The Marvels of Miso

The distinctive aroma reminds me of Japan. Earthy. Salthy. Soothing simplicity.

Whenever I take a sip of warm miso soup, my palate welcomes the umami taste. My insides appreciate the beneficial micronutrients.

Many Japanese people start their day with a bowl of tepid miso soup to gently energize the body. It is the easiest soup to make; just a few tasty ingredients simmered for few minutes.

Soybean paste, fish stock and dried seaweed or kelp. 

Add a spoonful of nutrient-rich soybean paste to hot fish stock or water and let the paste slowly simmer to dissolve.

Dried kelp, or seaweed.

I like to add dried seaweed or kelp, known as Kombu. This sea algae is an amazing source of vitamins and minerals. Coupled with miso, you have a soup that is rich in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories.

Kombu, or seasweed adds an punch to miso soup

Add chopped tofu and green onion just before serving.

When shopping for miso, look for the unpasteurised miso which is loaded with enzymes and beneficial microorganisms. The colour varies from pale yellow to dark red or brown. The lighter the colour, the milder and sweeter the taste. Dark miso has a robust and earthy saltiness. Start with a tad and slowly, carefully increase the quantity. If you're not careful, you might overpower your dish.

I've got Japan on my mind because of the tragic one year anniversary. This week marks one full year after the magnitude 9 earthquake unleashed a devastating tsumani.

I attended a candle-light vigil in Ottawa where a representative from the Japanese embassy told us that the Japanese people are utterly grateful for our thoughts and prayers.  Our financial assistance is also in tremendous need. If you wish to give, here is the link to the Red Cross.

Domo arigato gozaimasu, a deep thank you.

Kimchi and Sauerkraut: Bacteria for the brain

I've got bacteria on the brain, and I wish had more of the beneficial variety.

I came across a report in ScienceDaily.com, suggesting that eating probiotics helps enhance brain chemistry and the production of neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. When I wrote about the importance of probitics in a previous post, little did I know that what's good for the gut is also great for the brain. Maybe that's why I get so giddy after a bowl of miso and kimchi.

Miso soup

On a recent lunch date with hubby at a Korean restaurant, I was excited to nourish my noggin. Our traditional barbeque came with fermented side dishes: miso (a soup of fermented soybeans) and kimchi (pickled vegetables).

In many cultures, meals are often accompanied by at least one fermented food. Asian cuisine has
miso, soya sauce and pickled preparations of cabbage, turnip, eggplant, cucumber, onion, squash and carrot. Indian meals feature dishes of soured milk and chutneys. Indonesians use tempeh, similar to tofu.

Tempeh

My Nigerian friend has a daily porridge of fermented millet, cassava and sorghum. Western cooking has sauerkraut, sourdough bread, cheeses, wines and beers, all produced through fermentation.

The process has been around for centuries to preserve perishable food. Fermentation also makes food more digestible and produces an ideal environment for vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, beta glucans, phytonutrients and probiotics.

In AK's Kitchen, yogurt is our main fermented food. We go through three litres a week. I'm sure our busy brains can benefit from more varied sources.

I'm off to the market, on a mission to find brain food. First, a glass of wine just for the brain boost.  

Hospitals need to rethink food

If you've ever spent anytime in a hospital, you know that "hospital food" is an oxymoron. Hospitals are meant to be centres for healing. And food, to me, is a source of nourishment and wellness. My mother-in-law's case is a sad example of the food failure in our hospitals.

First, a bit of background. Nanny has been battling a painful foot infection for more than three months. She's been on several different antibiotics, all useless. The onslaught of drugs have only weakened her 87-year-old body. She's become so frail that she passed out and fell flat on her face a week ago. She suffered lacerations and contusions. She is now in hospital with, not one, but two intravenous lines pumping even more powerful antibiotics into her. Doctors tell us that she'll continue to be on these drugs for another three weeks, at least. That's on top of the blood thinning and hypertension medications.

The stronger, intravenous antibiotics may help manage the infection in her foot, so say the doctors  with little certainty. What's for sure is that the meds have already rendered her immune system extremely vulnerable. The antibiotics have killed off the beneficial bacterial. Because of this and her advanced age, one doctor told us, Nanny needs to be monitored for e-coli, c-difficle and other infections that can be fatal to the elderly.

I asked the doctor, "What we can do for prevention? Can we help through her diet?"

Looking slightly stunned by the question, she replied, "Well, I'll make a note in her file for a consult with a nutritionist. Plenty of yogurt and probiotics will help."

This was the first time since Nanny's illness and treatment that a health care professional has mentioned the importance of proper nutrition. (I doubt the butterscotch caramel pudding and the cup-a-soup on Nanny's food tray have a single healthful ingredient.)

When I got back home from the hospital, I poked around in my refrigerator and found some good sources of probiotics. These are foods we'll be feeding Nanny when we visit her again.

Some yogurt with honey...

Soybean paste made into a warm miso soup...

and a glass of water with a probiotic supplement. 

Kefir, as well as pickled and fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, are other sources of probiotics. The bacteria in these foods are very beneficial for the digestive tract, even if you're not on antibiotics.

For centuries around the world, food has been used as an accessible and inexpensive means to heal and prevent illness. In our technologically advanced health care system, perhaps it's time to go back to the basics.