Soba vs Udon - A Complete Guide to Popular Japanese Noodles

Soba Health Benefits

When going out for noodles in Japan, soba noodles are the healthiest option. They are not only low in calories but also low in carbohydrates and contain all eight essential amino acids.

The basic ingredient of soba noodles, buckwheat flour, is known for having many health benefits, including important nutrients such as vitamin B, fiber, and iron. In Japan, soba noodles are regarded as being restorative and energy-boosting.

In recent years, buckwheat has been regarded as a health food because it is gluten-free. It's important, however, to know that most soba noodles are not entirely gluten-free, because they do contain a small amount of wheat flour.

Buckwheat

You can order soba noodles that are made entirely from buckwheat flour, and therefore gluten-free, by asking for juwari soba instead of regular soba.

Soba Noodle Ingredients

Although soba noodles are highly nutritious, they are actually very simple to make. The only ingredients are buckwheat flour, plain flour, and water. The three ingredients are kneaded into thin dough. Then they are sliced into long thin spaghetti-like strands.

Once the dough is formed the noodles are added to hot water, which is boiled until the noodles are cooked. Then a broth or sauce is added to the noodles to make a complete dish.

How Is Soba Eaten?

Soba is often eaten hot in the winter and cold in the summer. Cold soba is served dry without broth. It is commonly served with typical soup toppings, wrapped in seaweed, or served as a cold noodle salad with dipping sauces.

A bowl of hot soba is served with a tasty broth

Like ramen, a bowl of hot soba is served with a tasty broth. Hot soba is often topped with chopped green onions and chili powder.

The broths and sauces served with soba noodles are often light in flavor and specifically designed to let the natural flavor of the noodles shine through and compliment the nuttiness of the buckwheat.

Udon Noodle Ingredients

Udon noodles are made of wheat flour, salt, and water. These ingredients are kneaded into dough and then the dough is rolled out and cut into thick strips. Udon can be made into many shapes; square, wide and thin, round, and more.

Just like soba, udon noodles are placed in hot water and boiled until done. Once cooked, fresh udon noodles have a springy and bouncy quality.

How Is Udon Eaten?

Udon soup is usually served plain without too many toppings

There is a practically endless variety of broths, sauces, and dishes with which udon can be served. Most commonly, however, the glossy noodles are seen in a light broth, creating a noodle soup.

Udon soup is usually served plain without too many toppings, because the thick noodles are already very filling, so extra toppings are perceived as unnecessary.

Besides being eaten as noodle soup, udon is commonly served in a thick curry sauce, stir-fried with vegetables, or deep-fried. It can also be served cold with a dipping sauce on the side.

Kitsune Soba and Kitsune Udon (hot/cold)

Kitsune soba or udon can be served hot or cold. It is a dish of noodles in broth, topped with aburaage. Aburaage are pieces of thinly sliced tofu that have been coated in soy sauce and sugar then fried. This dish originated in Osaka and is a well-loved Japanese classic.

Tempura Soba and Tempura Udon (hot/cold)

Tempura soba or udon is a dish consisting of the noodles and broth that comes with a serving of tempura (fried vegetables or seafood). The tempura is normally served in the bowl with noodles and broth, but can sometimes be served separately.

Tempura Udon

This dish usually comes as shrimp tempura, though some restaurants also serve vegetable tempura.

Zaru Soba and Zaru Udon (cold)

Zaru soba or udon is a cold dish consisting of chilled noodles served on a bamboo mat. The noodles are served with a dipping sauce, and customers are meant to dip the noodles before eating. The dish is light, healthy, and delicious, and is refreshing during hot summer months.

Chilled noodles served on a bamboo mat

Kake Soba and Kake Udon (hot)

Kake soba or udon are hot noodle soup dishes served in a broth called kakejiru, made from soy sauce, mirin, and dashi. This dish is usually only topped with green onions and possibly a fish cake, but nothing else. The simplicity of its flavors is meant to highlight the taste and texture of the noodles.

