Miso And Its Health Benefits

While we are on the subject of miso, let me share with you the health benefits of this wonderful soup. Though, of course, its primary purpose (at least for me) is to satisfy my tummy and make me feel better, miso does have potential health benefits. I ran across this article from Associate Content written by Scott Kessman. In it, he details the benefits that miso soup can give to our health.

For women, consuming a bowl of miso a day can help keep breast cancer at bay. The reason for this lies in the inherent nature of the main ingredient, which is fermented soy bean. Another thing about miso is that it is supposed to regulate the production of estrogen in women. This, in turn, helps keep tumors from developing.

Miso also contains a whole lot of other nutrients such as Vitamin E and Vitamin B12. These vitamins help in increasing our immune system. In addition to these, miso contains antioxidants. We all know how antioxidants have come to the forefront because of their anti-aging and anti-cancer properties. Of course, miso contains protein, making it a good alternative to other protein-rich food such as beef and pork.

How about the other ingredients in the soup? The seaweed that is normally included in the dish is purported to have the effect of lowering cholesterol levels. Combine the seaweed with miso paste and what you get is something to help combat problems related to nicotine.

Indeed, miso soup is not only food for the soul but for the body as well!

Miso Soup: Comfort Food

The past few weeks have been quite harrying for me and more than once, I found myself hankering for a big bowl of miso soup. What can I say? This, for me, is one of the best things to have when I need comfort food.

Japanese miso is perhaps the most popular soup that is included in their meals. It goes with anything, really. Miso is basically soy bean paste and is used as a base for the soup. Other ingredients are added to the soup, which is light and at the same time hearty, especially if fish is added to it.

There are different variants to miso, but here is one that I normally use. It is very basic and the ingredients can be found at most Japanese grocery stores.

Ingredients:

Miso paste (red)
Leeks
Japanese silken tofu
Salt
White fish cubes

Here’s how to make it:

Boil about 4 cups of water. Once it reaches a boil, put 3 heaping tablespoons of the red miso paste and stir vigorously. You can use less or more of the paste, depending on your preferences. Let the soup simmer for a minute and then add the fish cubes. Let it simmer for another 3 minutes and then put the leeks and the tofu in. Stir the soup again and let it simmer for another minute. Add salt to taste.

It would be better with some seaweed and some dashi stock – this adds more taste – but sometimes dashi is hard to find in my area. Sometimes I also add a bit of onion for added taste.

Japanese Tonkatsu Recipe

Japanese food is one of the best cuisines in the world. Who has not experienced that craving for Japanese food at least once in their lives? For me, it is more like once a week – at least!

One of my favorite dishes is pork tonkatsu. It is one of the most basic dishes in Japanese cuisine. I am sure that most people have tasted tonkatsu or at least know about it. It is basically lean pork slices cut to about 2 centimeters thick. This thickness could vary, of course. The meat is dredged in a breading of some sort and then fried. The result is a crisp outside covering steamy and tender meat. Tonkatsu is usally served with bowls of steaming rice, dipping sauce, and shredded cabbage (or bean sprouts in some cases).

How to make tonkatsu? Here’s a simple recipe that I found over at Tokyo Cube.

Ingredients - Serves 4 people
• Pork loin steak - 4 slices
• Plain flour - 3 tablespoons
• Bread crumbs - 50g *
• Egg - 1
• Salt and pepper - a little
• Vegetable & Fruit sauce - suitable amount *

Step 1 - Prepare
In preparation, cut small incisions into the surface of the Pork just to tenderise the meat, particularly in the muscle and fat areas, to help make the meat a little softer. Once the meat is tenderised, sprinkle salt and pepper onto both sides.

Step 2 - Add Ingredients
Add the plain flour to both sides of the meat and place directly into the bowl containing mixed raw egg. After thoroughly soaking the meat with the raw egg, put the bread crumbs all over the meat.

Tip: After adding flour, shake off meat to avoid the breadcrumb coating coming off after cooking.

Step 3 - Heat and serve
Carefully submerge the meat in a saucepan of oil, first heating each side for 2 minutes at 150 degrees. Then, increase the heat to 180 degrees and continue heating for a further 1 minute. Once the meat is cooked through, slice into suitably sized pieces and serve with vegetables. Finally, drizzle vegetable & fruit sauce over meat and enjoy

Try it this weekend!

