Sarashina Soba White Buckwheat Noodle
Japan (Edo Tokyo, Azabu-Juban, Sarashina soba tradition)
Sarashina soba (更科蕎麦) is the most refined and rarefied form of soba, produced from the innermost heart of the buckwheat grain — the endosperm — which is white and starch-rich, containing almost none of the bran that gives standard soba its grey-brown colour and earthy intensity. The result is a pale, almost translucent noodle with a delicate, subtle buckwheat sweetness rather than the bold assertiveness of whole-grain soba. Sarashina is associated with the Edo-period soba culture of Tokyo, particularly the Sarashina Horii restaurant in Azabu-Juban, which has operated since 1789. The technique requires the miller to take only the first milling of the buckwheat centre (ichibangako — first-milled flour), rejecting the grey outer milling that would cloud the colour. Because the noodle is so pale, it is particularly suitable for displaying colouring additions: cha soba (green tea), sakura soba (cherry blossom), yomogi soba (mugwort), and yuzu soba. The tsuyu dipping sauce used with sarashina is typically lighter than the robust sauce used for stronger whole-grain soba.