soba gome

These are the small hulled Japanese buckwheat groats. After playing around, I found that mixing a given quantity--say 1 cup--of the groats with twice the quantity of of water--say two cups--of other light liquid such as stock and letting them soak and swell for a half to a whole hour and then cooking gives the best result. This keeps the groats from getting mushy. The amount of liquid needed for the actual cooking will depend on what is being cooked with them. I used large scallops and small mussels which gave off plenty of liquid. I cooked this in a wok with the seafood on top, tightly covered. I had seasoned the soaked groats with a large handful of fresh tarragon leaves and a good quantity of kosher salt and pepper. The dish took about fifteen minutes of actual cooking, or until the mussel shells opened. It served four as a light main course.
Vegetables, fish and chicken would be good alternatives.
Now the fun begins.