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Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety Nagano soba includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found in a variety of settings, from "fast food" venues to expensive specialty restaurants. Markets sell dried noodles and men-tsuyu, or instant noodle broth, to make home preparation easy. A wide variety of dishes, both hot for winter and cold for summer, uses these noodles. The amino acid balance of the protein in buckwheat, and therefore in soba, is well matched to the needs of humans and can complement the amino acid deficiencies of other staples such as rice and wheat (see protein combining). The tradition of eating soba arose in the Edo period. The tradition of eating soba originates from the Tokugawa period, also called the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868. In this period, every neighborhood had one or two soba establishments, many also serving sake, which functioned much like modern cafes where locals would stop for a casual meal. At that time, the population of Edo (Tokyo), being considerably wealthier than the rural poor, were more susceptible to beriberi due to their high consumption of white rice, which is low in thiamine. It was discovered that beriberi could be prevented by regularly eating thiamine-rich soba. The delivery of food called demae was originally a service for wealthy daimyō in the 1700s. Until the late Showa period, piles of soba bowls were packed on the shoulders of bicycle couriers. In March 1961, new cycling traffic laws added restrictions. Officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said "To ride on a bicycle with piles of 'soba' bowls on your shoulder is dangerous. It must be prohibited from the viewpoint of road traffic safety. But we will not place any stricter curb as they will lose more than half their customers" and "With this police assurance to overlook the illegal traffic practice, 'soba' delivery boys will continue to race through the streets of Tokyo,".

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Related concepts (10)

Soba

Japanese people

are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.6% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 126 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the largest ethnic groups. Approximately 122.0 million Japanese people are residents of Japan, and there are approximately 4 million members of the Japanese diaspora, known as 日系人.

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including sliced pork, nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes. Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, such as the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen of Kyushu and the miso ramen of Hokkaido. The origin of ramen is traced back to Yokohama Chinatown in the early 20th century.