Toshikoshi Soba

Japan

About Toshikoshi Soba

Toshikoshi Soba, meaning "year-crossing soba", is a bowl of buckwheat noodles eaten in Japan on New Year's Eve. The noodles are served in a hot dashi broth seasoned with soy sauce and mirin.

It is often topped with scallions, kamaboko (fish cake) and shrimp tempura. The long, thin noodles symbolize a long life, and because they break easily, eating them is said to cut away the troubles of the past year.

The custom dates back to the Edo period. Families eat it on the evening of 31 December, and it is meant to be finished before midnight.

Ingredients

• soba noodles
• dashi
• soy sauce
• mirin
• scallions
• tempura
• kamaboko