Cha Soba Green Tea Noodle Buckwheat Blend Spring

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 300 g buckwheat flour (soba-ko)
• 18 g matcha powder, cooking grade or above, mixed to a smooth paste with a small amount of cold water before use; 6% of flour weight
• 150 ml cold water, adjusted slightly upward if dough appears dry—matcha tannins alter hydration behaviour
• For the tsuyu dipping broth
• 200 ml kaeshi
• 400 ml dashi, cold
• To serve
• 1 tsp wasabi, freshly grated or paste; presented separately
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced

Method

1. 1
   Combine the matcha with a small amount of the measured cold water and work to a smooth, lump-free paste. Add this paste to the buckwheat flour and incorporate the remaining cold water gradually, working the dough until it just coheres. If the dough appears dry or cracks at the edges—a sign that the tea tannins are tightening the starch—add water in small increments. The dough is ready when it holds together without sticking and the surface is smooth.
2. 2
   Roll the dough to an even sheet of approximately 2 mm. Fold and cut into noodles of standard soba width. Work efficiently: the matcha's chlorophyll begins to oxidise and the colour to fade from the moment the dough is exposed to air. Uniform thickness is the test—hold a cut bundle to the light; the strands should be consistent in translucency.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Bring a large volume of unsalted water to a full rolling boil and cook the noodles briefly—fresh cha soba requires only 60–90 seconds. Drain immediately and transfer at once to a bowl of iced water to shock. The noodles must be chilled through: a strand lifted and pressed between thumb and forefinger should feel cold to the core and give a clean, resilient bite. Cold service is not optional; heat suppresses the matcha fragrance that defines the dish.
4. 4
   Drain the shocked noodles thoroughly and arrange on a zaru (bamboo draining tray) or a chilled plate. The colour will have shifted from vivid green to a more muted, slightly yellowed green—this is the expected result of chlorophyll oxidation during cooking and is not a defect. Serve immediately; cha soba deteriorates in fragrance faster than plain soba.
5. 5
   Combine the cold dashi and kaeshi to form the tsuyu. Serve in a small cup alongside the noodles with wasabi and sliced spring onion on the side. Taste the tsuyu: its smoky depth should read as a clean contrast to the vegetal, astringent character of the noodles—neither element should overwhelm the other.