Tempura soba challenge

The Daring Cook Challenge of this month it is hosted by Lisa from Blueberry Girl. More information here (click). The topic is : “Cold Soba Salad & Tempura”.

Well I have a few cold soba salads on this blog. The challenge does not mean a real salad. It is either “zaru soba” or “tsukemen” as they eat them in certain countries. Recipes are on Daring Gook international, and different from we do in Japan. I prefered using local ingredients and style.

soba-mania / SOBA ike-men (noodle arrangement)

See the making of the tempura (clixk here).

Let’s make tempura.

Assorted tempura : onion, ika (calamari), kabocha pumpkin, sweet potato, mushrooms, shrimp, shishito pepper and oysters.

I don’t do tempura often at home… so I thought why not ?

And the answer is : “Never do tempura in YOUR kitchen.” It’s abominable, you smell it all day. And that was really cold to open the windows. Well, now I remember why… But home-made tempura is delicious and fun to make.

Tempura can be served with a sauce (tsuyu), but this time I had matcha-shio (tea salt). It is natural raw sea salt and matcha (powdered green tea for ceremony). I don’t mix them, so I have some items with only salt, others with both.

And soba noodles in dashi broth, with wakame and tenkasu (crumbs of tempura.

The meal is served with soba-cha (buckwheat tea).

Soba-cha is made of crushed, then roast buckwheat kernels. It is infused it tea. It is served hot in Winter, iced in Summer. This drink is very popular in the nearby mountains of Kansai. I was often offered a free cup in temples or similar places. Of course, it’s also the drink served in soba restaurants.