Cherry Seeds To Go To Space

Japan has long been known for their cherry blossoms. In fact, it is a matter of honor for the Japanese. For hundreds of thousands of years, cherry blossom season has been observed as an important ritual for the Japanese as well as people from all parts of the world. Indeed, many travelers choose this season to visit the country. And why not? The beauty of the cherry trees blossoming is something to behold – an experience not to missed.

This time, the Japanese government is carrying their pride and honor to another level. Cherry seeds are set to be sent out into outer space. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has just approved a proposal for cherry seeds to be sent to the International Space Station which is orbiting the earth. There is currently a Japanese laboratory at the Space Station.

The people behind the proposal belong to the Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation, which is a private group of companies. Their idea is to send the cherry seeds to the Space Station in order to find out the effects of being in outer space on them. They will be staying in outer space for six months.

Of course, there is more to it than that. The cherry seeds will be traveling to space together with other seeds such as lilies and violets. According to Yuko Otake, a spokeswoman for the consortium, “Scientific observation is one reason. But we also want the seeds to travel in space on our behalf as few ordinary people can go now.”

Cigarette Vending Machines That Can Check Age

Trust the Japanese to make use of technology for very practical reasons. This is, in fact, one of their strongest points, in my mind. They have been gifted with the aptitude for innovations when it comes to technology and they have not hesitated to make use of it. As simple as things may be, the Japanese are known to be able to create applications that are quite useful.

One of the latest things that the government is working on is to enable their cigarette vending machines to be able to check the age of the buyer using his or her driver’s license. An AP article gives more information:

The Finance Ministry plans to allow a new type of cigarette vending machine that accepts driving licenses for age verification, in addition to those that read “taspo” smart cards, sources close to the matter said Sunday.

The move is planned because vending machines with the taspo card function have proved unpopular, probably due to the extra procedures required to obtain the integrated circuit card, they said.

In order to prevent underage smoking, Japan plans to restrict access to cigarette vending machines to adults carrying taspo cards by July.

Vending machines that check a buyer’s age by reading a taspo card have already been introduced in some areas, including Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.

But according to the Tobacco Institute of Japan, only 8 percent of the around 26 million smokers had applied for the cards as of April 13.

To obtain the taspo IC cards, consumers need to fill out applications distributed by tobacco shops and to mail them to a designated address together with copies of personal identification papers such as a driving license.

The new type of vending machine, to be approved by the ministry, can verify a cigarette buyer’s birth date when a driving license is inserted in it, they said.

Wadaiko

Music is an inherent part of most any culture in existence and the Japanese culture is not exempt from this. One of the significant aspects of Japanese music is their unique art of drumming, called wadaiko or traditional Japanese drumming in English. Wadaiko makes use of traditional drums called taiko. In some cases, wadaiko is also used to refer to the drums themselves.

Though largely considered Japanese today, the origins of wadaiko can actually be traced back to China. These large drums were carried over about 1000 years ago. The original drums from China were made of wooden slats. The innovative Japanese noticed the inferior sound resulting from the wooden slats so they worked on a new way to produce the wooden frame. Instead of using wooden slats which were joined together, the new waidako was made from a single piece of wood.

Japanese drumming was used early on in relation to martial arts activities. Today, however, wadaiko ensembles are well known in many parts of the world for leisure purposes. Daihachi Oguchi is considered to be the father of modern taiko and the popularity of taiko performances has been attributed to him. Since then, there have been many individuals and groups who have emerged to introduce taiko performances to the rest of the world.

Today, taiko performances have evolved to include flashy choreography. The music itself has also evolved to incorporate modern music elements such as pop. If you want to find out more about wadaiko by experiencing a performance live, try to check out your local Japanese embassy or cultural office. The chances are that there will be at least one event showcasing wadaiko.

Wooden Laptops, Anyone?

I have never really thought about a laptop – or any computer – being made of wood. Then again, I didn’t factor the brilliant and innovative Japanese mind into the equation. Very popular and reliable notebook manufacturer Fujitsu recently unveiled a concept laptop made of wood – yes, more earth friendly than the conventional laptops we all have today.

