Name: How To Make Tenzaru Soba (Chilled Soba Noodles With Assorted Tempura)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 160 g Dried Soba Noodles; 4 Shrimps; 2 Shiso Leaves; 2 Slices of Kabocha (1 cm thick); 4 Shishito Peppers; 1 Small Eggplant; 160 ml Mentsuyu Dipping Sauce (divided into two portions of 80ml each); 10 g Japanese Leek; 50 g Daikon Radish (peeled); 10 g Ginger (peeled); Wasabi Paste, if you prefer; Cooking Oil, as needed; 100 g All-Purpose Flour (for tempura batter); 26 g Beaten Egg (for tempura batter); 200 ml Cold Water (for tempura batter); *extra All-Purpose Flour, as needed (for dusting the tempura ingredients)

How To Make Tenzaru Soba (Chilled Soba Noodles With Assorted Tempura)

Customizable Popular Soba Noodles Shrimp Summer Tempura

Tenzaru Soba is a popular dish at Soba specialty restaurants, consisting of two parts: Tempura and Zaru Soba (cold Soba served on a Zaru). The freshly deep-fried Tempura pairs perfectly with the Soba noodles, making Tenzaru Soba a favorite among people of all ages.

Even if visiting Japan to try Tenzaru Soba might be difficult, you can make it at home! In this recipe, we’ll show you how to prepare Tenzaru Soba, so be sure to read through to the end!

As we’ve already covered how to make Tempura and Gluten-Free Tempura in previous recipes, so this time, we are focusing on how to enjoy Tenzaru Soba, whether you’re at a Soba specialty restaurant or at home, to help you avoid any confusion.

While there are no strict rules for enjoying Tenzaru Soba, following these ideal steps can enhance the experience:

Tasting the Soba itself. Start by savoring the Soba noodles on their own. When eating Tenzaru Soba, you’ll have a plate of Soba and a plate of Tempura in front of you. Begin by tasting the Soba without dipping it in Mentsuyu or adding garnishes. This allows you to fully appreciate the pure taste and texture of the Soba.
Enjoying the Soba with Mentsuyu dipping sauce. Take a bite-sized portion of Soba noodles with chopsticks and dip the bottom half into the Mentsuyu dipping sauce. Enjoy the combination of the Soba noodles and the Mentsuyu.
Enjoying the Soba noodles with garnishes. Add any garnishes that come with Tenzaru Soba, such as Wasabi paste and sliced leek, for extra flavor. Avoid dissolving all the Wasabi paste into the Mentsuyu at once.
Eating the Tempura. Use the Mentsuyu dipping sauce for Tempura as well. Feel free to add garnishes like grated Daikon and ginger directly onto the Tempura, rather than dissolving them in the dipping sauce, and then dip the Tempura into the sauce.
Enjoying the dipping sauce with Soba-yu. You can also enjoy the Mentsuyu dipping sauce with Soba-yu, the water used to boil the Soba noodles. Soba specialty restaurants often provide this. Add Soba-yu to the dipping sauce and dilute it to your liking, enjoying the mixture like a soup. If you have any Wasabi paste left, you can add it for an extra kick.

These steps are ideal for enjoying Tenzaru Soba, but feel free to enjoy it however you prefer. Try Tenzaru Soba both at specialty restaurants and at home!

Overview

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Total servings: 2

Difficulty: Difficult

Ingredients

160 g Dried Soba Noodles
4 Shrimps
2 Shiso Leaves
2 Slices of Kabocha (1 cm thick)
4 Shishito Peppers
1 Small Eggplant
160 ml Mentsuyu Dipping Sauce (divided into two portions of 80ml each)
10 g Japanese Leek
50 g Daikon Radish (peeled)
10 g Ginger (peeled)
Wasabi Paste, if you prefer
Cooking Oil, as needed
100 g All-Purpose Flour (for tempura batter)
26 g Beaten Egg (for tempura batter)
200 ml Cold Water (for tempura batter)
*extra All-Purpose Flour, as needed (for dusting the tempura ingredients)

Expert's Tip

If you are looking for a flour that can be used for both Tempura and cakes, this product is perfect. Its fine texture makes Tempura crispier and cakes fluffier, helping you achieve the ideal texture in both.

Instructions

oil for frying tempura and tenzaru soba garnishes

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1) Gathering the Ingredients & Recipe Preparations

Gather the ingredients together.

