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How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
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5 from 2 votes

How to Make Totoro Soba

Cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: noodles, totoro week

Ingredients

  • sliced mozzarella cheese
  • nori
  • 1 cup dashi see notes
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 bundle regular soba
  • 1 bundle white soba
  • sliced green onions to serve
  • wasabi if desired

Instructions

  • Make Totoro’s face: use a small round cookie cutter to cut out Totoro’s eyeballs. Use a nori punch or scissors to cut out the eyeballs. Cut strips of nori for the whiskers and an oval for his nose. Cut our chevrons for his chest hairs. Set aside.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • Make the dipping sauce: in a small bowl, mix together the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It should be quite salty. Set aside.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • In two separate pots, cook the soba according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse, and drain well.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • Use the regular soba and arrange in a Totoro shape on a plate.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • Use the white soba to make Totoro’s belly.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • Add on the eyes, nose, whiskers, and chest hairs.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes
  • Serve with the dipping sauce in a small bowl, sliced green onions, nori, and wasabi (if using). To eat, pick up a bunch of soba and dip into the sauce and slurp. Add the green onions and nori to the dipping sauce bowl as desired.
    How to make Totoro soba: cold soba noodles with a soy-dashi dipping sauce in the shape of the ever lovable Totoro. You know you wanna eat him! #soba #japanesefood #totorosoba #totoro #totorofood #kawaiifood #soba #recipes

Notes

We used instant dashi for this – it’s super simple, just mix the package into 1 cup hot water.