Healthy Japanese Ingredients

[torakris]

Nigari, traditionally the coagulant used for making tofu, is HUGE in Japan right now. Once difficult to find, as people rarely make their own tofu, it is everywhere. Stores in my neighborhood several several different brands, there are magazines and books devoted to it. And not just for food, I have seen recipes for making soaps, face lotions, etc.

a nice article can be found here:

http://web-japan.org/trends/society/soc040406.html

[Hiroyuki]

I know. Nigari seems to be everywhere you go shopping in Japan.

In general, I don't believe in those products. I'm very skeptical about mass media's description of them. I'd like to keep my eyes wide open to see if those products will be here to stay.

[torakris]

I saw an interesting show on tv last night, it was about dieting and was mostly discussing the newest trend of the nigari diet.

They started off by stopping 1000 people randomly on the street (men and women) and found 186 of them currently "using" the nigari diet. 72% of the people on the diet reported no weight loss at all, while the 28% that did have weight loss averaged about 1 kg (2 lbs) a week with out changing eating habits or exercising. The "experts" set out to find out why. Both groups both took in the same amount of nigari per day but the groups that wasn't losing weight was putting into drinks that the drank throughout the day, while the group that was losing weight added it to their directly to their food. This was the big difference, apparently the magnesium in the nigari forms a temporary barrier of sorts that lets the fats in the food pass right through the body. So when it is just drunk alone without food it does nothing to prevent the fats eaten later from staying in the body.

The people who lost the most weight were the ones (who unknowingly) were eating the nigari with vitamin B1 rich foods. The scientific explaination of this was a little over my head (and I didn't feel like pulling out a dictionary for a translation ) but the combination of the two seems to heat up the body in some way.

So in the conclusion of the show they said that to be successful on the nigari diet you need to eat about 25 drops of nigari with your food and preferably foods rich in vitamin B1.

[Kiem Hwa]

Many ingredients used in Japanese cuisine are considered to have health benefits, and be good for you.

I thought it would be nice to have a thread discussing which ingredients are considered to be healthy and why. This should include "raw" ingredients, as well as "processed" ingredients (in other words, both soybeans and miso).

I will start with one of the most obvious healthy foods....SOYBEANS (Edamame) 枝豆

Soybeans are high in protein content, and is one of only two plant foods known to contain all the essential amino acids, similar to those found in meat (the other plant food is amaranth seed, a wild green).

Soybeans have been shown to to lower blood cholesterol levels as well as lipoproteins, both known risk factors for heart disease; may have anti-cancer effects; and reduce menopausal symptoms.

For more information on the health benefits of soybeans:

http://www.talksoy.com/Health/TechnicalInformation.htm

We have been discussing Edamame here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26715

Soybeans are made into many other ingredients also considered to be healthy (in several cases, the processing adds unique health benefits). This is why I love soybeans so much, not only are they healthy, they are so dynamic!!!!

TOFU 豆腐

To make tofu, the coagulant Nigari (bittern, a concentrated solution of various salts remaining after the crystallization of salt from seawater) is added to soymilk. Nigari itself is now considered a healthy ingredient, said to contain about 80 types of minerals, including magnesium chloride, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, and manganese.

More about Nigari:

http://www.kameyamado.com/english/natural_nigari.html

We have been discussing Tofu here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19772

MISO 味噌

Miso is made from soybeans and other ingredients including rice or barley, by a lactobacillus fermentation process, which may increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilability of nutrients already found in soybeans. The fermentation process also produces the anti-mutagen ethyl-ester.

Miso is thus thought to combat aging, cancer, lower cholesterol, alkalinize the blood, counteract the effects of radiation exposure, and neutralize the effects of smoking and environmental pollution. Unpasteurized miso is abundant in lactic-acid bacteria and enzymes that aid in digestion and food assimilation.

Miso health benefits and miso-making process:

http://www.miso.or.jp/miso-e/effect/index.html

http://www.clearspring.co.uk/pages/site/pr.../miso/info3.htm

We have been discussing Miso here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=17794

NATTO 納豆

Natto is a good source of protein and vitamin B2, which keeps your skin young. The process of making Natto requires fermenting soybeans with a bacillus that releases vitamin K2 and Nattokinase. Vitamin K2 is important in bone formation and thus is helpful in preventing osteoprosis. Nattokinase is reported to reduce and prevent blood clots.

Hmmm...Natto is so healthy, maybe I should force myself to it

More about healthy natto:

http://www.gaia21.net/natto/natto.htm

We have been discussing Natto here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=10215

Other Soybean-based Ingredients:

Shoyu (Soy Sauce)

Kinako (roasted soybean powder)

Soy milk (Tonyu)

Okara (by-product from tofu-making process)

[torakris]

here is the soy cooking class from eGCI:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=44086

and a thread about kinako:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...st=0&p=732401

[Hiroyuki]

I will start with one of the most obvious healthy foods....SOYBEANS (Edamame)  枝豆

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Great job, Kiem Hwa.

