Brown Rice Recipe

Brown Rice Burger


As Japanese rice is sticky, it easily forms a ball-like shape. Cook round shape brown rice cakes until they become crispy and serve them with grilled pork and kinpira. Japanese first-food chain restaurant Moss Food, presents the same type of rice burgers that I love, and this recipe was created based on Moss's idea.


[Ingredients] (serves: 1)
2 bowls of brown rice
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 lettuce leaf
2 slices of salt pork
Carrot and burdock root kinpira


[How to Cook]
4 rice cakes

1. Place a small amount of water in your hand. Rub a pinch of salt on the palm and place 1/2 bowl of rice on it. Gently squeeze it to form a round shape.
2. 2. Place the rice ball on a kitchen board. Flatten it to make pancake-like shape by thighly pressing it using your hand.
3. 3. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the both sides of the rice until they have been browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Filling

1. Place pork, burdock root and carrot kinpira
2. Spread 1 lettuce leaf and place 2 slices of grilled salt pork
   

How to Reduce Weight?

Detoxification

I have been bothered by what seem to be a small health problem, but its too big of a problem to be ignored. Its one of the underlining causes I have gained weight. Yes!! My constipation problem!

Having sold more than a million copies, “病気にならない生き方: How to live healthy” written by Hiromi Shinya, explains why constipation causes serious problems. He stressed that having a healthy small intestine is one of the keys to a successful life, as it increases metabolism, which is absolutely necessary when trying to reduce weight.

In the small intestine where food is digested, food is broken down into nutrition and waste. This process is promoted by many types of enzymes which exist in the small intestine. Next, the nutrition is absorbed by the blood vessels and sent throughout the body which stimulates metabolism – the mechanism for burning fat-. At the same time, waste products are removed through the passage of stool.
When the small bowel movement is not functioning properly, waste products accumulate on its walls and the build-up of waste products over a long period of time produces a lot of toxic substances. These toxic substances flood the blood vessels and are eventually carried throughout the body. Problems, particularly related to skin, often occur when these toxic substances are excreted through the pores. This hinders metabolism as these toxic substances prevent nutrition from being absorbed in the blood vessels.

I may have accumulated a lot of toxic substances in my small intestine so I want to expel them!!
Eating less amounts of food dose not solve the problem. The accumulated waste will not be expelled without stimulating the small intestine -eating food-.
Eating three types of foods are effective for the detoxification of the small intestine.

Foods rich in soluble fiber
Soluble fiber prevents toxic substances from being absorbed by the body by attaching itself to them, which are then eventually removed when stool is passed. Soluble fiber is also effective in curbing the absorption of carbohydrates, fat and cholesterol. It also lowers blood pressure, as it expels natrium.
Konnyaku, seaweed, dried prunes, kidney beans

Foods rich in insoluble fiber
Soluble fiber absorbs water and increases its own bulk, which stimulates the walls of the small intestine and promotes movement
Burdock root, broccoli, mushrooms, whole grain, brown rice

Foods which increase the amount of good bacteria inside the small intestine
They control bad bacteria and activate good bacteria in the small intestine
Yogurt, green tea, kimchi

Konnyaku Dish

Nikujaga (Braised Meat and Potato)

Time: 40 min

Want to cook this dish? Go to my home page to see the details: http://tarosfood.xsrv.jp/pg244.html

[Ingredients] (serves: 4)

200g thinly sliced beef
4-5 (1pound) potatoes
1/2 carrot (medium sized)
1 onion
A small package (4 oz) of threaded konnyaku
1 tsp salad oil
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp sake
3 tsp mirin
3 tsp soy sauce


[How to Cook]

1. Peel the potatoes and carrot. Dice the potatoes into 3 cm chunks. Dice the carrot into pieces half the size of the potatoes. Soak the potatoes to release the foam for 2-3 min and drain. Cut the onion into 4-5 wedge-shape pieces.
2. Boil the threaded konnyaku for 1-2 min and drain to release scum. Place the beef in a colander and pour boiled water over it to get rid of the smell and extra fat.
3. Heat salad oil in a pot. Fry the potatoes and carrot for about 2 min then add the onion and fry for 1 min over medium heat. Keep stirring so that the vegetables do not burn.
4. Add the beef and cook over medium heat until the beef becomes brown.
5. Add 2 cups of water. Raise the heat to high. When the water begins to boil, skim off the foam which has risen to the top.
6. Place threaded konnyaku in the pot so it covers the other ingredients. Add the sugar, sake, mirin and soy sauce. Gently mix them so that the seasonings evenly penetrate the ingredients.
7. Cover the ingredients with aluminum foil and cook over high heat for about 15 min.
8. Check the firmness of potatoes. When the potatoes are soft and about 1/3 of the broth has evaporated, turn off the heat.

Foods which make you lean (2)- Konnyaku

A Unique Japanese Traditional Food- Konnyaku

Konnyaku is Japanese traditional food that has a distinctive character. It helps to reduce weight.

