Yamagata Specialty: Cold Chicken Soba

Break down the stewing hen, separating the bones from the meat. The stock draws out better when the bird is taken apart, so separate the bones at the joints to expose the cut surfaces. Set aside the thighs, breasts, and tenders to use later as chashu.

Rinse the bones quickly in water to remove blood and impurities. For just one bird, you can skip the parboil-and-drain step (parboiling removes even more off odors).

Put the bones and meat from the whole bird into a pot, add 4 L of water, and set over heat.

Add the Japanese leek and carefully skim off the scum as it rises once the pot comes to a boil. After bringing it to a boil once, lower the heat and let it simmer slowly.

Make the kaeshi. Blend dark and light soy sauce to give the soy sauce depth, then add the mirin and sanontou. Heat the combined kaeshi gently, warming it just short of a boil so the aroma of the soy sauce does not cook off.

About 45 minutes after the simmering starts, remove only the chicken meat. Overcooking drives the savory flavor out of the meat, so pull it once it is just cooked through. Continue simmering for about another hour, until the liquid has reduced and the stock and fat have been drawn out well.

Ladle out the finished soup as quietly and gently as possible so it does not turn cloudy. It becomes a clear, amber-colored soup like a chintan broth.

Check the volume of the soup and top it up with water if there is too little, matching the ratio to the kaeshi. Add the kaeshi and the reserved chicken to the soup together and let the flavors meld.

Let it cool down, and once some of the heat has come off, add 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar. You can eat it as is once cooled, but resting it overnight lets the flavor settle and tastes even better.

Boil the soba. Cook it on the firm side to get closer to the thick, robust texture of inaka soba, but with dried noodles too firm turns them brittle, so slightly less than the package time is just right. Once boiled, rinse thoroughly in cold water to bring out the chew.

Slice the chicken removed from the soup thinly, 2-3 mm thick.

Arrange the soba in a cool-looking bowl, pour over the soup, and top with the chicken chashu. If the soup is too cold the chicken fat congeals and looks unappealing, so let it come back to about room temperature before pouring.