Edamame are green soybeans. Soybeans are daizu 大豆 in Japanese.

I like all sorts of soybean products. I can live on rice and soybean products for days and still be happy!

Another Japanese ingredient that is usually considered healthy is umeboshi!

http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/paramahamsa/umeboshi.htm

It's sometimes tough for me to eat old-fashioned, salty and sour umeboshi (the kind that my mother still makes and sends to us), so I often turn them into a paste.

[torakris]

Another Japanese ingredient that is usually considered healthy is umeboshi!

http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/paramahamsa/umeboshi.htm

I found this sentence interesting:

A good way to prevent morning sickness is to take an umeboshi at every meal, as well as balancing the daily diet.

When I was pregnant with child #3, I ate umeboshi onigiri everyday, sometimes 3 a day. I would drive to the nearest convenience store every morning at 6:00 to get my "fix", it really helped. I didn't know they were good for morning sickness, I just craved them. I didn't have craving for them during my first two pregnancies however....

A year later my daughter Julia lost her big toenail in an accident with a door and I had to take her to the hospital everyday for a week to have it cleaned. I get very queasy looking at things like this (I can't stand the sight of blood) and the only way I got through those visits to the hospital was buying eating an umeboshi onigiri from the supermarket across the street before going.

[Kiem Hwa]

Japanese Mushrooms: Enhancing Immunity and Fighting Cancer

茸 (きのこ)

Please keep in mind that medicinal value attributed to various foods discussed in this thread are not all proven to definitively work by scientific research, so please consult with a doctor before consuming any of these items for purely medicinal purposes!!!

We all know that mushrooms are a rich source of protein and vitamins (especially B vitamins), but several of them contain unique polysaccharides that enhance the immune system and have been used medicinally to fight cancer and viral infections.

In fact, three different anti-cancer drugs extracted from mushrooms have been approved by the Japanese government. They are derived from Shiitake (Lentinan), Suehirotake (Schizophyllan) and Kawaratake (PSK).

More about Medicinal Properties of Mushrooms:

http://www.nammex.com/MushroomArticles/hea...tMushrooms.html

http://www.learningplaceonline.com/nutriti...t/mushrooms.htm

We have been discussing mushrooms here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=18830

Shiitake 椎茸 (Lentinus edodes), Maitake 舞茸 (Grifola frondosa), Enoki-take 榎茸 (Flammulina velutipes)

These delicious mushrooms are thought to strengthen the immune system, and exhibit anti-tumor and anti-viral activity. Maitake is considered to be the most potent of the mushrooms studied in these functions. Fewer studies have been done on Enoki.

Maitake may also be useful for diabetes, chronic fatigue, chronic hepatitis, obesity, and high blood pressure.

More about Maitake:

http://www.maitakescience.org/

Shiitake is also thought to lower cholesterol and help against high blood pressure and heart disease, and chronic fatigue.

More about Shiitake:

http://www.shiitakecenter.com/health.html

Enoki may help to prevent or cure liver disease and gastroenteric ulcers.

More about Enoki:

http://www.goldengourmetmushrooms.com/enoki.html

Just for the point of discussion, there are also several potent medicinal funji that aren't really edible.......

Kawaratake (Coriolus versicolor)

The mushroom is not really edible, but can be ground up and put into tea. It is also the source of PSK, the world’s all-time best selling cancer drug.

http://www.jhsnp.com/store/about_coriolus.html#history

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) aka Ling Zhi in Chinese.

This is strictly a medicinal mushroom, not a culinary one, but is one of the most highly regarded herbs in chinese medicine. Reishi is considered a "cure-all" with immune-strenghtening, anti-cancer, and anti-viral abilities. It is also said to be useful for autoimmune diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, enhancing mental function, altitude sickness, ulcers, and insomnia.

More about Reishi:

http://www.reishi.com/reishi.htm

http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/2156000.html

Yay for mushrooms!!!!

[melonpan]

how about cooking with binchotan? does this count? it might not quite count as an ingredient though.

at least it counts as a fad. and it certainly goes with this 'healthy' stuff...

people are adding sticks along with their rice and water in the rice cooker...

[torakris]

for those that are unfamiliar with bintochan, it is a kind of charcoal and you can learn more about it here:

http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia19/en/topic/index.html

this has been a fad in Japan for the past couple years, it can be adding to the rice cooker, pitchers of water or even just set in a bowl to purify the air...

[Hiroyuki]

Good going, Kiem Hwa! I am a huge fan of mushrooms, so is my eight-year-old son.

One question: Are all of these mushrooms you mentioned readily available in Hawaii?

[Kiem Hwa]

Good going, Kiem Hwa!  I am a huge fan of mushrooms, so is my eight-year-old son.

One question:  Are all of these mushrooms you mentioned readily available in Hawaii?

