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Japan's 5 Power Foods |
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Cuisine That Makes You Feel, Look, and Eat Better |
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Jennifer Olvera |
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Looking for food that has great health and beauty benefits and tastes good too? Head straight to Japan. Okinawans in particular are known for living long and healthy lives, in part due to their diet made up largely of vegetables, grains, soy, and fish. From their kitchens to yours, we're bringing you five super staples of Japanese cuisine—green tea, rice, soy, seaweed, and ginger—and showing you how to incorporate them into your own food repertoire. So the next time you encounter one of these five finds, vow to load up on the good stuff so you can reap the rewards.
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SEAWEED
Slithery seaweed has been fueling Japanese cuisine for hundreds of years. There are many varieties available, the best of which flourish in areas where continuous water flow preserves their flavor and keeps nutrients intact. Different varieties have different harvesting seasons: Kombu is culled from cold waters during winter, and mozuku is harvested in the spring.
What's in it for You
Seaweed is believed to help balance the Japanese diet because it's an alkaline food, meaning you won't experience as much heartburn when you eat acidic or spicy foods. It's also flush with vitamins and minerals—calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, vitamin A (beta-carotene), B1, B2, B6, niacin, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, and folic acid. It's a veritable multi-vitamin from the sea! Some kinds of seaweed can even help eliminate toxins, regulate hormones (so long, PMS?), and make your hair and skin appear extra-healthy. What's not to love?
What to Get
There are lots of varieties of seaweed, and what you need depends on what you're making: kombu can flavor soup stock and hot pots; add reconstituted wakame to miso soup and sunomono (salad dressed with vinegar and spices); use nori to wrap sushi and rice cakes or top off noodle dishes; deep-brown mozuku can be seasoned with rice vinegar and offered to cleanse the palate between courses; sprinkle ogonori on salads for a salty, crunchy bite.
Recipe
Nori Onigiri
(seaweed-wrapped rice ball)
Take a handful (about 1/2 cup) of cooled, cooked rice and form rice into a triangular shape using a mold or your hands. Take a strip of nori and wrap it around the rice. Voila! You've just made simple onigiri!
Not just for eating
The Body Shop carries a line of wild-harvested, seaweed-based products that are rich in minerals and help control shine. Check out the Mattifying Moisture lotion with SPF 15; it's extra-absorbent and won't clog pores.
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"Japan's 5 Power Foods" has been edited for shojobeat.com;
the complete article appears in the August 2008 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine. |
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Want more articles like this PLUS six of the most addictive shojo manga from Japan delivered to your doorstep every month—before they hit the newsstands? Click here to subscribe now! |
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