What a great week of friends visiting from out of town bringing with them new ideas, recipes, inspiration and information. Laura and Linda arrived from Hawaii and California eating a fairly strict Macrobiotic diet as prescribed by Warren Kramer. Warren is a highly respected Macrobiotic counselor who travels the country teaching and counseling those fortunate enough to make his acquaintance. The ladies brought along recipes he had given them, that made their way into my Foods for Lung-Large Intestine cooking class and I happily share a few of them with you here.
The first one is a Mochi Vegetable Pancake, which I did not know you could make so easily. It turned out to be delicious, and to make the preparation go more quickly I used frozen organic vegetables and sauteed them with fresh onion and shitake mushrooms in sesame oil. I served a few toppings on the side such as a coriander chutney, some fresh pesto, and a simple dipping sauce of tamari, ginger juice, mirin and water.
For those of you wondering what foods support the Lung/Large Intestine you will have to wait for the workshop to come round again in the fall, however I will tell you that pungent taste and the color white are beneficial for these organs. Daikon radish, rice, and mochi are examples of supportive foods and to that end I have used them in these two recipes.
Mochi and Vegetable Pancake
Serves 2
Toasted sesame oil * 1/2 onion, thin half moons * 3 shitake mushrooms, sliced * 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables * ½ lb. plain mochi, coarsely grated * Umeboshi vinegar * sea salt * 2 tablespoons tamari * 1 tablespoon water * ½ teaspoon ginger juice * ½ teaspoon mirin
1. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes. Add the shitakes and a pinch of sea salt. Add the frozen vegetables and sauté another 2 minutes. Add enough water to coat the bottom of the skillet, cover, reduce the flame to low, and simmer 3-4 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
2. Remove the cover, sprinkle a few drops of umeboshi vinegar. Cook another minute or so. Remove the vegetables and place in a bowl.
3. In a heated cast-iron skillet, place about 1/8-1/4 cup of grated mochi. Place 1-2 tablespoons of sautéed vegetables. Next, sprinkle a little more grated mochi on top of the veggies to create a sandwich. Cook on each side until slightly golden. The mochi will melt, completely encasing the vegetables and puff up slightly. Remove and place on a serving platter.
4. In a small bowl combine the tamari, water, ginger and mirin. Spoon into dipping bowls and serve with the pancakes.
Boiled Daikon with Sweet Miso Sauce
Serves 2
1 daikon * ¼ cup rice syrup * 1/8 cup sweet miso * 1/8 cup tahini * chives
1. Cut daikon into large rounds (1/2” thick). Place daikon in a saucepan of boiling water for 7 minutes, until tender.
2. In a small saucepan heat the sweet miso and tahini, stirring well, then stir in the rice syrup.
3. Serve daikon on individual plates topped with a teaspoon of the tahini sauce. Garnish with the chives.