Konnyaku is extremely rich in soluble fiber which has function to clean up inside of the small bowel. Soluble fiber contained in konnyaku eases the passage of stool and expels toxic substances accumulated in the walls of the small bowl. Metabolism improves when these toxic substances are removed. Besides, this firm gel-like food is extremely low calories.

Konnyaku has very weak taste. You might lose interest if it is not tasty even though it greatly contributes to health. The good news is that when konnyaku is combined with other ingredients and seasoned, it well absorbs the flavor of other ingredients and creates deep tastes.

Simmered Konnyaku and Pork with Miso

This deep and strong-taste konnyaku dish extremely goes well with a bowl of rice. It is also perfect to be served with sake.

Time: 20 min

[Ingredients] (serves: 4)

• 6 oz pork side (thinly sliced)
• 1 package of konnyaku
• 1 piece of chopped garlic
• Chopped green onion for garnishing

-Broth A-

• 2 tbsp of soy-sauce
• 1 and a half tbsp of sugar
• 2 tbsp of miso
• 1/5 cup of sake
• 1 piece of chopped ginger

[How to Cook]

1. Cut the konnyaku into bite-sized pieces using a spoon. Boil the konnyaku about for 30 min to release the scum.Cut the pork into the portions 2-3 cm in length.
2. Heat oil in a skillet and fry the chopped garlic. When the garlic has been aromatic, add the pork. Stir while frying it over medium heat until it is browned and crispy.
3. Add the konnyaku and fry them. When the all ingredients have been coated with oil, add Broth A. Cover them with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 min.
4. When serving it in a dish, garnish the chopped green onion.
   

How to Reduce Weight?

Small amounts of low-fat food reduce weight?

My grandma said that there was a time when Japanese women used to eat very small amounts of food. Of course, she was not talking about Japanese women living today who can go anywhere in the world if they want to. She was talking about the Japanese women in the Heian era (794-1192).

In the Heian era, the ruling class living in Kyoto established their own independent culture. It was during this era that many excellent books were written by women who served in the Kyoto palace. One of the greatest Japanese novel, “the Tale of Gengi” said to be the oldest novel in the world, was also written by a woman working in this palace. Many stories written in this period colorfully depict their unique and elegant lives, but interestingly, they don’t say anything about meals in their stories.

It seems very strange but there was a good reason for it. They did not write anything about food at all because they considered eating to be a shameful act. The women hid themselves while they had meals as they did not want to be seen by others. Coincidentally, they were particular about choosing their food. They preferred expensive foods regarded to be sophisticated such as dried fish and meat. (Fresh fish and meat were not available at that time). They did not like vegetables, which were thought to be foods for the lower-class people.

So what happened if they ate only restricted types of small amounts of foods? In fact, they didn’t eat much and only ate low-fat foods.
Researchers I learned have found that the noble class people in the Heian era were quite susceptible to many types of diseases such as diabetes, beriberi and anemia. It's thought that these diseases were caused by their diet and lack of exercise.

My grandma explained that heavily restricting the amounts of foods intake was not the way to reduce weight. She said that improving the body function including the ability to burn fat is the shortest way to achieve the goal.

Unlike the women in the Heian era, there is a lot of information which supports this theory.

Shikibu Murasaki written by Mitsuoki Tosa

Reference: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B4%AB%E5%BC%8F%E9%83%A8

Nimono (Simmered Dishes) (2)

Komatsuna and Deep-fried Tofu Nimono
Time: 7 min



[Ingredients] (serves: 4)

• 1 pound komatsuna
• 1/2 (about 3 oz) thin deep fried tofu
• 2 tsp salad oil
• 200ml dashi
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp mirin1
• 1/3 tbsp thin soy-sauce

[How To Cook]

1. Cut the komatusna into pieces 5 cm in length. Julienne the deep-fried tofu.
2. Heat salad oil in a pot. Add the komatsuna and the deep-fried tofu and fry for 30-60 sec.
3. Add the dashi, mirin and thin soy sauce and simmer for 2-3 min. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
   
   

Tips on how to cook Japanese dishes (1)

Basic Seasoning Pattern

Japanese cooking frequently use specific seasonings- miso, soy-source, sugar, vinegar, mirin and sake, etc. There is a fundamental method that should be adhered to for seasonings.

The basic order of seasoning: Sugar, Salt, Vinegar, Soy-sauce and Miso.

• Sugar is used first because it takes the longest time to penetrate the ingredients. Using sugar first also facilitates other seasonings’ ability to penetrate into the ingredients.
• Soy-sauce and miso should be added in the last stage. They contain a lot of salt, which has function to dehydrate the ingredients. If it is used too early, the dish will dry out and become firm.
• In order to retain the aroma and flavors of soy-sauce and miso, they should be added in the last stage.

In boiled dishes called “Nimono”, seasonings should deeply penetrate to all the ingredients in the pot, so this pattern of seasonings is particularly important.
Another way to enhance the taste of seasonings in a dish is to slowly cool it after it is cooked. When the temperature in a dish goes down, the seasonings penetrate into ingredients very well due to osmotic pressure effects.