Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum, F. tataricum

A coarse grain-like seed from Central Asia, buckwheat thrives in cold, damp, northerly places, like Finland or Northern China. Buckwheat is related to rhubarb and is grown primarily for its seed, although the people of Tibet eat its leaves as a salad green. Some historians think the plant made it to Europe either with the Moors of North Africa or with Crusaders returning from their battles with the Arabs in the Holy Lands, while others think it reached Western Europe from Russia.

Buckwheat is a Russian favorite, the basis of both kasha, a kind of hot cereal dish, and blinis, rolled pancakes.

Soba, the word for buckwheat in Japanese, is a popular noodle dish served in Japanese restaurants everywhere.

"Soba is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Moreover, it is not uncommon in Japan to refer to any thin noodle as soba in contrast to udon which are thick noodles made from wheat.

Because noodles made out of pure buckwheat can easily fall apart when boiled, the buckwheat flour is usually mixed with binders, often wheat flour. Under the Japan Agricultural Standards regulations, the noodles have to contain at least 30% buckwheat in order to be called soba but noodles with a high buckwheat content are seen as more desirable. The raw noodles are made by making a dough out of buckwheat flour and binder, spreading it out flat before slicing noodle strands off it using a special knife. The quality of noodles is highly dependent on the skill of the maker, especially for soba noodles with high buckwheat content. The raw noodles are boiled before being served hot or cold.

In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of situations. They are a popular inexpensive fast food at train stations throughout Japan, they are served by exclusive and expensive specialty restaurants, and they are also made at home. Markets sell dried noodles and men-tsuyu, or instant noodle broth, to make home preparation easy.

Some establishments, especially cheaper and more casual ones, may serve both soba and udon (thick wheat noodles) as they are often served in a similar manner. However, soba is traditionally the noodle of choice for Tokyoites. This tradition originates from the Edo period when the population of Edo (Tokyo), being considerably wealthier than the rural poor, were more susceptible to beri beri due to their high consumption of white rice which is low in thiamine, and are thought to have made up for this by regularly eating thiamine-rich soba. Every neighbourhood had one or two soba establishments, many also serving sake, which functioned much like modern cafes where locals would drop by casually." Continue reading about soba here.

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