Fujitsu showed off the concept at the Milan Furniture Show 2008. Dubbed the WoodShell. Quite obviously, I have not seen a real one for myself but based on the reactions from various people all over the blogosphere, the WoodShell is being received with mixed feelings.

Some people say that it is merely an attempt to go green and thus have the “right” to charge more for the product. Others have nothing but good to say: “you’ve got to love Fujitsu’s take on a generic 70s sci-fi font, not to mention its black-and-red-ness.” That’s from Gizmodo by the way.

My personal opinion? I love the concept but how would wood stand up to the heat that laptops give off, especially if they are used for prolonged periods of time? I, for one, wouldn’t want my beautiful wooden shell bursting into flames while I am playing online!

Gordon Ramsay at the Conrad Tokyo

I like Japanese food a lot – who doesn’t? Now I haven’t had much experience with British food but I do believe they have some quite interesting dishes. So what better fusion than British and Japanese food?

For those who are interested in this kind of fusion, you are in luck. On the 19th of this month, world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay is going to hold a gala dinner at a restaurant in Tokyo. Named Gordon Ramsay at the Conrad Tokyo, the restaurant is actually co-owned by the chef himself. It opened in 2005 and is Ramsay’s first Japanese restaurant.

The gala dinner is going to be served from 7 pm to 10 pm on the 19th and is purported to have a total of 7 courses. The whole meal is going to be prepared personally by Ramsay and will cost 35,000 yen per person!

Aside from the special gala dinner, the people of Tokyo are set for a treat with Sunday Lunch – a new menu which is based on Ramsay’s famous book “Gordon Ramsay Sunday Lunch.” The offerings will be held on the 19th of April from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and on the 20th of April from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. Prices for these two events are at 8,800 yen per person.

Where to go? The restaurant is conveniently located on the 28th floor of the Conrad Hotel in Tokyo, which is housed in the Shiodome Building.

The Kasumigaseki Building

We all know that Japan is one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world – if not the most prone. As such, as much as Japan has to offer, one thing that would be sorely missing in its landscape are the high rise buildings that can be found in all of the world’s major cities. This is not to say that the Japanese have not tried their best in overcoming what nature has set for them. After all, the Japanese are not known for their immense capability to use technology for their benefit for nothing.

That is why as early as the 1960s, they started building their first ever high rise edifice. The Kasumigaseki Building is Japan’s first skyscraper. The construction was started in 1965 and finished 3 years later, in 1968. This year, they are celebrating its 40th year in existence – and rightly so. Located right smack in the middle of Tokyo, this skyscraper is the first Japanese building to exceed 100 meters. It has a total of 26 stories and currently houses most of the country’s cabinet offices.

As a matter of fact, the Kasumigaseki Building held the distinction of being the nation’s tallest building for only several years – till 1970. In this year, the World Trade Center Building was built, surpassing the milestone that the Kasumigaseki Building had set. One thing cannot be denied, however. The Kasumigaseki Building showcases the fighting spirit of the Japanese – that they could work with what they have and overcome limitations that may seem daunting at first.

Ginjo: The “G” Word

Sake is known all over the world for being one of the most potent drinks that one can enjoy. The national drink of Japan, sake has become popular all over the world. People from other countries who are not really into sake may not have heard about the “G” word but for most Japanese, it only means one thing – the best sake available.

The more expensive bottles of sake in Japan are labeled with “ginjo,” which literally means “brewed with particular care.” This is not to say that the other sake brands are not good, its just that with the ginjo label, you are assured of the best.

What makes ginjo sake different from regular sake? How is ginjo sake made? The big difference lies in the process of polishing the rice grains, which is the main raw material for sake. For ginjo sake, the rice grains are polished over and over again until only 60 percent or less of the grains are left. The reason for this is so that the outer portion can be gotten rid off – this is the part which is heavy on minerals.

Polishing rice grains in this manner increases the quality of the resulting sake but it is also means that more rice is needed to produce the sake. In other words, the more you polish, the more expensive the process becomes. Of course, the polishing is only the start of a long process, many stages of which are unique to the production of ginjo sake.

The next time you want to try this brew, try looking for the “G” word.