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Long Noodles and Long Luck - Soba Noodles in Japan on New Years Eve
 An interesting end-of-year tradition in Japan is the consumption of soba
noodles on new years eve. Like the midnight kiss western couples commonly
exchange to ring in the new year, the Japanese enjoy their own tradition of
gathering at soba noodle restaurants for the year's final meal. This
interesting tradition has its roots in the curious equation of "long noodles"
with "long luck," and includes religious overtones as soba noodles were
once the stock-in-trade of many feudal era Buddhist temples, who sold bowls of
the delicious buckwheat fare to hungry pilgrims arriving at their gates.
Buddhism and noodles actually have a long association in Japan, where it is
thought Buddhist priests first introduced noodles from China during the 9th
century.
  As for our family, we favor a small soba shop in our community which
certain members of our family have patronized for over 40 years. The
restaurant is called Iwaichi (photo at left) and is run by three
generations of the Kobayashi family. Working from 7 AM until past midnight
six days a week, the Kobayashi
family make both noodles (men) and soup (tsuyu) from scratch in an establishment
that seems to have its menu prices forever stuck in the decade of the 70's.
Visitors to Iwaichi are invariably greeted upon entry by the kind-faced
mother of the family (mid 60's) while in the back the rest of her family
(including a very elderly yet spry pair of grandparents) can be seen busily
preparing savory bowls of soba for eager customers. Our daughter
Emily especially enjoys visiting Iwaichi which has a small bookshelf well
stocked with children's books for auntie Yoko to read to her. Emily also
enjoys the treat of fresh fruit she invariably receives after her meal,
complements of the kitchen staff.
Japanese Noodle Seasoning - Shichimi
 If you've ever enjoyed Udon or Soba noodles in a
Japanese restaurant then you may remember seeing a small bamboo container of red spices
sitting on the table, and perhaps even ventured popping the little stopper in
order to tap a bit of the contents over your noodles. The spicy bite of this seasoning, called shichimi, is
quite memorable and as important a part of the meal to noodle-loving Japanese as
salsa is to Mexican diners. Shichimi means "seven spices" and this
unique blend of feisty ingredients, though intended principally for soba
and udon noodles, goes quite well with other dishes as well.
The spice mixture itself is available in Japan in small glass bottles which
themselves can be used to dispense the contents. However, many
tradition-loving Japanese prefer to transfer the spice into an old fashioned
bamboo holder specially designed to carry and dispense shichimi.
The holder, called shichimi-ire (ire means "container") is made of a length of cleaned and dried bamboo with a small hole
near the bottom sealed with a cork-like bamboo plug. Another, larger plug is used to seal the top of the
container. When one wishes to dispense shichimi you need only
remove the small cork and tap a bit of the contents over your noodles.
Altogether a very simple device, quite suited to Japanese sensibilities which
lean towards practical items which capture the unembellished beauty of nature.
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Click
here
to see bamboo shichimi-ire spice holders available for purchase from our eBay store
The Old Tokaido |
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