Niigata Hegisoba Funori Seaweed Noodle

Ingredients

• For the noodle dough
• 400 g buckwheat flour (Uonuma-grown where available)
• 15 g dried funori seaweed (Gloiopeltis furcata), soaked briefly in warm water, then brought to near-simmer and fully dissolved in hot water before use
• 150 ml hot water, used to dissolve the funori; quantity adjusted to dough consistency
• For the tsuyu
• 500 ml dashi, cold; prepared from kombu and katsuobushi
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 50 ml mirin
• To serve
• 1 tsp wasabi, placed whole in the tsuyu, not dissolved; traditional accompaniment

Method

1. 1
   Soak the dried funori briefly in warm water to rehydrate. Transfer to a small saucepan and bring to a near-simmer, stirring, until the seaweed is fully dissolved and the liquid is uniformly gelatinous. Set aside to cool until it can be handled but is still hot. This step is decisive: incompletely dissolved funori will not distribute evenly through the dough and the noodle cannot be rolled.
2. 2
   Place the buckwheat flour in a mixing bowl. Add the hot funori liquid gradually, working the dough by hand until it coheres into a smooth, firm mass. The dough is ready when its surface is even, without lumps, and it holds its shape without cracking at the edges.
3. 3
   Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to an even sheet of approximately 2 mm thickness. Cut into noodles of standard soba width (approximately 2 mm). The cut noodles should show a slight translucency against the light and have a glossy, smooth surface.
4. 4
   Cook the noodles in a large volume of vigorously boiling water. Lift and drain when the noodles are just cooked through — they should offer a distinct elastic snap when bitten, with no raw flour at the centre. Refresh immediately under cold running water until thoroughly chilled. The surface should feel glossy and firm, not soft or slippery.
5. 5
   Prepare the tsuyu: combine the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin; taste for a strong, assertive balance — hegisoba tsuyu is more concentrated than standard cold soba tsuyu, to meet the funori's subtle oceanic note. Serve cold.
6. 6
   Arrange the noodles on the hegi (flat unfinished wood tray) using the te-buri technique: gather a portion of noodles into a bundle, fold in half with the fold facing outward, and lay flat on the tray. Place successive bundles alongside one another until the tray is filled in a regular pattern of 4–6 bundles per portion. The unfinished wood will absorb surface moisture; the arrangement should be neat and the folds uniformly visible across the tray.