Soba

n. Japanese noodle prepared with buckwheat flour

is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Moreover, it is not uncommon in Japan to refer to any thin noodle as soba in contrast to udon which are thick noodles made from wheat.Because noodles made out of pure buckwheat can easily fall apart when boiled, the buckwheat flour is usually mixed with binders, often wheat flour. Under the Japan Agricultural Standards regulations, the noodles have to contain at least 30 uckwheat in order to be called soba but noodles with a high buckwheat content are seen as more desirable. The raw noodles are made by making a dough out of buckwheat flour and binder, spreading it out flat before slicing noodle strands off it using a special knife. The quality of noodles is highly dependent on the skill of the maker, especially for soba noodles with high buckwheat content. The raw noodles are boiled before being served hot or cold.
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n. kneading, act of squeezing and shaping (clay, dough, etc.); massage

v. press; knead

n. stove

A dark brown buckwheat noodle used in Northern Japanese cooking. Look for it in the Asian section of your supermarket.