Despite its name, egg roll often does not contain egg. But one thing is for sure, they are crunchy savory delight if cooked right.

Ingredients
- egg roll paper {can be found in Asian supermarkets or Asian isle in mainstream supermarkets}
- carrot
- daikon
- shitake mushroom

Carrots, daikon, and mushrooms need to be sliced , use Julienne style. In a medium size pan, add oil and stir fry ingredients.

Cook the ingredients until they are al dente. Remember, the ingredients will continue to cook more when frying.

Tip: Remove ingredient in pan and drain. Take a small amount and wrap. Next, fry for three minutes. Since the ingredient is already cooked, the cooking time is minimal.

With a piping hot egg roll, I enjoy eggs rolls wrapped in lettuce for a cool contrast. Mint + sweet Thai sauce rounds out the dish.

After a long day at work, I enjoy cooking a simple meal done well. On a hot day, I grab a pack of Myojo, a quality instant noodle (not an oxymoron). A pack of Myojo cost around $1.40, found at your local Asian super markets. My motto: quality over quantity.

On an side note, I tried the cheap $.20 a pack Maruchan brand. The soup base lacks character and the noodles falls apart. Great for those on a college budget.

So on a hot day, I grab pack of noodles with a cold dressing. The noodles are chewy and meant to be cooked al dente. Three minutes blanched in boiling water will do. To add flavor, I crack two eggs in a bowl and whisk. In a heated pan showered with 2 oz. of oil, I use wooden chopsticks to scramble the eggs as they cook. The result are light fluffy eggs. The trick is to turn off the heat once the oil reaches boiling point. I take a package of seaweed and cut into slices for garnish. Add a few halved grape tomatoes for color. For crunch, I brown some white onions. The cold dressing (sesame and rice vinegar) is marvelous-tangy with a hint of pungent mustard spice for punch.

(Fresh cut soba in Japan)

Eating soba noodles is all about texture, temperature, and participation. Soba noodles are buckwheat noodles served either in a clear broth or cold in a special sauce. While backpacking in Tokyo a few years ago, my love for this noodle began to grow. Last week, San Francisco had a surprisingly scorching day reaching almost 87 degrees. Armed with noodles and a few garnishes, I began my noodle meal.

Ingredients: (can be found at most Asian stores) or online at Asiangrocer
dry seaweed
soba noodles
soba sauce
cubes of ice
wasabi paste

Cooking soba at home requires technique. First, toss a batch of noodles in boiling water. Keep stirring frequently. Boil for around 5 minutes on medium heat. Cook the noodle beyond al dente (chewy) and next drain the noodle and immediatley toss them in a bowl filled with cold water and ice. This will chill the noodles. In a small bowl, mix soba sauce with wasabi paste. I add a cube of ice in my soba sauce to ensure that it is cold. Chop seaweed into thin laywers and use as garnish.

Temperature. Soba noodles need to be cold. Warm soba simple does not taste good.
Texture. Do not over cook the noodles. The buckwheat noodles will lose the chewy texture that makes the noodles deliscious.
Participation. Take some noodles and dunk the noodle directly in the soba sauce. In Japan, it is polite to slurp. Slurping is a sign to the chef that the food is great.

Soba noodles are served frequently at train stations. They are healthy and simply refreshing.

Consultant hat.
In San Francisco, Mifune is a good spot for soba. Soba are a great item to be placed on the menu because profit margins are very high. Soba served on a lacuqer tray (~$6) is simple to make and does not require any master chefs. The owner of Mifune can certainly keep the food cost around 20%.

Estimated food cost.
Noodles: $.10
Soba sauce: $.10
Plate charge (plate,chopsticks,tea cup):$.10
total: $.30 for food cost
Profit: $6 – .30 = $5.70
{keep in mind I did not factor labor,workers insurance,electricity,water,and rent}
Overall, still a great profit.

