Prawn Tempura and Green Tea Soba Sushi
The Ultimate Noodle
Did you know it takes three years to learn how to make 100% buckwheat noodles? One year to learn how to mix the flour and water, a second year to learn how to roll out the dough and one final year to master cutting the noodles by hand. It’s a fascinating process and the results are spectacular. Buckwheat flour is naturally gluten free, making it extremely dry and prone to cracking, its nutty flavour makes for a delicious and nutritious noodle. However, stretching the noodle dough is a tricky process. In Japan we have a “Geek Culture”, We love to focus in on one thing, obsess over it and make it perfect, this is where the Noodle Masters come in…
Shokunin
Tradition, respect and craftmanship come together in this practise to elevate the humble noodle to something of an art form. I have never undertaken this intensive training but have the utmost respect for these Shokunin or “Noodle Masters”. In fact I trained as a chef under the talented Mr Sekizawa who had previously learned the art of soba noodles. Every time I’ve been back to Japan in recent years, I’ve looked forward to visiting him in his tiny restaurant in Tokyo where he served just 30 portions to a queue of eager customers. The service began and finished within an hour. It was a perfect pocket of noodle-appreciation time for us and then Mr Sekizawa would go back to his little noodle workshop and spend more time doing what he loves: making soba. A wonderful character, he sadly passed away just last year, and he is sorely missed by family and I.
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How is Soba Made?
The art of making soba could be described as a Zen meditation. Soba masters sometimes close their eyes to feel the flour and water coming together. Mixing the dough requires different stages using complex hand movements. Once mixed the dough is then rolled out with a long thin rolling pin into a square and folded. The dough is then cut precisely using a special soba kiri knife. The whole process really blows my mind, if you’d like to see a soba master in action then check out this video.
Where can I get my hands on some soba?
Normally commercial soba noodles are mixed with wheat because it makes it easy to mass produce them. There is nothing wrong with this type of noodle and it’s likely to be the most readily available. However, Clearspring sell an excellent air dried Juwari Soba (100% buckwheat noodles) which is also available in Waitrose. I know £4.00 seems like A LOT for a pack of noodles but consider the craftmanship and attention to detail that has gone into producing these noodles. Of course, the flavour of Juwari Soba is much tastier than its wheaty cousins, also being naturally gluten free its an excellent thing to cook if you have someone who prefers no gluten over for dinner.
How can I cook and eat soba?
Soba is very popular in Japan and my father is such a fan he used to have it every day for lunch! Traditionally the soba noodles come to the table in a bamboo basket with a dipping sauce. Often it is served cold which makes it a lovely dish to eat at the height of the hot sticky Japanese summer. I know what you’re thinking – can these noodles GET any better!? Well, They are also considered a superfood and have been linked to reducing blood pressure and cholesterol. This is why you will usually be served a teapot of water that has been used to cook the soba at the end of your meal as a way to soak up more of their healing properties. Many things go hand in hand in the food world, fish and chips, oysters and champagne and in Japan soba and tempura are a pairing made in heaven. Crisp, rich tempura with light, nutty noodles and a flavoursome broth. What more do you need in life? I explore the perfect combo of noodles and tempura in my online Tempura and Kakiage class – click here to book.
On to the recipe
I’ve taken some of the principals of this meal to create a beautiful dish for you guys! In fact soba sushi is speciality of my Mum’s area on the border or the Shinshu and Koshu area. The clear spring water and fields of local buckwheat provide the best location to make this ancient dish. You can enjoy soba noodles as a filling for sushi alongside crisp prawn tempura, dipped into an ume (Japanese plum) flavoured dipping sauceThe acidity from the plum sauce cuts wonderfully through the prawn tempura. I’ll also give you some tips on how to perfectly cook your buckwheat noodles. If you’d like to learn how to make sushi with me then check out my class schedule here. I hope you enjoy cooking with soba as much as I do!
Prawn tempura and Green Tea Soba Sushi Recipe
Ingredients
- a sushi mat (if using a bamboo mat, cover it tightly with cling film)
- 4 prawn tempura (see recipe below)
- 120g dried green-tea soba noodles
- 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
- ume sauce (see recipe below)
- 2 sheets of nori
- 4 tablespoons of cress
- 4 raw tiger or king prawns, shells on
- a pinch of sea salt and pepper
- 1 Japanese cup (180ml) of water, kept cold in the fridge
- 1 egg, kept cold in the fridge
- 80g plain flour, kept cold in the fridge
- 20g cornflour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 75ml–1 litre of vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 1 tablespoon of ume paste or a whole umeboshi (destoned and mashed)
- ½ tablespoon of light soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon of mirin
- ½ tablespoon of rice vinegar
Method
- First prepare the prawn tempura. Remove the heads and shells from the prawns. I like to leave the tails on because you can hold them when dropping the prawns into the oil for deep-frying.
- De-vein the backs of the prawns with a skewer or toothpick. Clean the prawns under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels or a tea towel. Season with salt and pepper. Pull and stretch the prawns out gently to straighten them.
- Beat the water and egg together into a bowl, combining them thoroughly. Make sure that the mixture is very cold. Sift the plain flour, cornflour and baking powder into a bowl and mix together.
- Add the flour mixture to the water and egg little by little, folding it together with chopsticks and being careful not to over-mix. This will make a very light and crisp tempura batter. Heat the oil to 160–170ºC in a deep frying pan or wok. Dip each prawn in the batter, then drop into the oil immediately and deep-fry for a few minutes until they are a golden-brown colour.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add the noodles, and cook for 4–5 minutes. Every time the pan begins to foam, add a cup of cold water to prevent the foam from overflowing. The cold water helps to keep the noodles al dente. Drain them in a colander and rinse under running cold water. Drain again and toss with the vegetable oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Pat them dry with a tea towel or paper towel.
- To make the ume sauce, put all the ingredients into the small bowl and mix very well.
- Place a sheet of nori shiny side down at the bottom of sushi mat, with the lines of the sheet lying horizontally across the mat. Look for the 2nd line from the top of the nori sheet, about 3–4 cm down. Keeping the top 3–4cm clear, gradually place half the noodles in a very thin layer, horizontally, over the nori. Place 2 tablespoons of cress in the middle of the noodles, then put two pieces of prawn tempura in a single line on top.
- Place a nori sheet shiny side down at the bottom of the sushi mat, with the lines of the sheet lying horizontally across the mat. Look for the 2nd line from the top of the nori sheet, about 3–4 cm down. Keeping the top 3–4 cm of the sheet clear, gradually place half the noodles in a very thin layer, horizontally, over the nori. Place two Prawn Tempura in the middle of the noodles, along the length of the nori. You can add some wasabi to the noodles before you add the other ingredients, if you like.
- Holding the fillings in place with your index, middle and ring fingers, start rolling with the mat from the bottom edge of the nori towards to the top edge of the noodles. Try to do it quickly! Make sure the noodles and filling are holding their place tightly. Then open the mat. You should be able to see the 3–4cm of nori that does not have noodles on it. Now finish rolling. Leave the rolled sushi in the sushi mat for 5 minutes so that the shape sets. It is not like sticky sushi rice, so it needs to be left for a while to set.
- Remove the sushi from the mat and place on a clean, dry chopping board. Cut each roll into 8–10 pieces with a sharp, wet knife. When you cut the sushi, slice it very gently and quickly. I recommend cleaning the knife after every cut.
- Leftover ume sauce is delicious with steamed chicken or cooked prawn salad.
- It is important to keep all the batter ingredients cold. Make sure you keep the water, egg and flour in the fridge before mixing.
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