Sift the All-Purpose Flour for the Tempura batter.

Tip: Make sure to use chilled or ice water for the tempura batter. This prevents the batter from developing gluten.

making a cut at the stem of the eggplant

cutting the eggplant in half and making cuts on the surface to fan out the eggplant

fanning out the eggplant to create a more even cooking surface

flattening the shrimp with the back of a knife

flipping the shrimp to the other side and repeating the same process

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2) Preparing the Tempura Ingredients

Prepare the ingredients for Tempura in the following way.

Shishito pepper: Remove the stem edges and make a cut in the middle to prevent bursting during deep-frying.

Eggplant: Make a shallow cut around the middle of the calyx, then peel the pointy edge. Slice into 5 mm thick pieces, keeping them connected at the bottom. Open them like a fan. This helps the eggplant cook evenly inside and enhances its visual appeal.

Shrimp: Peel off the shell and remove the pointed shell on the tail. The tail contains water, which can cause hot oil to splash during deep-frying, so remove the edge of the tail. Make a shallow cut on the back to expose the vein, then remove it. Also, make three shallow vertical cuts on the belly side and gently straighten the shrimp by bending it backward.

Japanese leek: Cut into thin slices.

Ginger and daikon: Grate them with a grater and drain the excess moisture using a strainer.

mixing the beaten egg and cold water together

mixing the all purpose flour and egg cold water mixture together to make the batter

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3) Making the Tempura Batter

Combine the water and beaten egg. Mix them well with chopsticks.

Add this mixture to the sifted all-purpose flour. Use a whisk to mix until some lumps remain. The texture of the batter should be fluid and slightly lumpy.

4) Coating the Tempura Ingredients In Flour

Coat the Tempura ingredients lightly with all-purpose flour.

Dipping the Tempura ingredients in the tempura batter

5) Dipping the Tempura Ingredients in the Batter

Dip the Tempura ingredients into the batter we just prepared.

checking to make sure the oil is hot enough for deep frying

adding the prepared tempura ingredients to the hot oil

adding tempura onto a draining rack and deep frying the rest of the ingredients in batches

coating the fanned eggplant in flour, making sure to cover every crevice

dipping the prepared eggplant tempura into the hot oil

removing excess fried tempura bits from the oil with a strainer to prevent them from burning

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6) Deep Frying the Tempura

Prepare a deep frying pot and pour enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least 3 cm. Heat it over medium heat until the temperature reaches 170-175°C. You can test the temperature by dripping some batter into the hot oil. If the batter sinks deeply and then floats to the surface, the oil is ready for deep-frying.

Deep-fry the Tempura ingredients as follows:

Shishito pepper: 40-50 seconds
Kabocha: 2-3 minutes
Shiso leaves: 20-30 seconds
Eggplant: Add the eggplant to the oil as close to the surface as possible to help it hold its shape and avoid burns. Deep-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Shrimp: 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes

Once the ingredients are deep-fried, drain the excess oil on a tray with a wire rack.

Scoop out the Tempura bits and clean the oil if it becomes covered with debris.

Tips: Fry in small batches to avoid dropping the oil temperature too quickly. For a crisper texture, sprinkle some batter on the ingredients with chopsticks while deep-frying.

adding the soba noodles to boiling water

stirring the soba noodles in boiling water

draining the soba noodles and then running them under cold water to cool them down

draining soba noodles of all excess water

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7) Boiling the Soba Noodles

Along with the deep-frying step, prepare a pot of boiling water and cook the dried Soba noodles according to the time indicated on the package.

Drain the hot water using a strainer and cool the noodles under tap water. Drain any excess water.

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8) Serving Tenzaru Soba

Place the Soba on a Zaru (shallow bamboo basket). Arrange the Tempura, Mentsuyu dipping sauce, grated Daikon and ginger, sliced Japanese leek, and wasabi separately as shown in the picture below.

Enjoy!

About the author

Megumi Moriya

Megumi is a recipe writer based in Chiba, Japan. She carries a Bachelor in the Faculty of Foreign Studies and is interested in creating content about Japanese cuisine and traditional confectioneries. Megumi is most interested in making Japanese recipe content, and in her free time, she likes to play the piano, make handcrafted goods, and hula dance. She hopes to inspire Japanese Taste readers to make Japanese recipes at home and of course share more about Japanese culture.

View articles by Megumi Moriya