Hakubaku - May 2011 Newsletter

May 2011 Newsletter

Welcome to the Eighteenth Edition of the Hakubaku Newsletter

Hello to all of our registered members.

Did you see Autumn this year? Okay, I know I often start off blathering about the weather, but seriously, it has been so changable this year that I can't help but comment on it. After years of complaining about the lack of rain, we received it in tankerloads, and this has caused as big a problem as the lack.

In this month's newsletter we have a letter from our Managing Director to our customers and a quick and simple soup recipe for Ramen. Be sure to ask for Hakubaku Organic Ramen at your local supermarket if it is not already on the shelf but you should be able to find it in the larger supermarkets.

We would like to again thank everyone who took part in the online survey that was run in February/March 2011. The information provided has been very interesting and very useful and we are very grateful for all who took the time.

Our Seasonal Recipe Competition

We have received many entries for the Autumn Seasonal recipe competition and I am now starting to wade through them all. The winner will be announced in the July newsletter. We encourage everyone to enter their favourite recipe using seasonally available produce. See our website for all competition details.

Start thinking of the great winter vegies available and let us know how best you like to eat them with Hakubaku Organic noodles.

Go to www.hakubaku.com for all terms and conditions.

Please make sure that you are using the correct email address for all recipe competition entries. That email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Shoyu Ramen Soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

270g packet of Hakubaku Ramen noodles
3 cups Chicken soup stock
Salt to taste
3 tbsp Soy sauce

For toppings
Spring onion, chopped
Nore (dried seaweed)
Barbeque pork slices
Bamboo shoot
Spinach, shredded

METHOD:

Heat chicken stock then bring to a boil.
Add salt to taste and soy sauce. Simmer for 4 minutes while preparing Hakubaku Organic Ramen as per packet instructions.
Place Ramen in four bowls. Pour stock over Ramen noodles.
Place your choice of toppings in broth.
Season to taste and serve.

A Message from our Managing Director

Dear Hakubaku’s valued customers

This letter is to provide our valued customers with information about Hakubaku Organic noodles that we will produce from May 2011 toward early part of 2012.

Eastern Australia experienced record breaking rain falls in late 2010. Some of you may know about this from news coverage of the unfortunate flood in state of Queensland Australia. These extreme rain events coincided with the harvest of the wheat season. In this season, Australia harvested 26 million tons of wheat. This is a standard amount, however due the detrimental effect of rain just before harvest, half of these 26 million tons were downgraded to use as animal feed only. In total there is only 13 million tons of wheat available for human consumption. This means a very small amount of organic wheat is available to us.

The quality of authentic Japanese noodles is largely dictated by the quality of wheat flour. Every year Hakubaku spends time and money to secure premium quality organic wheat to produce premium quality organic noodles.

Due to these extreme weather conditions the organic wheat we are sourcing this season is low in protein and high in moisture. Low protein flour makes weaker noodles. This means it is very difficult to actually make strong enough dough to make noodles. However Hakubaku’s manufacturing team is working hard to overcome this issue. The high moisture makes the milling process very difficult. It is much harder to mill flour which will deliver the creamy whiteness that is characteristic of our Japanese noodles.

As a result of these wheat conditions, our organic noodles manufactured after May 2011;

1. may look a little darker than normal due to milling difficulties created by high moisture levels in the grain

2. you may find very small specs on noodles due to minute husks remaining in the flour

3. the surface of noodles may feel a little rough (instead of smooth) due to the low protein levels

Once noodles are cooked, apart from being a little dark, the taste and texture are the same as currently supplied.

Due to this general shortage of wheat, wheat price is high. This is very tough time for organic farmers, millers and Hakubaku, however what we produce is still high standard, so we trust you keep enjoying our organic noodles.

We are one of the biggest single organic wheat purchasers in Australia where half of global certified organic farm land is situated. We support organic farming in Australia. It only takes one day to become non organic farmer but it takes at least three years to be an organic farmer. Organic farmers of Australia need more support than ever in this tough season. You are supporting organic farmers stay organic.

Yours faithfully

Ryuji Nakamura

Managing director / CEO

Hakubaku Australia Pty Ltd

Upcoming Events:

The regular markets are an enjoyable outing with plenty to see and buy. Other upcoming markets include:

Ballarat Lakeside Farmers Market - Saturday 11 & 25 June and 9 & 23 July, Wendouree Parade Lake Wendouree, BALLARAT 9.00am to 1.00pm
Talbot Farmers Market - which runs from 9.00am to 2.00pm on the third Sunday of every month in the beautiful historic town of Talbot, Victoria. (If you are in Melbourne and looking for a day trip Talbot is well worth the drive).

That's all from us for now. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions on our products and our newsletter.

Please forward this email on to all friends and family who may be interested in Hakubaku noodles. They may have great recipes that we haven't heard of yet.

If you would like to receive your own copy of the Hakubaku newsletter, please go to www.hakubaku.com and sign up. You also will get to access lots of great noodle recipes.

We look forward to seeing what you have created in your kitchens for our Seasonal recipe competition. Don't fortet to include Winter seasonal produce in your recipes.

From Jenny and the Hakubaku Team

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