Kake Soba (Authentic Japanese Soba Noodle Soup)

4.88 from 8 votes
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20 minutes
Servings 2 servings
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Craving a homemade Kake Soba recipe? Making this Japanese favorite is a breeze with my simple steps. Treat yourself to a delightful bowl of noodle soup right in your home!

Looking for simple noodle dishes? Try my Kake Udon, Zaru Soba, or Zaru Udon!

a bowl of soba noodle soup with chopsticks.

I’ll walk you through the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you enjoy it!

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Why You Will Love This Recipe 

  • Kake Soba is the simplest noodle dish and is perfect for a quick lunch.
  • This is an authentic Japanese soba noodle soup recipe.
  • You will get various topping ideas.

Soba Noodles

Soba noodles are traditional Japanese noodles made by kneading buckwheat flour with water, rolling it thinly, and cutting it into slender strips. They can be enjoyed either cold with dipping sauce or served in a hot soup.

Recipe Ingredients

Youโ€™ll need the following ingredients to make this Hot Soba Recipe:

ingredients for soba noodle soup.
  • Soba noodles: Dried, fresh, or frozen soba noodles are available at grocery stores. I use fresh soba noodles in this recipe.
  • Mentusyu is an authentic noodle soup made from scratch with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), kombu (kelp), mirin, and soy sauce. See this homemade mentsuyu recipe. If you’re looking to save time, you can pick up store-bought mentsuyu at your local Japanese grocery store.
  • The toppings are scallion and dried wakame seaweed. To explore the variations, check out the topping section, where you can find more options!

For Vegans:

Mentsuyu contains fish (katsuobushi), but it can be easily substituted with kombu dashi. Check out how to make the vegan version in this Vegan Soba Noodle Soup..

How To Make Kake Soba: STEP BY STEP 

Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.

How to make kake soba.

Step 1

Prepare toppings.

How to make kake soba.

Step 2

Put mentsuyu and water in a medium saucepan and warm it up.

How to make kake soba.

Step 3

Cook soba noodles according to the package instructions and drain.

How to make kake soba.

Step 4

Assemble soba noodles, mentsuyu, and toppings.

Kake Soba (Japanese Simple Soba Noodle Soup)

Here you go! Once it’s served, please eat immediately. Otherwise, the soba noodles soak up the soup and become soggy. If you like a little spice, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice blend) and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

  • Adjusting Soup Seasoning: If your noodle soup is too salty, you can balance it by diluting it with water. Conversely, if it’s too mild, add more mentsuyu to enhance the flavor.
  • Soba noodles typically take a couple of minutes to cook frozen noodles and around 10 minutes or more for dried or fresh noodles. The cooking time can vary depending on the type and brand of soba noodles, so please follow the package directions.

Topping Variations

Toppings for Kake Soba (Japanese Simple Soba Noodle Soup)

This is the fun part! Various ingredients go well with Kake soba. I have listed the classic and popular toppings that are easy to prepare.

  • Green onions or Scallion
  • Wakame Seaweed
  • Kamaboko fish cake – A type of fish cake.
  • Onsen Tamago – A half-boiled egg. Place eggs in boiled water and leave for 15-20 minutes to cook slowly.
  • Agedama (tenkasu) – Pieces of tempura batter.
  • Spinach – Boil for 1 minute.
  • Tororo Kombu – Flakes of kombu seaweed.
  • Aburaage – Thin deep-fried tofu. Bake on both sides with a toaster to make it crispy.
Vegetarian ebook cover image.

Want More Plant-Based Ideas?

Download 10 Vegetarian Recipes

simple soba noodle soup

More Noodle Recipes You Might Like

Leave a Rating!

I hope you enjoy this Kake Soba! If you try it, don’t forget to leave a rating to share your thoughtsโ€”I love hearing from you!

Kake Soba (Authentic Japanese Soba Noodle Soup)

4.88 from 8 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Author: Juri Austin
Craving a homemade Kake Soba recipe? Making this Japanese favorite is a breeze with my simple steps. Treat yourself to a delightful bowl of noodle soup right in your home!
Kake soba noodle soup served in a bowl.
Save the Recipe via Email (Recipe Posts)

Save This Recipe!

Enter your email and Iโ€™ll send this recipe straight to your inbox! Youโ€™ll also get new, simple recipes every week!

Equipment

  • 1 Medium saucepan 18cm, (7 inches)
  • 1 Strainer

Ingredients
  

  • 2 servings Soba Noodles
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Wakame Seaweed
  • ยผ Scallion
  • 600 ml Homemade Mentsuyu
  • 200 ml Water

Instructions
 

  1. Prepare the toppings: Place the dried wakame in a small bowl and let it soak for about 5 minutes. Drain the seaweed completely. Finely chop the scallion.
  2. Make the soba soup: Put mentsuyu and water in a mediium saucepan and warm it up.
  3. Boil the soba noodles: While warming the soup, add the soba noodles to a separate pot of boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. Stir the noodles with chopsticks to separate them while cooking.
  4. Drain the noodles: Drain using a strainer and quickly rinse under running cold water to remove the extra starch.
  5. Serve: Serve the drained noodles in a bowl, pour the soup, and place the scallions and wakame on top.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • If your noodle soup is too salty, you can balance it by diluting it with water. Conversely, if it’s too mild, add more mentsuyu to enhance the flavor.
  • Soba noodles typically take a couple of minutes to cook frozen noodles and around 10 minutes or more for dried or fresh noodles. The cooking time can vary depending on the type and brand of soba noodles, so please follow the package directions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 383kcalCarbohydrates: 72.3gProtein: 22.4g

This nutritional information is estimated and provided for general reference only.

Course: Noodles
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: kake soba, soba noodle soup

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Juri Austin

Hi! Iโ€™m Juri, founder of Chef JA Cooks and the creator and photographer of this site. Iโ€™m here to guide you in authentic yet easy-to-follow Japanese recipes! Letโ€™s explore the world of Japanese cuisine together!

4.88 from 8 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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4 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Thank you Chef Ja, my first visit to your website. I found your recipe very useful especially suggestions for condiments.

    Yoroshiku, Wayne