Juwari Soba (100% Buckwheat Noodles)

For the noodle dough

1. Sift the buckwheat flour into a large mixing bowl.

2. Add about two-thirds of the water to the flour and mix with your fingers, rubbing the flour to evenly distribute the moisture until coarse crumbs form.

3. Add the remaining water and continue mixing and kneading until the dough begins to bind together into a rough ball.

4. Knead the dough vigorously in the bowl, pressing and turning it repeatedly, until smooth, pliable, and cohesive.

5. Dust a large wooden cutting surface generously with flour.

6. Flatten the dough ball into a round disk using the palms of your hands.

7. Roll out the dough using a long wooden rolling pin, working from the center outward and rotating the dough, until it forms a thin, uniform sheet.

8. Dust the top of the rolled sheet with flour, fold it evenly into layers, and transfer it onto a wooden cutting board.

9. Align a wooden guide board over the folded dough, and slice into fine, uniform noodles using a soba cleaver.

10. Dust the cut noodles with flour to prevent sticking and separate them gently into portions.

For serving

11. Prepare the condiments by slicing the scallions and iburikakko, and place them into small serving dishes alongside the wasabi and green vegetables.

12. Pour the chilled dipping sauce into a individual dipping bowl.

13. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat, drop in a mesh strainer, and add the noodles.

14. Boil the noodles briefy, stirring gently with chopsticks to prevent sticking, about 1 to 2 minutes. Cook: 2 min

15. Lift the noodles out using the strainer and immediately submerge them into a bowl of cold water to stop cooking and rinse off surface starch.

16. Drain the cold noodles thoroughly and transfer them into individual serving bowls.

17. Serve immediately with the prepared dipping sauce and garnishes.

18. Juwari soba is made from 100% buckwheat flour, which contains no gluten. The dough can break easily, so knead thoroughly until soft and smooth.

19. If finding suitable 100% fine-ground buckwheat flour is difficult, substitute 20–30% of the total flour weight with wheat flour to make binding easier.