noun
soba cooking water; water from boiling soba
The starchy water left after boiling soba noodles. Often served as a drink at the end of a soba meal, sometimes mixed with dipping sauce.
そば屋で、食後にそば湯を飲むのが好きだ。
At soba restaurants, I like to drink the soba cooking water after the meal.
そば湯に、残ったつゆを少し入れて飲むと美味しい。
It's delicious to add a little leftover dipping sauce to the soba water and drink it.
そば refers to the buckwheat noodles themselves, while そば湯 is the water they were boiled in.
Compound of そば (soba, buckwheat noodles) and 湯 (yu, hot water).