The Japanese Seminar
While my wife and I were at the Fancy Food Show, we had the opportunity to attend a Japanese food seminar. We were excited, knowing that the Japanese culture is a very health conscience society. "This is really going to be right up our alley." Neither of us have been to a Japanese restaurant for years. The last time I ate sushi was in culinary school, in Portland, Oregon, at one of those cheap sushi bars that a person can find in every city.
I would like to share with you a little about the seminar. The first speaker was a Japanese woman that told us about the three main ingredients of Japanese cooking; kobe beef, miso and sea vegetables. Kobe beef is a very expensive and very popular among meat eaters. Kobe beef is meat from cows that have lived on organic grasses, sake massages and beer for much of their lives. They also are kept in a sling to restrict movement. This creates an intense marbling of the meat (marbling is a intermixture of fat and lean meat), because no muscles are developed. These cows never get to roam a pasture, as it may strengthen and toughen their muscles and ultimately their meat. The only benefits of kobe beef is that it is high in omega-3's and 6's, both of which a person can receive from flax or hemp oil. The bottom line is this, some would say "these cows see a better afternoon than most", but at the end of the day, they get slaughtered just like the rest.
Then she mentioned miso. I love working with miso. There are several kinds of miso: white, yellow and red. The darker the miso, the more intense and deep flavor it has. Miso is often a fermented soybean paste, but there are also rice and barley misos. I like to use yellow miso in my cheese-like operations, as I find that it gives them a little sharpness. This is an ingredient that has many health benefits to be aware of. It is high in iron, manganese and copper. It is rich in zinc which will help boost your immune system. Studies have shown that, a regular diet that includes miso lowers the chances for women to develop breast cancer.
Finally she spoke of sea vegetables. My favorite Japanese traditional food. Mendocino has the freshest water for seaweed on the coast, and I use a lot of it in my cooking. Now seaweed does take time to acquire a taste for, but the benefits far out way any initial reactions. The minerals and trace elements that you receive from seaweed is tremendous. Potassium, iodine and vitamin K to name a few. Brown seaweeds, such as kelp, are full of alginic acid, which bind to the heavy metals in the body and extract them. Cadmium and other radioactive metals are the cause for some cancers and other degenerative diseases. Seaweed is also good for your pets as well. Feed an 80# dog 1 tablespoon a day and you will see a shiny coat in no time and a happier friend. The list truly goes on and on. It really is a blog of its own, in the near future, so please stay tuned.
The following is a Wakame salad that I had for dinner tonight.
salad:
1 oz dried wakame, soak for 15 minutes in fresh filtered water
3 kumquats, sliced
5 basil leaves, chiffanade
1/4c baby spinach leaves, chiffanade
dressing:
1T tamari
1T brown rice vinegar
1 cara cara Orange, juiced
1t yellow miso
1. combine all dressing ingredients and toss with salad
vegan chef period.