Kitsune Soba is a traditional Japanese buckwheat noodle soup featuring sweet, savory fried tofu (aburaage) in a delicate dashi broth. The dish becomes fully vegan when made with vegetarian dashi stock.
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Cut each aburaage in the middle to make 4 square pieces.
Place the aburaage pieces in a sieve or a colander and pour half of the boiling water over them. Turn the aburaage pieces over and pour the rest of the boiling water over them.
Cool them down a bit, then squeeze the water out of the aburaage pieces.
Put the aburaage pieces and the rest of the Seasoned Aburaage ingredients into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes with a drop lid on until the liquid almost evaporates. Turn the aburaage pieces over halfway through cooking to evenly stain the aburaage with a dark brown colour.
Turn the heat off and leave until required.
Bring water (not in Ingredient list) in a large saucepan to a boil (note 4). Put the dried buckwheat noodles in the boiling water and stir for about 15 seconds, ensuring that each strand is separated.
Boil for the duration that is recommended for your dried buckwheat noodles (note 4).
Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are completely cooled down. Shake the colander well to remove the excess water.
Put the Broth ingredients into a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Turn the heat off (note 5).
Fill the boiling water in a separate saucepan or a bowl which can easily fit in a medium-size sieve.
Place half of the soba noodles in the sieve and dip the noodles in the hot water for 10 seconds or so to warm them up.
Shake the sieve well to drain water off the noodles and transfer the noodles to a serving bowl.
Repeat the steps 2 and 3 for the second serving (note 6).
Pour the broth into each bowl, place two aburaage pieces each on the noodles, and scatter the green onions next to the aburaage.
Serve immediately with shichimi tōgarashi, if using.
Store cooked soba and seasoned aburaage separately in airtight containers for up to 2 days; reheat in dashi broth over low heat.
Aburaage is thin fried tofu pouches available in Asian grocery stores, often frozen or refrigerated. It's essential for authentic kitsune soba flavor.
Yes. Replace the standard dashi stock with vegetarian dashi (kombu and shiitake-based) to make it fully vegan.
Boil 200g soba in 1L water, stir gently to prevent sticking, and cook until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water before serving in hot broth.
Yes. Cook and season the aburaage up to 1 day ahead; store covered in the refrigerator and reheat gently in the broth before serving.
Use bonito and kombu dashi for traditional flavor, or vegetarian kombu and shiitake dashi for a vegan version.
