.