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I'm not too sure if all of these mushrooms are available in fresh forms here in Hawaii. We definately have Shiitake and I think I've seen Enoki (though that may have been when I was in LA), and there is a company that grows various mushrooms in Hawaii, including shiitake, hon-shimeji and oyster mushrooms, including eryngii. I don't think I have ever seen or eaten Maitake though.

I do know that the mentioned mushroom extracts are avialable in pill forms for medicinal usage in various health foods stores, etc, and I was familiar with thier usage as alternative cancer therapies because of family members....

[Kiem Hwa]

I found some websites claming various health benefits of Shiso (aka Perilla, Beefsteak plant, a mint & basil-family member), my favorite herb.

http://altnature.com/gallery/perilla.htm

I've also seen Shiso extract in the medicinal herbs/extracts section in the Japanese import section of the grocery store.....what do the Japanese take it for??

I wonder if Shiso has anything to do with the healthiness of umeboshi, which get their bright pink color from being marinated in Shiso.

Edited January 11, 2005 by Kiem Hwa (log)

[Hiroyuki]

I've also seen Shiso extract in the medicinal herbs/extracts section in the Japanese import section of the grocery store.....what do the Japanese take it for??

←

I am not a health nut, and I didn't know anything about shiso extract. I found that shiso extract is effective against hay fever (kahun shou (pollen desease) in Japanese), atopic dermatitis, etc.

This is from this book on shiso extract:

http://www.810.co.jp/mini/4892953431.html

(Japanese only)

Note that there are two types of shiso, ao (green) jiso and aka (red) jiso.

http://www.kikkoman.com/cookbook/glossary/list/gs18.html

[torakris]

what about kurozu (black vinegar)?

This seems to be the health food of the moment, rather than being used in cooking this black vinegar is drunk in small amounts every day. It seems to be good for lowering blood pressure but I also know quite a few women who drink it for weight loss, though they don't seem to have lost much...

a bit more on kurozu:

http://202.221.217.59/print/business/nb06-...b20040622a2.htm

[Kiem Hwa]

Wasabi 山葵

Apparently, one beneft of Wasabi is fighting food poisoning... thus good to eat with sushi and sashimi!

Also may fight other infections, and fight cancer!!!

More about the health benefits of Wasabi:

http://www.wasabi.co.nz/product_benefits.html

Also I read that much of the Wasabi paste products we have here in the US are not really Wasabi, they are horseradish! Is this true? Wasabi is also called Japanese horseradish, so I am confused....

Here is the S&B Wasabi paste I have in my fridge:

http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/index.asp?P...ROD&ProdID=2375

[torakris]

Also I read that much of the Wasabi paste products we have here in the US are not really Wasabi, they are horseradish!  Is this true?  Wasabi is also called Japanese horseradish, so I am confused....

this is right.

I think we discussed this over in the wasabi thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=21853

[Hiroyuki]

Also I read that much of the Wasabi paste products we have here in the US are not really Wasabi, they are horseradish!  Is this true?  Wasabi is also called Japanese horseradish, so I am confused....

this is right.

I think we discussed this over in the wasabi thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=21853

←

So are many of the wasabi products we have here in JAPAN!! Some brands contain some hon wasabi (real wasabi), but they do not clearly indicate how much they contain.

[torakris]

Mari at the blog 'watashi to Tokyo' has a recent entry on health foods of the moment in Japan with a lot of good link, look here

I have to agree about black beans they just started popping up everywhere after a show touted their great health benefits, I am also currently drinking black bean tea and I really like it.

[torakris]

recent article on vinegar drinks

[Kiem Hwa]

Kuromame cocoa tounyuu: black-soybean cocoa soymilk, with some black sesame added (kuro-goma iri).

A recent find in the healthy foods section of the grocery store.

I guess its healthy since now you can drink your kuromame for breakfast

It tasted similar to when I use my powdered soymilk with a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder added.

[torakris]

Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit in the title... but it is becoming very popular.

A couple years ago I noticed some macrobiotic restaurants opening up in my area, they didn't necessarily use the word macrobiotic but that is what they were. They referred to themselves as organic as that was the word of the moment, but the foucs was on vegetables and whole grains, beans, etc.

About a year ago I noticed a macrobiotic cookbook and wondered if this was the start of something. Fast forward one year later and macrobiotic cookbooks have taken over the shelves.

I also mentioned in the Foodex thread that I noticed a focus on macrobiotic ingredients at this year's show.

Here is a Japan Times article on some macrobiotic restaurants

[torakris]

Here is another interesting article

There is a Mother's Organic Market less than 2km from my house (it has been there for about 7 years or so), I stop by every so often but I think am going to go soon and give their macrobiotic bento a try.

[mizducky]

Fascinating! I studied a little macrobiotics in the 1980s (I was living at the time in Boston, one of the major US centers of macrobiotics interest and study). I had gotten the impression then that macrobiotics was at the time a lot more popular outside of Japan than within its borders. Interesting to see it making a comeback in its native land.

[helenjp]

Mizducky, I think that macrobiotics is an import to Japan, curiously enough! I think it started in Hawaii...