Frequently Asked Questions
A1 In your local major supermarket (Coles and Woolworths/Safeway), organic stores and Asian grocery stores.
A2. The main ingredient of our noodles is wheat flour and so is not suitable for people with celiac.
A3. Yes, we make our noodles to traditional recipes and we sell our noodles in Japan.
A4. Yes, all you do is cook in boiling water, the same way that you would cook spaghetti or any other pasta.
A5. Our products are produced on shared lines that have products with wheat flour, egg powder, soy flour and buckwheat powder. We suggest that you seek medical advice should you have any concerns.
A6. We do not run tours for the general public but we will consider small school groups (secondary and above) and special interest groups. Please contact us for further information.
A7. Yes, our organic noodles are certified by Australian Certified Organic, USDA, IFoam and JAS. The logo appropriate to the sales region is on the packet.
A8. No, we do not. You should be able to find our products in your local store, but if you have any difficulties, please contact us.
A9. Yes, our Organic Soba, Udon, Somen and Ramen noodles are Kosher-certified. We are certified by Kosher Australia and their logo is on all of these packets.
A10. The salt is necessary for the authentic production process, however if you rinse the noodles correctly at the end of the boiling process, you will remove the majority of the salt.
A11. Plenty. You will need at least 1.5 litres of water per bundle of noodles
A12. The design is done by an Australian designer. The base colour represents Japanese traditional clothing (kimono) and the gold tracing represents the hills of Ballarat, where our factory is located in Victoria, Australia
A13. No. Our organic wheat is entirely Australian grown, so our Somen and Udon are All-Australian but we are unable to source the quantities of organic buckwheat that we require for our Soba from Australia. We also have to look elsewhere for our sources of green tea powder and our mineral salts.
A14. We are an Australian company that is a subsidiary of our Japanese parent company, Hakubaku Co. Limited., which is the biggest dried noodle manufacturer in Japan.
A15. There are two main reasons. The first reason is that this is a traditional Japanese way and the second reason is that it acts as a portion control.
A16. We make our noodles her because Australian wheat is the best wheat in the world for making Japanese noodles. 90% of Japanese noodles made in Japan use Australian wheat. We believe being closer to the wheat growers allows us to make a superior quality noodle.
A17. No, our noodles are very versatile and can be used in many different recipes. Please visit the recipe page on our website for many great ways to prepare Hakubaku Organic noodles.
A18. Because the Cha-Soba noodle has a unique flavour from the green tea powder (we use the same high-quality green tea powder that is used in Japanese tea ceremonies), the special packet ensures that the natural colours and flavours are contained.
A19. Yes, but you will need to be aware of the different cooking times of each noodle. You can also substitute them very easily for other styles of Asian noodles (Ramen makes a great substitute for hokkien noodles).
A20. Soba is our most popular noodle with Udon close behind.
A21. Your noodles will keep in the fridge, but you will find that they taste the best when just freshly prepared. An opened packet of dried noodles will keep in your pantry for the full shelf life listed on the packet but it is preferable that you store them in an air-tight container.
A22.To start with, 'soba' is a word that generically means noodle in Japan. It also means buckwheat noodle but basically refers to any long, thin noodle.
In Japan, 100% buckwheat noodles are called Jyuwari (or Towari) Soba and contain 100% buckwheat. We don't make Jyuwari Soba. We make Soba which is authentically buckwheat and wheat. We use the alternate meaning of 'soba' (buckwheat) for the English name as a subtitle. Authentic Soba noodles contain wheat flour. Our recipe is an authentic Japanese soba recipe. We export our Soba to Japan.
A23. No. We appreciate the need for gluten-free products, especially in the western diet. We would like to make a gluten-free noodle but as the main raw ingredient in the majority of our products is wheat flour, cross-contamination would potentially be an issue. Even if the raw ingredients we used were gluten-free, we would not be able to market it as gluten-free and so we do not make gluten-free noodles.