["Tsuttai Niku Soba" in Kahokucho, Yamagata Prefecture]

The word "tsuttai" is a dialect word meaning "cold" in the inland dialect of Yamagata Prefecture. In Kahokucho, it is made with firm soba noodles in a cold soy sauce-based soup with a full-grown chicken broth, topped with crunchy chicken and chopped white onions.

There are various theories about the origin of this chicken soba. One of them is that in prewar Kahokucho, where soba restaurants also served as taverns, it was customary to enjoy drinks with stewed horse meat and finish the meal with soba. One day, a customer tried the leftover horse meat with soba and found it unexpectedly delicious, which led to the spread of this way of eating. After World War II, the horse meat used in soba was changed to chicken, which was raised in every household, because it was easier to procure. The soup is served cold, and the soba noodles are served cold to preserve their texture and flavor.

Although I had lived in Yamagata Prefecture for 32 years, I had never had tsuttai niku soba for a long time, and the first time I had it was the last summer before I had to leave Yamagata. Recently, I started seeing full-grown chicken meat at the local supermarket, and I decided to try to make it at home.

First, I prepared full-grown chicken meat and Yamagata soba noodles, which would be the main ingredients of the soba. And since we are in eastern Japan, of course, we use white onions. The chicken is boiled, seasonings are added, soup is made, and the chicken is cooled in the refrigerator. It was hot that day, so not only the soup but also the bowl was cooled in the refrigerator. The boiled soba noodles are cooled in ice water, and all the ingredients and soup are served in Seiryugama's Donburi and Ichiyougama's Menbachi 17cm bowls. The resulting nostalgic tsuttai niku soba stands out for its rich umami and crunchy texture of chicken, making it a dish that can be easily enjoyed at home. In Kahokucho, Tsuttai niku soba is eaten both in summer and winter. Please try making it at home.

Tsuttai niku soba (2 servings)

Ingredients:
Full-grown chicken meat (or chicken thigh meat), about 150g
800 ml water
50 ml sake
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mentsuyu (2x concentrated)
50ml dark soy sauce
A pinch of white onion, cut into small pieces
Soba for 2 servings
(A pinch of salt to taste *If serving with ice, adjust the finish of the soup with salt to make it a little thicker)

How to make:
1. Put water and chicken in a pot and heat from low heat to heat the meat.
2. When it comes to a simmer, remove the scum. When it comes to a boil, remove the scum, add sake, and simmer over low to medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Add mirin, sugar, mentsuyu, and soy sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Refrigerate to the desired temperature.
5. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add buckwheat noodles, and boil slightly hard.
6. When finished boiling, drain into a colander, rinse under running water, and then rinse in iced water. Drain well and place in a bowl.
7. Pour the soup over the noodles and top with chopped green onions and sliced chicken.

Seiryugama's Donburi
https://www.shokunin.com/en/seiryu/donburi.html
Ichiyougama's Menbachi 17cm
https://www.shokunin.com/en/ichiyou/menbachi.html

References
https://www.town.kahoku.yamagata.jp/soshiki/shoko/kankousinkou/3341/672.html
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%B7%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E8%82%89%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0
https://www.lifeplan.or.jp/alps/alps_pdf/alps114/alps114_64.pdf (Reference recipe)