Itasoba
What is Ita-soba?
Itasoba
Itasoba (板そば) is a type of buckwheat noodle eaten mainly in Yamagata Prefecture.
It is characterized by its thickness, which is twice that of regular buckwheat, and is served in rectangular containers made of cedar planks (itazara or hegi) in quantities ranging from several servings to more than a dozen servings for larger ones.
The buckwheat is dark in color, strong in flavor, and crunchy, and the tsuyu (noodle soup base) is often somewhat lightly seasoned. It is known as Yamagata Prefecture’s local cuisine, local soba, and a Yamagata specialty.
It is said that in the past, soba was eaten by a large group of people as “furumai soba,” or “buckwheat noodles for a party,” and that it was an auspicious food eaten with the wish that people would stay together as long and thin as buckwheat noodles.
