Toshikoshi Soba

Today, before we got down to business in the kitchen, I faced a real challenge – Chef Satō asked me to choose the set of kitchen knives I would be using today. It wasn’t an easy task, but I was determined not to give up. I reached for the knife block and began selecting. After 30 minutes of agonizing, I showed my set to Master Satō, who said it was a good thing that today’s recipe didn’t require much chopping, because the knives I’d chosen wouldn’t have worked miracles. I still have a lot to learn, not only in cooking but also in knife selection.

Continuing with the New Year theme, today’s dish was Toshikoshi Soba – a soup eaten for dinner on December 31st. It’s made with dashi, mirin, and soy sauce and served with buckwheat noodles. It supposedly symbolizes good luck in the coming year, but to promote good luck, it’s also worth eating at other times of the year.

To prepare Toshikoshi Soba, you’ll need:

• 1.5 liters of bonito broth or kombu kelp dashi

• 200 ml of soy sauce

• 100 ml of mirin

• 1 tablespoon of sugar

• 300 ml of tsuyu (optional)

• 200 g of buckwheat soba noodles

• 100 g of spring onions

• 20 g of tempura flakes

• 150 g of kamaboko fish cake (optional)

Preparation:

In a large pan, prepare the dashi broth and add the mirin. Simmer for a few minutes.

Add the sugar and allow to dissolve, then add the soy sauce.

In a separate pot, bring a liter of water to a boil. Then add the noodles and simmer for about 8 minutes (check the cooking time on the package).

Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water to remove excess starch.

Using the versatile MAC MBK-95 knife, thinly slice the scallions and other ingredients.

Gently heat the broth and pour it into bowls. Then add the noodles and garnish with scallions and tempura flakes.