Soba no mi, buckwheat as rice

Buckwheat groats (sometimes called buckwheat berries) are called 蕎麦の実 soba no mi in Japanese. Mi means fruit/nut, and maybe that’s not too far from the botanical reality as that’s not really a grain. They are often added to cook together with rice. And they can simply replace rice.

Raw.

Cooked in the rice cooker on brown rice program.

I’ve added a few drops of sesame oil and black sesame for even more nutty flavor. No salt because I add it with :

Umeboshi natto.

Satsuma imo (sweet potato) and mizu nasu.

Platter of steamed veggies : suguna kabocha, satsuma imo, bok choi and chestnuts.

Not a pretty dish… This type of aubergine mizu nasu is usually served raw. I’ve sliced (I did) and cut in ribbons (roughly) the flesh. Salted. Rinsed after 19 minutes and sprinkles shikwasa lime juice.

A nice old fashioned meal.

Mizu nasu, the “water aubergine” you can eat raw

Do you know these Japanese mizu nasu (water aubergines) ? The particularity is you can eat them raw.
Of course they can be cooked too, like here :

veggie mille-feuille

The wiki article　in Japanese is very interesting. They explain that has been traditionally cultivated in Osaka for many years. I wonder if they are more common here than in the rest of Japan. In Summer, all local shops have them.

The simplest way : I slice them, salt, let a while and rinse. Then I use as a salad.

With sweet chili sauce.

Other meals with these mizu nasu : click here.

Raw-bergine on Korean soba (via Gourmande in Osaka)

LY (to close this aubergine triology)

This plump aubergine (eggplant) is a mizu-nasu, water aubergine. It is cultivated to be eaten raw. Today, it will be eaten with cooled Korean buckwheat noodles. Here they are not topped with raspberry jelly but kochijan (gochuchang). Nameko, the funny mushroom and Seoul Summer noodles Korean-Osakan Bibin’men (cooled noodles) The mizu-nasu aubergines are simply cut and immediately bathed about 30 seconds in salted water till they slightly turn gre … Read More

via Gourmande in Osaka

Mizunasu and matsutake ponzu

A little wind of end of Summer is blowing…
This eggplant, AKA aubergine is a mizu nasu. Water aubergine. Like you have water melon, there are these. The particularity is it’s eaten raw.
Another recipe with mizu nasu in next post.
I dipped it in a very fragrant sauce.

As you see, I’ve found tomatillos. Yippeee ! Oh, it’s common here…but only as a decoration for tombs. Very rare to get them to eat.

I sliced and cut. Salted. Let 15 minutes. Rinsed and squeeze.

Ponzu means a mix of soy sauce and citrus juice. Here it’s sudachi lemon. And I added slices of matsutake mushroom. It’s a wild taste mushroom very popular and high-priced in North Asia. More about it soon.

Raw-bergine on Korean soba

This plump aubergine (eggplant) is a mizu-nasu, water aubergine. It is cultivated to be eaten raw.

Today, it will be eaten with cooled Korean buckwheat noodles. Here they are not topped with raspberry jelly but kochijan (gochuchang).

Nameko, the funny mushroom and Seoul Summer noodles

Korean-Osakan Bibin’men (cooled noodles)

The mizu-nasu aubergines are simply cut and immediately bathed about 30 seconds in salted water till they slightly turn green. Then rinsed in fresh water.