Tanuki Soba and Tanuki Udon (hot/cold)

Tanuki soba or udon is a noodle soup dish topped with bits of crunchy tempura batter, left over from the tempura frying process. The deep-fried batter bits in this dish add nice texture and are one of the only toppings besides green onions.

Tsukimi Soba and Tsukimi Udon (hot)

Tsukimi soba or udon is usually served in hot broth, featuring in a raw egg that sits on top of the noodles.

Featuring in a raw egg

Regional Soba Dishes

Nagano Prefecture is the most famous region for Shinshu soba, which contains at least 40% soba flour mixed with wheat flour.

Yamagata Prefecture is known for Ita soba, a type of noodle that is made of unpolished soba flour giving the noodles a stronger texture. This type of soba is also cut slightly larger and served on a large board call ita.

Izumo soba is popular in Izumo where the flour is made from the buckwheat seed's hull and has a stronger smell. Izumo soba is usually served in a three-story stackable dish with different toppings and dipping sauces served on the side to be added in.

Traditionally, after you finish the top dish of Izumo soba, you should pour the leftover sauce into the middle layer and then the last layer after that. This way, the sauce continues to develop a rich flavor.

Cha soba is a kind of soba flavored with green tea powder and thus results in green noodles. Cha soba can be easily found in Uji, a small city that boasts some of the best matcha in Japan. This dish can be served both hot and cold.

Soba flavored with green tea powder

Nishin soba is a unique dish that includes a whole pacific herring as a topping. The fish is first simmered in soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar before it is dried then braised.

Regional Udon Dishes

Udon has more variation in its shape and thickness. Sanuki Udon is the most famous type of udon in Japan and is named after the previous name of Kagawa Prefecture. Sanuki udon has a more firm and chewy texture due to the inclusion of a specific type of wheat. This dish can be served both cold with dipping sauce and hot with broth and toppings.

Mizusawa Udon is another famous type of udon that is known for being made from locally grown wheat flour, spring water, and carefully selected salt. These noodles have a firm and thick quality and are usually served cold with a soy-based dipping sauce or a sesame dipping sauce.

Inaniwa Udon has a history of over 300 years and was first made in the Inaniwa area of Akita. These noodles are thinner and have a smooth texture due to the way the traditional way noodles are prepared which takes about four days and includes kneading the dough, wrapping it around rods, flattening and stretching the noodles, and finally leaving them out to air dry.

Ise Udon is a thick and chewy noodle that served with a dark sauce which is often made from dried kelp or smoked fish. Common toppings on this dish include green onions and bonito fish flakes. Ise Udon is widely sold at traditional udon restaurants.

Soba and Udon vs Ramen

Ramen is the best-known Japanese noodle outside Japan, though it is one of the newest culinary inventions in the country. The biggest difference between ramen and soba noodles is the flavor. While soba noodles are made mostly with buckwheat, ramen is usually made with wheat flour.

While udon and ramen are made with the same type of flour, ramen is cut into a much thinner and smaller noodle while udon is thick and chewy. Food served with ramen noodles varies, and often a more complicated process is used to make the noodles themselves than for soba or udon.

Soba and Udon vs Yakisoba

Although the name yakisoba includes the word soba, yakisoba noodles are not made with buckwheat flour but instead with wheat flour, like udon and ramen.

Yakisoba noodles are round, but much smaller and thinner than udon. They are most commonly used in stir-fried noodle dishes, and are not usually eaten with broth.

Soba and Udon vs Somen

Somen noodles have a similar texture and flavor to udon noodles and are also made with wheat flour. However, somen noodles are thinner and normally eaten cold with sauce, instead of in hot broths.

Unlike soba or udon noodles, somen noodles are not made by cutting, but by stretching the dough. This gives somen noodles a smoother and more elastic texture.