In terms of international Japanese fast food chains, Yoshinoya is the only one that comes to mind. It is hard to scale a soba noodle chain in the United States. Soba is an acquired dish and will probably never reach mainstream appreciate. Another type of noodle I enjoy is somen, a white thin noodle.

Mifune
1737 Post St Ste 375
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: (415) 922-0337

Ever since I was in middle school, I enjoyed cooking at home. It was a chance for me to display my creative side. In my early years, I focused simply on taste. But now, I notice that a gourmet ensemble of different notes come into play. Trying to balance flavors, I must consider how sweet balance out sour. Texture is key as well. Lets examine the avocado. Avocados, technically a fruit from the berry family, are used to add creaminess to a dish. Temperature is another important thing to consider. Avocados are delicious when served at room temperature or cold, but rarely taste good when hot. Like any painter will tell you, color affects mood and this is true in food as well. Cuban food, for instance, is a festive cuisine that incorporates many ingredients from the local region that use bright colorful and appetizing ingredients. Salsa is a dish that combines tomatoes and purple onions resulting in dishes with vibrant colors. Keeping all this in mind, the secret ingredient today – the sea bass.

It was my virgin attempt at the Orca Bay sea bass from Costco. For $20.00, I get 1.5lb of sea bass already cut into servings. Since it is a thick chunk, poach (boil in hot water) the fish for three minutes. Next, take the fish out and marinate in extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of curry powder, freshly grounded black pepper. In a fry pan, heat olive oil and add slices of chopped garlic. Make sure the heat is on medium so that the garlic will brown at the right temperature. Pan fry the sea bass four minutes on each side. Place a cover to over the fish while pan frying. This will help cook the fish more rapidly and also keeps the splatters inside the pan. Finish the dish by tossing six grape tomatoes and 2 oz. of white wine. Take a few sprigs of mint coarsely chopped and plate on the sea bass.

Plating: The seabass has already been cut into a chunk that has great height. The mint adds refreshing colors and tomatoes adds great circular garnishes. The oil adds a soft element to the plate which acts as a canvas.

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Give me a quickie. Irritated from the 80 year old lady talking so loud at YMCA hot tub, I needed release. To be more exact, I need comfort food. Racing home, I grab my bag of Ajinomoto gyoza’s. Put a few, 12 to be exact, and wait 5 minutes for these miniature delights to cook. Hearing the sizzle only increases my hunger. Backpacking in Tokyo a few years ago, I learned more about gyoza. After an exhausting ten hour work day, the Japanese salary men/women dine out with co-workers as a social event. Really, to bad mouth there superiors or complain about the mundane life. One thing I can count on in Japan are eateries that master a specific dish. Tempura houses have mastered frying shrimp and vegetables to a science. Cripsy buy not greasy. As for gyoza houses, they are quick meals best served with a bowl of boiled edamame beans and a bottle of Japanese beer.

Cooking instructions:
To pan fry, add four oz. of water. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. The water will evaporate and a create a crispy bottom. The skin is chewy and the tender meat is seasoned well. These bites are minature in size and I can easily eat 15 in one sitting.

Sauce: Dip gyoza into Ponzu (Japanese citrus sauce) and a few sprinkles of lime to round out the dish. Chop some green onion for added crunch.

Food consultant.
Skip down the isle of your frozen food sections and there are hundreds of items to choose from. Frozen foods are great industry since spoilage is not high. Spoilage are food items that must be thrown away because they simply rot and become bad. As oppose to growing lettuce that spoils in a few days, manufacturing gyoza’s can last long. There are two keys to increasing your sales. One is distribution. Ling Ling’s potstickers has done a great job getting into Costco. Attend a frozen food trade show and find a broker that can present your product. Also, sampling increases the chance that a person will buy your product. It works. Go to Costco and you can see stations of food manufacturers giving out samples. I would target the college campuses. College students are stressed out with exams and time is a big constraint.

