cook

I love soba.  It's food I can eat everyday and never get tired of.  I was on a soba marathon for the last few weeks while in Tokyo, visiting one artisinal soba restaurant to another and cooking it at my parents' home in Shibuya.  I also did something I have been wanting to do for the longest time: Take a cooking class in handmade soba.

The search for a school started whlle I was still in Los Angeles. I came upon several listings on the web. I chose Tsukiji Soba Academy because I liked the description of the classes and the location, which is near the Tsukiji Fish market. They offered classes for beginners to a full on soba chef training course that can last anywhere from a week to a month. I decided to sign up for the day class for beginners.  I had no idea what to expect but I had high hopes that when I come out of the class, I will get to eat my own handmade soba.

The school was on the third floor of a building just a few blocks off the fish market.  It was equipped with all kinds of tools and state-of-the-art machinery.  The place was spotlessly clean and had a feeling that you entered a dojo.  I was greeted by Akila Inouye, Master chef and President of the Academy, and his apprentice chef.  The apprentice chef asked me to take my shoes off and change into slippers.  My name tag and soba making tools, including a mixing bowl, knife, cutting board and a couple rolling pins were waiting for me at the work table.  Two more students had signed up for the class so we waited for a few minutes but they were a no show.  I ended up having a two-on-one class. I felt lucky but slightly nervous.

One of the first questions the Master chef asked me was how serious I was about soba. I said in my registration form that I was considering becoming a noodle maker one day. Ha. I said it.   I love working in movies but I can't do it forever. Even if I did, I want to make soba.  It would be wonderful if I can have a tiny handmade soba bar. Ideally somewhere not far from where I will grow my own buckwheat.  Pretty ambitious dream for an urban girl. The dream started when I was making the film SILK in a small village in Nagano prefecture near Matsumoto, Japan, which is famous for good soba. The man who built the film set invited me over to his house to eat his 85 year old mother's handmade soba. The old lady grows the buckwheat, mills the flour herself and makes the soba noodles - all by hand.That is when I thought,  If she can do it, maybe I could.  She has been making soba for more than 50 years so I will have to live a long time but I have good genes for that.  The handmade soba the old woman made was one of the best meals I ever had. I still think about  her and her family who went out of their way to treat me. That lunch was the inspiration for my dream.   I have been dreaming ever since.

I could turn out a soba that looks like a rubbery and inedible mass of flour but I decided to relax and give it a try.  When I revealed my dream to Akila Inouye, he said it was very realizable.   That he's had many people who attend his school with the same dream in mind.  I told him that I even tried growing buckwheat flowers in my backyard as a fun experiment.  He warned me that Buckwheat should not be grown for pleasure as it is a precious food.  Whoops, I failed him already. I washed my hands, put my cap and apron on and so the lesson began.  He demonstrated first.

Ingredients for making soba noodles:  

80 grams All purpose flour (churiki ko)   

320 grams Buckwheat flour

160 grams water - approx 40% of the flour weight plus additional water 2-8% of the flour, as needed during kneading.  

The ingredients are measured on an electric scale.  Soba making is quite a science.  The extra water (2-8% of the flour) indicated in the recipe will be used to make adjustments to the flour mixture according to the level of humidity, season, quality of the flour and soba maker's skill.

Once the measured water is added to the flour mixture, Akila Inouye works very fast, using all ten fingers (see how they are spread open) and the entire space of the mixing bowl. What you get is a sandy flaky mixture.

Now he rolls the dough into one oblong mass.

Notice how clean the bowl looks.  He wastes no flour.

The ends are gathered into one. The opening looks like belly button.  At this point, the dough is smooth as a baby's skin and has a nice shine.

He turns the dough out and we have an upside down Kiss chocolate.

He flattens the dough, using both hands and turns it into a disc. The kneading is complete. At this point, Akila Inouye  takes a break to wash his hands and wipes the bowl clean.  

The soba dough does not require drying like Italian pasta.

He uses his hands to flatten the disc to an even thickness.

Then begins rolling.

He takes a pinch of buckwheat flour and sprinkles it vertically across the dough in three areas.  To roll, he applies the most pressure at the center of the dough and eases the pressure as he rolls outward. The hands move across the dough like a pair of  window wipers.  I tried to do this but this window wiping motion takes practice on a piece of dough.

The dough eventually turns into an oval shape.  He then shapes it further into a rectangle shape.  This is easier said than done.  My dough was missing two corners and had wrinkles in the middle. No panic though.  You stretch the wrinkles gently so as not to tear the dough and leave the missing corners as is.  Any attempt to patchwork like we do with apple pie crusts will affect the texture of soba.  

This rolling is done rather quickly to prevent the dough from drying out.  The ideal thickness of the dough is a uniform 1.5mm  The dough in its final stage of rolling is smooth, long and flexible. These three elements are essential for making that slurpable long soba noodles.   

He uses the smaller rolling pin to roll out the corners.

He spreads buckwheat flour. Look at the generous amount of flour he uses!  

Now the dough is ready to be folded and cut.

He uses a special soba cutting knife, which is rather big.  Move over Freddie and Jason!

See how holds the knife.  He uses a forward motion to cut the noodles. Then tilts the knife at a 1.5 degree angle (very slight) to cut the next noodle.  It takes a lot of practice to make thin, even noodles.  Mine started out thin but as my hands grew tired, the noodles began to grow in size.  Some of my noodles were as wide as 2 mm to 2.5mm (some even 3mm!!!) , instead of the ideal 1.5mm.  I wanted to hide my noodles.  The apprentice chef told me not to worry, that when cooked they will still taste good.

The right hand and the left hand need to work in unison to make the perfect cut.

So this is the finished soba. Thinly sliced and ready to be cooked.  Talk about perfection!

Comments about the soba making class.  A three hour class was just a brief glimpse into this artful world of soba making.  Akila Inouye did a thorough and beautiful demonstration that really helped me appreciate the craft and tradition.  I know that in order to replicate the same soba at home, it will take a lot of practice, skill, and some soba making tools and equipment.  I think a beginner could modify the tools and use what they have at home but the end result will be quite different.  I am willing to take the lesson a step further and go for the longer commitment.  That soba cutting knife will be a commitment.  Not sure if I can even get it across customs!   I don't want to wait too long to take the next class.  At the end of the class, the apprentice chef cooked the soba made by Akila Inouye and served it with a dipping sauce, wasabi and chopped green onions.  It tasted heavenly.   I also got to take home my soba in my Tupperware. I cooked the soba that very night for my family who were all waiting to be the guinea pigs of my creation.  My father, sister and nephew thought my soba was very tasty even though the noodles were a bit uneven in width. I got the texture right.  When I shared my dream about someday becoming a soba maker, they didn't discourage me. They were so busy slurping, all they could do was nod.  Did I pass the slurpability test?  Not bad for a first try.   I am hooked!