How Do They Make Those Wonderful Soba Noodles?

I heard a report on NPR about a woman in Los Angeles who is teaching how to make Japanese soba noodles. The ingredients are buckwheat flour and water -- that's all. It is difficult to find authentic soba noodles here in the US, we were told, and this woman wants to keep alive the art of making them.

Having lived in Japan for three years, and remembering soba noodles with some fondness, I thought I'd like to know more, and maybe even learn to make our own. Wouldn't it be fun, I thought, to serve dinner guests (and family, of course) yaki soba or some other dish featuring these delicious, gluten-free noodles! So I turned to YouTube, where I found the following video.

After watching it, all I can say is, making soba is tough, exacting work, and I'll leave it to the experts. I guess I'll find an Asian market where I can buy authentic ready-made soba noodles and spend my time finding a good recipe and the proper fresh vegetables to put in the dish.


Here's to good food, lovingly made and served (even if you can't do it all by hand).