Cooking Class in Okuizumo

Hello!
This is Nagisa, a Tomodachi guide in the San’in area.
“Tomodachi” means “friend”.
I enjoy showing people around my lovely hometown as a friend and making their trips memorable and precious!

Today, I would like to introduce my friends from Vietnam whom I met last Sunday.
They have been staying in Japan for over a year now to study and follow their wonderful dreams. It was the first time for them to come to Shimane, and I am really glad that they enjoyed Okuizumo and its local experience!

Have you ever heard of “soba noodles”?
Soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour, and they are a popular cuisine in Japan.

In fact, soba noodles are my most favorite Japanese food!
I really recommend you to try them when you come to Japan!!

Okuizumo is actually very famous for soba production and its distinctive soba noodles.
Normally, soba noodles are white because they get rid of the soba shells, which are black, and only use the inner white part when they grind the soba grains into flour.
However, Okuizumo soba noodles are made from soba grains which are ground together with the outer shells, which makes the noodels blackish and more flavorful and nutritious than normal soba noodles.

This time, we tried making Okuizumo soba noodles!
It is something you can’t experience often…we were very lucky!!

It was the first time for all of us to make soba noodles from scratch, and I was a little bit nervous as I was afraid I might ruin them.

Despite my concern, everyone managed to handle things quite well thanks to Mr. Wakuri for his clear instruction and our guests’ natural potential for making soba noodles!

We were actually very surprised by their skills, and even Mrs. Wakuri complimented them for their smooth moves!!

Our guests are currently living by themselves away from their families, and they cook for themselves every day, which makes them skillful cooks!

Look at the almost perfectly square-shaped dough!
It is beautiful!!

Voila!!

Making soba noodles are requires a lot of skills and is actually not easy.
Considering it was their first try, they did a great job and I am so impressed!!

Thank you Mr. Wakuri for preparing all the ingredients and the easy-to-follow explanation!

Now Mrs. Wakuri is going to boil these noodles..!

While we were waiting for the soba noodles to get ready, we chatted about the Vietnamese traditional dress “Ao dai” and how it is beautiful and stylish.

Did you know that Ao dai is actually a school uniform in Vietnam?
I didn’t know that, and I envy them for being able to wear it every day.

Now, the soba noodles are ready!

“Itadakimasu!”

We had soba noodles with sauce, green onions, dried bonito flakes and dried laver seaweed.

“Those were the best soba noodles I have ever eaten!” they said.
I thought the same and wondering why.

Mr. Wakuri said, “It is because you made it!”

We all agreed and laughed.
I think it is also because we ate them together.

Thank you so much again Mr. and Mrs. Wakuri for the delicious pickles as a side dish and everything you prepared for making soba noodles.

We had great time eating Okuizumo soba noodles and chatting and laughing together!!

These are the soba noodles we made.

Can you spot the black dots?
Those are the grains of soba shells.

Okuizumo soba noodles are very flavorful and are often served in small dishes stacked up like this.
When you come to Okuizumo, you really should try this unique local cuisine!