Japanese Food Online – Information on Vitamins, Ingredients And Nutrients

One of the most important staple food in Japan and Japanese Cuisine is Rice.

From rice, the rice plant is known in Japan under the name Ine, there are many different varieties.

Rice Varieties

One of the most popular varieties of rice are Sasanishiki and Koshihikari.

The Japanese Cuisine uses rice both unpolished and polished. The polished rice is called Hakumai and the unpolished Genmai.

Furthermore, a distinction is made in Japan between cooked and uncooked rice. Cooked rice is called Han and uncooked is known under the name Kome.

Mochigome is a Japanese sticky rice and Sakamai is a type of rice, which consists of very large grains. Red and black brown-rice is called in Japan Kodaimai.

There is also a sweet rice in Japan, known by the name Mochi – This rice does not taste sweet.

Ingredients

Ordinary white rice consists of about 12% water, about 7% protein, 78% carbohydrates, about 1% of fiber but only about 0.5% fat.

Also included are vitamins and minerals. The most important minerals are potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper and phosphorus.

From the vitamins are mainly B vitamins such as:. B1, B2, B3, B5 and small amounts of folic acid, plus small amounts of vitamin E included.

Important would be that white rice contains much less vitamins and minerals then unpolished brown rice. In addition, there are of course differences in the composition of the various rices.

Production

Rice can be prepared in several ways.
Either the rice is cooked in water and this is poured off after cooking, or it is cooked in just as much water as the rice can absorb, this method is also called soak.

Furthermore, one can still steam the rice, in doing so water vapor accrues. This process is carried out directly in a pot or using a special steaming basket – This method is the most gentle of the rice itself

Processing and Use

Mochigome or Japanese sticky rice is mainly used for sweets and for soups.

Sakamai, the rice with the large grains is used for the production of Sake, a famous Japanese rice wine.

Kodaimai is usually very expensive and is therefore mixed with ordinary rice in Japan.

Mochi-Rice or sweet rice, as the name suggests is used for desserts.

Tofu or Bean Curd is a well-known Asian food, that is made from soybean pastry. In the West, tofu is often eaten by vegans and vegetarians.

There are two basic types of tofu, Firm Tofu, and soft tofu or Silken Tofu.

Firm tofu is especially good for roasting, while silken tofu is less suitable for it.

Tofu Production

Tofu is made by the coagulation of protein from the soy milk.

To allow this coagulation various coagulants are used such as:. Nigari, which is traditionally obtained from sea water and is mainly used in Japan.

Nigari primarily consists of magnesium chloride and other salts such as:. potassium chloride and calcium chloride.

Other coagulants, which are used in today tofu production are magnesium chloride (refined), calcium sulfate and citric acid.

By using different coagulants in tofu production the appearance and the taste of tofu varies.

Protein and Minerals

Tofu is generally very high in protein, 100g of tofu usually contain 10 to 20g protein, fat and carbohydrate content vary depending on the species of tofu. But there are also tofu with more than 20g protein content.

The fat in tofu is healthy fat because it consists mainly of unsaturated fatty acids.

Tofu is rich in the important mineral calcium, especially if the tofu was produced with the coagulant calcium sulphate. Other minerals in tofu are phosphorus and iron.

Tofu and Sports

Because tofu is high in protein, it is very much consumed by athletes who appreciate a high protein content in their diet.

Protein is renownedly the most important substance, muscles need to grow.

Tofu is particularly consumed by strength athletes and bodybuilders, which do not tolerate cow milk protein, or generally milk protein.

Since tofu do not contain any lactose (milk sugar), such food is mostly well tolerated by people, who suffer from a Lactose Intolerance (milk sugar intolerance).

Also for people with Cow Milk Intolerance or milk intolerance, tofu is an ideal protein alternative.

Vegetarian and Vegans

Tofu is also consumed by vegetarian and vegans, since tofu is not an animal product, but is purely vegetable.

For vegans and vegetarian tofu is an excellent source of vegetable protein and a good alternative for meat, not only because tofu contain pure vegetable protein, it also contains no cholesterol, compared to meat and is therefore an ideal low-cholesterol diet.

Vegan strength athletes and bodybuilders will also have their joy with tofu, because tofu as mentioned above contain a lot of vegetable protein, thus it is very important for strength and building muscle.

Use

Tofu is as already mentioned, mainly used by vegans and vegetarians as an alternative to meat.

Because tofu is tasteless, it can be refined with different spices, as an accompaniment for soups, and can be used for frying and cooking.

It is also suitable for sweet dishes for main dishes, and also as a side dish for starters.

Tofu is a very versatile and highly flexible food, into the bargain, it is still very healthy.