🍜 Oroshi-soba (Soba Noodles with grated daikon)

In Fukui Prefecture, where life expectancy is one of the highest in Japan, the most commonly eaten soba is “Oroshi Soba”, “Soba” Noodles with grated Daikon radish. It is eaten as the last dish at weddings and Buddhist services, and eaten between on New Year's Eve and the New year. In Fukui Prefecture, "Oroshi-soba" is also served as an evening meal at the “Houon-ko”, the largest annual event of the Jodo Shinshu sect held from autumn through the New Year around the anniversary of the founder Shinran's death (November 28 of the old calendar, January 16 of the new calendar), which is called "Honkosan" or "Okou-sama" in Fukui Prefecture. The history of Soba in Fukui Prefecture dates back to 1473, when Asakura Takakage built his first castle in Ichijodani, and cultivated “Soba” as an emergency ration in times of war. “Soba” was valued as an emergency ration for sieges because of its short cultivation time (two and a half to three months after seeding) and its long shelf life. At that time, it was eaten as "Soba-Gaki" or "Soba-Dango". Later, Honda Tomimasa, who became lord of the castle in Fuchu (now Echizen City), took over with a Soba master (from 1601), and Soba as thin noodles topped with grated Daikon radish became widespread. Later, when the Emperor Showa visited Fukui, he tasted "Oroshi-soba" and said, "Echizen soba was very delicious," and the name "Echizen Oroshi-soba" spread nationwide. This shows that the quality of the soba harvested in Fukui Prefecture and the flour milling technology cultivated are high. The taste of "Oroshi-soba" is deeply related to the high quality of Brown Buckwheat and milling techniques. By milling the local Buckwheat with the old stone grind, not only the taste but also the unique flavor of Buckwheat is not lost.