Abura Soba

Abura soba is a Tokyo dish that arose in the city's western Musashino and Tama district in the 1950s. Two shops are commonly cited as originators and the exact first is unsettled: Chinchintei, near Asia University on the edge of Musashino City, which sold a brothless noodle from the 1950s; and a shop near Hitotsubashi University in Kunitachi (often given as Sanko, around 1952), said to have served it as a cheap, filling dish for students. The two universities are only a short train ride apart, so the style is generally placed in that western-Tokyo college belt. It stayed a local specialty until the mid-1990s, when specialist shops spread it nationwide.

No soup — glossy, oil-slicked noodles you mix yourself. Tossed properly, each medium-thick strand is coated in a savory, faintly sweet soy tare and fat, chewier and more assertive than a strand pulled from broth. The first bite is rich and concentrated; a splash of vinegar cuts the oil and lifts it, and chili oil adds heat. Chashu is soft, menma crunches, scallion and nori add freshness. A raw egg yolk is often stirred in to make it glossier and milder. Done right it is savory, not greasy; under-tossed, the tare pools at the bottom and the top noodles taste plain.

Without broth, the tare and oil must do all the work, and tossing is the technique. The flavored oil coats each noodle and stops the strands from sticking; the concentrated soy tare clings to that oil film rather than washing off as it would in soup, which is why the seasoning has to be stronger and saltier than a ramen broth. The noodles are typically thicker and higher-hydration so they stay chewy without soup to keep them hot and loose. Vinegar added at the table both brightens the flavor and, being acidic, helps cut the richness of the oil; the optional egg yolk emulsifies with the warm oil to coat the noodles more smoothly. Skip the vigorous mixing and the dish is just oily noodles with sauce at the bottom.