(video source: Youtube,photos: click on thumnail to enlarge)

As a published food writer and blogger, I often am asked “can you cook?” In my British accent I answer, “but of course.” “But of course” has been a line made famous from the marketing genius of Grey Poupon. Walk through the condiment section of your local super market, and there are hundreds of choices. Grey Poupon has cleverly created a marketing strategy that has broken through the noise and clutter in the condiment industry.

Differentiate.
Differentiate or die is the truth behind the food business. Grey Poupon package their dijon mustard in glass bottles to portray a premium brand so that they can charge more. A hint of wine is also added to create a distinct flavor. Kraft has done a great job in maintaining Grey Poupon as a premium mustard brand. I think they should produce a new rendition of the classic Rolls Royce commercial.

Food.
Traveling around the world, I learned how to make food that taste great but with ease. Try buying short ribs which are around $1 for each rib. Layer a thin coating of Grey Poupon on. Next, a dash Kosher salt, not table salt, on the ribs and add sliced garlic. Pop into oven and broil 350 degree for 20 minutes. Let it rest for 6 minutes. The result: meat that is tender, juicy, just like prime rib. And the process, “set it, and forget it.”

Also, try a great light dressing. Combine 1 tablespoon of Grey Poupon with 3 sprigs of chopped mint, fresh ground pepper, pinch of Kosher salt, 6 oz of extra virgin olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of mirin. Mix and serve. The result: light tangy dressing. This dressing is also great drizzled over oysters on a 1/2 shell on a BBQ grill.

Food Consultant.
You have seen it on Food Network. Yes, you can bottle your own sauce, manufacture it, market it, and make a fortune. Not so fast. There are bizillions of sauces in America. First, ask you yourself this. Are you filling a demand or creating a supply? A few years ago, I was the marketing manager for a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. They thought about bottling their sauce. But was there a demand? No. Listen carefully to your friends. Look for trends. To succeed, the food business is like basbeall. Anticipation is key. By the time the ball comes your way, it’s too late. If you’re serious about the industry, read trade journals. The association for sauces and dressing is a great way to start.

Lets break it down.

1st base: recipe. Start small. Try your sauces at Farmer’s market. Get feedback and make your mistakes there. I don’t know any successful entrepreneur that has not “failed their way to success”. When you ask feedback, be specific.
-How much would you spend on dressing?
-What is your favorite brand?
-Do you look at the nutrition labels?
As a bootstrap entrepreneur, your Research and Development is the people you meet.
2nd base: contact manufacturers. A bottling facility may be around your area. Don’t focus on $800,000 on buying your own bottling plant. Instead, talk to smaller bottling groups and ask them to bottle your sauces for you. They have the fixed cost of equipment and labor so let them take the risks.
3rd base: attend trade show for sauces. You will meet distributors that may be interested in being a representive for you product. These rep have relationships with buyers from Costo,Target, and other big box stores. Be seen, be heard.
Home run: 1st year, set you goal of being part of a number of people who will distribute your products.

Trends: Green is in. No doubt. Are you able to produce packaging that is 100% recycled. Organic. People want to eat more healthy and live longer. Using orgainic ingredients may cost more, but you’re targeting a certain niche. Fun. Don’t forget the fun factor. Make a dressing that combines pineapples and mint, great for reducing heat from buffalo wings. Name it “Fire Extinguisher.”

Hint: Avoid the crowd. If you’re making an Asian sauce, don’t market your sauce in Asian. Try the Midwest. Consumers they are thirsty to taste ethnic “pie.” Chinese chicken salad is popular in the Midwest, not Asia. I remember being in Chicago for work a few years ago. A white co-worker from Minesota told me he love crab rangoons. Potstickers filled with cream cheese and fried. That is not real Chinese food, most of us are lactose intolerant. Funny story.

note: I left a lot of details with financing, marketing, and sales. Feel free to comment and email me if you want more advice. Don’t forget about your exit plan. In the long run, do you want a bigger food company such as Kraft to buy our your sauce company.

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Resources:
Association for Sauces and Dressings