Soba Making

This past Saturday we participated in a soba making activity. Turns out it was an activity for foreigners. At first I thought it was like the tea ceremony one where it was just us, but when we got to the place there were a bunch of other foreigners (the most I've seen at once in Tsuru, actually). We got split into groups according to where we were from. Of course us Tsuru exchange students were one group (There was also 2 Chinese exchange students who was with us).

The first thing we did was watch the professionals do it. Making soba is a pretty complicated process, but amazing none-the-less. Just making the dough was complex. They would constantly stir the powder mix and some water with their hands. They would do it in a certain pace until the flour turned into bigger clumps and eventually they would clump them together into one big clump of dough. Then they would knead it and knead until the right consistency. They kept kneading it until it made a sort of pyramid shape then they would transfer it onto a flat wooden surface which they used to flatten the dough. Next they pounded onto the dough of which it turns into an almost perfect circle (years of practice!). Then they would proceed to flatten it more by using the palm of their hands. Then they would take out the rollers and use it to flatten the dough even more. They use a cat-like movement while rolling where they curl their fingers inward so it looks like a cat was using the roller. After it was rolled at a certain consistency they took out a longer roller and would wrap the dough around it and they would lightly roll the dough while it was wrapped around. After a few rolls they would unroll it and go to a different side and proceed the same process. Eventually, the round dough turned into a square dough (this part amazed me because I've never seen a round piece of dough turn square before!). After making a good square they fold it I think 3 times? I forgot but somewhere around there. Then they took out the special knife they use to cut noodles. They use a specially designed wooden board to help keep the cuts straight and the lengths consistent. The way they cut it was once they cut down they would lightly tilt the knife against the board so it would move a little and they would cut from there. And that's how the soba noodles were made!

After watching the demonstration we got a chance to try and make it! Of course, we didn't make our own individual soba noodles. Instead we took turns doing the steps. It's a lot harder than it looks!! They make it look easy because they've been doing it for years. I think the hardest part was rolling it into a square. Cutting it was pretty hard, too. It was fun, though! I know how to make soba noodles! But I'm sure they would turn out bad XD haha After making our noodles we got to eat them! (of course, they were cooked first :P). I also tried tororo for the first time. Personally, I didn't like it very much. It was because of the slimy texture...

That's it for the soba making! It was really cool watching how soba noodles were made. It was an awesome experience and awesome to see other foreigners lol