California Walnut Challenge
“I received free samples of California Walnuts mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by California Walnuts and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”
Growing up, I had an obsession with nuts. Roasted cashews, roasted almonds, peanut butter – I would eat so much that my stomach would hurt. But walnuts was an exception. It was the only nut I WOULD NOT be tempted to eat at all. My mum used to make me eat a walnut a day because she said it was good for the blood (in Chinese traditional medicine practices) and I’ve never looked forward to it. To me, walnuts have a bitter aftertaste and dry texture.
When we received our package of california walnuts I was skeptical we would be able to find something to make,, but I was also excited to have the opportunity to finally create a tasty dish that will actually have me CRAVING for walnuts. We brainstormed a ton of ideas for weeks and it was like we were hitting a roadblock until we stumbled upon “Kumuri Sob”a.
Kumuri Soba (Kumuri = “walnuts” in Japanese) is a dish essentially unknown outside of the Nagano region in Japan, the famous soba capital of the East. Despite the fact that we up in Asia, and despite the fact that I’ve been to Japan 5 times, neither of us have ever heard of this peculiar dish. I was rather perplexed at first (when I discovered this recipe) by the idea of crushing walnuts and mixing into tsuyu sauce (soba noodle dipping sauce). I had eaten chilled soba noodles multiple times or even tantanmmien (chinese peanut/sesame noodles), but never anything like this. The scarcity of recipes that can be found on google definitely only made me MORE intrigued. I love noodles tossed in thick nutty sauces so I was willing to give it a shot, even if it involved walnuts.
We warned both our fiancés’ before dinner that we had a NEW creation for them to try for a “challenge”. This basically was the code for – “the food may not taste good, so be prepared.”
We served it up to them, explaining to them what this dish was and how they had to eat it -> first mixing the crushed walnuts with the soba sauce until you reach desired consistency, add the noodles, sprinkle on the green onions AND then MIX together before eating. After ensuring they had followed our instructions we let them taste the first bite. Guys, it was an EPIC MOMENT. Both of our fiancés’ were shocked at how good it was. Even I was shocked at HOW GOOD it tasted…(and there was no bitter aftertaste!). We sat around table just slurping down this dish in silence. I watched as 1 bundle, 2 bundles, 3 bundles of noodles disappeared. It was honestly a dream to prep. Saturday dinners never looked easier (or fancier).
Californian walnuts just taste fantastic – it is creamy and nutty with a slight richness. Not to mention walnuts have so many health benefits. Regardless of your flavor preference, walnuts are the only nut to provide an excellent source of the plant-based omega-3, ALA (2.5g/oz). Not to mention it has heart healthy fats that help to lower risk of strokes, inflammation and cancer. It is also unusually high in vitamin E. Walnuts is also one of the lowest calories nuts considering the quantity of nutrients it provides (and you bet we are always trying to find ways to bump up our nutrient levels). 
How does this dish work?
You have TWO dippings sauces that are combined at the table. We serve the crushed walnuts and the mori tsuyu (soba noodle dipping sauce) separately. The beauty of this dish is that there is minimal preparation and guests can adjust the sauce to their taste.
Toppings: I love adding in fresh scallions. It is probably the ONLY mandatory topping in this recipe. Seaweed, sesame seeds, sesame oil is all bonus ingredients!
Noodles: Traditionally soba noodles are served with “soba” (obviously). I would recommend looking for a 100% buckwheat noodle product for those who are gluten sensitive. I have also served this with tofu shirataki noodles (2o calories only) and they taste fantastic, since the sauce is SO SO rich. It makes for such a delicious savory snack.
Great Side Dishes to pair with this:
- stirfried chinese veg (blanched broccoli, gailan, napa, pea shoots)
- Okonomiyaki
- Pan fried tofu
- Grilled Salmon
To all the walnut haters out there, please give this a try because you are definitely missing out.
- Buckwheat Noodles/Soba Noodles (3-4 bundles)*
- 1 cup Californian walnuts (halves)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp sugar** (only if you're making homemade dashi stock then you need this)
- 1 tsp hondashi powder (or 2 cups of dashi broth)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (Kikkoman)
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider
- 2-3 Scallions, finely chopped
- Crush walnuts by hand (using rolling pin) or a blender. Set aside and add sugar (IF youre not using hondashi powder).
- Bring 1 cup of water and hondashi powder to boil in a sauce pan. Add in the soy sauce and vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside and refrigerate until cold.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain well. Rinse under cold water and leave it to soak in cold water until ready to serve.
- Serving:Add a few spoonfuls of the walnut meal, the dashi broth and mix. Dip noodles in and sprinkle on scallion! Enjoy!
Japanese for walnut is kurumi.
you are right! thank you for pointing out that typo!