Friday, October 30, 2009

Buckwheat Tea (SOBA-CHA)

Have you ever tasted "Buckwheat Tea" before? It is roasted Buckwheat Grain which is cracked open into smaller pieces. In Japan, you can pour hot water over this and make some tea. It is called "soba-cha" in Japanese, but there is no tea leaf in it, it is just Buckwheat Grain itself. Also, we can use this grain to make various dishes, from appetizers to desserts. Oh, and I recently found out this nutritious grain is called "kasha" (Russian).





Currently, I had the chance to experiment with Buckwheat Grain. I was introduced to this product by a friend who I worked with in the past. He currently works as a distributer / salesman working with various Japanese food ingredients and other restaurant items. I approached him one day explaining that I was interested in working as a Recipe Developer, working with both Japanese and Western ingredients. I am trying to create a healthy and nutritious menu which can be made daily. He thought it was a great idea and suggested that I try and create a few dishes using the Buchwheat Grain.



In the next few posts, I am going to introduce a few of my creations using this flavorful and nutritious grain, see ya!





Thursday, October 29, 2009

Chef M's Here!

Hello everyone, this is Chef M,

I love cooking and creating various dishes, using exotic ingredients in my cooking. With over 20 years of cooking experience, I would like to upgrade some old school Japanese and Western style recipes and make them more healthier and delicious by substituting certian ingredients with others that I find more fragreant, tasteful, and interesting!
My goal is to create some new delicious alternative dishes for my husband and myself, to enjoy eating. We both like to eat various types of foods and find ways to create healthy versions. My husband likes to stay active playing basketball and riding bike, so eating healthy helps keep him fit and gives him enough energy to get his work out and stay healthy. For myself, I am getting back into shape, so creating all these healthy dishes helps with my nutrition and keeps me going and going and going, so that's it for now.

Laters