A few weeks ago I went on a weekend adventure to Nagano. On this adventure Kumiko was kind enough to book a soba noodle making class! Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat. So it goes that soba noodles are noodles made of buckwheat flour.
The class we took was easy to follow due to the fact that Kumiko was able to translate for us. If she was not there we would not have a clue as to what to do or why we were doing what we were doing.
We were given a bowl of flower and a cup of water. We then poured the water in an lightly mixed it up, first with a flat wooden spoon, then with our hands.
When we were finished lightly mixing we kneaded the dough into a ball. We were told to knead the dough 200 times. Kumiko and I took turns and we each kneaded 100 times.
When we finished kneading the dough we were told to roll it out into a circle. The old woman who was an expert helped get our dough started. At this step they did a wonderful job of explaining using example as a method of teaching. Without knowing what they were saying, I understand what to do and a little bit of why.
After rolling our ball of dough into an oblong, bumpy circle we were told to continue rolling in a different way. We rolled the dough around the rolling pin, rolled three times, then rotated at a 30 degree angle and opened it out only to do it again, and again, and again. After we did this countless times the instructors came up and folded our flat, but not nearly circular, dough into a rectangle.
It was now that they took out a giant knife and gave us instructions to cut the dough into tiny, 1 cm wide strips. I knew it was 1 cm wide due to Kumiko and her wonderful translations. I was timid at first and the instructor could tell I was tense. He came up and helped me get the rhythm of cutting. After he helped me it was quite easy and smooth to cut the strips.
This was the final step in our making the soba noodles. They took the noodles from us, stuck them in some boiling water for a short time and then quickly doused them with ice water. The noodles are served cold with a special sauce made of sweeted soy sauce and some other herbs for flavor. We were also given some delicious soba tea.
Soba noodles are a delicious and healthy alternative to rice or refined flour noodles but after attempting to split the whole plate of soba noodles with Kumiko, I have had my fill for the time being.
We were given a bowl of flower and a cup of water. We then poured the water in an lightly mixed it up, first with a flat wooden spoon, then with our hands. When we were finished lightly mixing we kneaded the dough into a ball. We were told to knead the dough 200 times. Kumiko and I took turns and we each kneaded 100 times.
When we finished kneading the dough we were told to roll it out into a circle. The old woman who was an expert helped get our dough started. At this step they did a wonderful job of explaining using example as a method of teaching. Without knowing what they were saying, I understand what to do and a little bit of why.
It was now that they took out a giant knife and gave us instructions to cut the dough into tiny, 1 cm wide strips. I knew it was 1 cm wide due to Kumiko and her wonderful translations. I was timid at first and the instructor could tell I was tense. He came up and helped me get the rhythm of cutting. After he helped me it was quite easy and smooth to cut the strips. 
Soba noodles are a delicious and healthy alternative to rice or refined flour noodles but after attempting to split the whole plate of soba noodles with Kumiko, I have had my fill for the time being.
That looks very yummy!
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