Opening a Soba Shop on a Saturday Night. The Best Night Ever at My Home Soba Shop!
Today is the first Saturday of June. To reward myself for surviving 50 hours of overtime, I am opening a home soba shop tonight.
And it's not just any soba shop.
It is a thriving establishment (in my imagination) that opened in 2022, right in the middle of the pandemic, and has overcome numerous hardships. Our specialties are soba and appetizers. It's not flashy, but before you know it, all the reservations are booked. A small, hidden gem loved by drinkers and soba enthusiasts alike—this is the shop that will appear in my home for tonight only.
I picked up the ingredients this evening at the local Belc supermarket.
At 8:00 PM, once the baby is fast asleep, I put up the noren curtain for my home soba shop.
This shop also serves an aperitif. Here is today's drink.
Medicinal Yomeishu.
I said "today's drink," but in reality, I drink it almost every day. It has a sweet, spicy aroma reminiscent of cinnamon. One sip and my stomach feels hot, flipping the switch to start business.
Click here for an article about my love for Yomeishu ↓
https://note.com/lush_azalea2810/n/n1ca60f8320cd
1. Itawasa (Kamaboko with Wasabi)
The first dish is itawasa. Apparently, it's a classic appetizer at soba shops.
Actually, I only learned about itawasa recently. When I ordered a drink at a soba shop, they brought out some kamaboko as a complimentary side. It was a very simple dish with just some wasabi on the side, but I later realized, "So that was itawasa." Kamaboko and wasabi. You eat it with soy sauce. It tastes exactly as you'd imagine, but it's strangely delicious.
At my home soba shop, I am both the customer and the chef. I make a V-shaped cut in the top of the kamaboko and squeeze in some tube wasabi, and it's done.
By the way, my first drink is a Suntory Nama Beer. I bought it for half price using a FamilyMart app coupon. A cold beer is absolutely exquisite.
Time to eat the itawasa. I thought it would be 100% delicious, but perhaps because the chef added a lethal dose of wasabi, the customer almost died. My wife next to me was also nearly in agony. The deep V-shaped cut I made to wedge the wasabi in turned out to be my undoing. With teary eyes, we removed about half the wasabi, and it finally reached an edible level. It was an inauspicious start, but that's how the first day of business goes.
2. Negitoro (Minced Tuna)
I really wanted tuna sashimi, but due to budget constraints, I chose negitoro. But since I love negitoro, it's a feast enough for me. Usually, I'd eat it straight from the pack, but since I'm playing soba shop today, I'll plate it on the dish I used earlier.
It's cheap but delicious. I relied on negitoro a lot when I was single, but I thought eating it without rice was quite stylish. Since the drinks are flowing, I ordered a highball.
Since it's a stylish soba shop, we also stock some refined Scotch. If I were to personify this brand, it would be a 'muscular, handsome guy in his fifth year at Keyence.' He wears a proper white shirt—not a button-down—with a blue tie neatly knotted, looking incredibly fresh. He's sharp, but with a crispness like a green apple and a hidden sweetness, it's absolutely delicious.
3. Salt-fried Gizzard and Green Onions
Gizzards from a deli bought at Belc, stir-fried with chopped green onions, sake, salt, pepper, and Ajinomoto. A squeeze of lemon juice at the end turns it into an appetizer that could easily be served at a soba shop.
My glass is empty, so next up is a Nikka Yoichi highball. If I were to personify this guy, it would be 'Masahiro Higashide.' He has a somewhat rugged, wild charm, but is actually a man with a delicate and kind heart. He makes women fall into his trap and captivates men. There's a faint sweetness behind the peat aroma. It's good on the rocks, but it's also very delicious as a highball.
4. Eggplant Dipping Soba
Eggplant dipping soba made by my wife, the head chef of our home. The recipe is based on YouTuber Takeshi Takeshima's 'Chilled Eggplant Soba.' The URL is here ↓
This is usually served chilled, but today I'm in the mood for hot soba. The dipping sauce is hot, and the soba is rinsed under running water to cool it down. Apparently, rinsing off the sliminess under running water is the secret to making it delicious. If you haven't tried eggplant soba, you should definitely give it a go. The umami of the eggplant seeps out and it's very tasty; it's possible to recreate the flavor of a restaurant.
And so, today's business has come to an end. Both the shop owner and the customer went home satisfied. I think I'll hang out the noren curtain again when I feel like it.