and red. The white is sweet and less salty than the red. To exclude miso completely from Japanese cuisine would be unthinkable, so for the purposes of this book, only two recipes are included, miso soup and dengaku (pp. 32-33). The quantity of miso in both recipes has been considerably reduced. For example, one recipe for miso soup calls for 1 cup of miso paste to make 6 cups of soup. Simple arithmetic will show the astronomical amount of sodium contained in a single cup. As there are about 284 mg of sodium in one teaspoon of miso paste (1 cup=16 tablespoons or 48 teaspoons), there are 284x48 teaspoons=13,632 mg of sodium in a pot of 6 cups of soup, or 2,272 mg in a single serving of miso soup. That is the amount the American Heart Association recommends for a single day, not a single cup of soup! One can see that for strict sodium watchers, miso should be eaten only occasionally, if at all. Perhaps the best solution is for the producers of miso to put out a low-sodium product with reliable labeling. Although such a product is available in Japan, I have looked in the U.S. but have not been able to find one.
4 cups dashi (p. 9), or chicken stock (p. 10)
2 tablespoons shiro (white) or aka (red) miso
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1. Heat the dashi. Add a tablespoon or two to the soybean paste to liquify it and remove lumps before stirring it into the soup.
2. Cook until it comes to a simmer but do not allow it to boil. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve hot.
| Yield: 4 servings | Cooking time: 5 minutes |
| Calories per serving: 130 | Total fat: 1 g |
| Saturated fat: — g | Polyunsaturated fat: — g |
| Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 450 mg |
Variation:
1. Four ounces of soybean curd (tofu), cut into bite-sized cubes, may be simmered in the soup for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Shrimps, clams, or scallops may be simmered briefly in the soup.
3. Soak ½ ounce wakame (dried seaweed) in water for 15 minutes. Rinse in running cold water for 3 minutes to rid it of salt. Discard the tough center sections and cut into small pieces. Simmer in the soup for 1 minute.
* An approximate sodium count was arrived at by averaging four kinds of miso listed in the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, Fourth Revised Edition, 1982, Resources Council, Science and Technology Agency, Government of Japan. Per teaspoon: 58 calories; 284 mg sodium; 0.4 mg total fat. No data was given for individual fats. A dash (—) indicates data not available.
Steamed Foods
(Mushimono)
Cold Saké-Steamed Chicken
(Tori no Sakamushi)
This is an especially good dish for summer weather that is easy to prepare. It also makes an excellent hors d'oeuvre. Serve it with this simple soy-and-lemon sauce, or, if you have more time, with the sesame dipping sauce given on pages 59-60.
2 whole chicken breasts, boned but with skin left on
4 tablespoons saké
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Powdered sansho (Japanese pepper), or freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring water in the bottom of a steamer (pp. xxxii-xxxiii) to a boil and place the chicken, skin side up, on a heat-proof dish. Score the skin and pour the saké over the chicken. Steam for 20 minutes.
2. When cool, remove and discard the skin and cut the meat into thin slices. Sprinkle with Japanese pepper.
3. Mix soy sauce, lemon juice, and 3-4 tablespoons broth from the steaming and pour over the chicken pieces after you slice them.
| Yield: 4 servings, or about 20 appetizers | Cooking time: 20 minutes |
| Calories per serving: 215 | Total fat: 6 g |
| Saturated fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated fat: 2 g |
| Cholesterol: 90 mg | Sodium: 115 mg |
Clams Steamed in Saké
(Hamaguri no Sakamushi)
These clams make an elegant appetizer.
12 shucked littleneck clams on open half-shells
¼ cup saké
6 thin slices of lemon cut in half
1. Bring the water in the bottom of a steamer (pp. xxxii-xxxiii) to a boil.
2. Arrange clams in open half shells on a heat proof dish. Pour ½ teaspoon saké on each clam and steam 2 or 3 minutes.
3. Remove and garnish each shell with a lemon slice.
Note: If desired, clams may be served with a dipping sauce made with 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. The soy sauce will add 43 mg of sodium to each serving.
| Yield: 4 servings, or 12 appetizers | Cooking time: 3 minutes |
| Calories per serving: 65 | Total fat: 0.5 g |
| Saturated fat: Trace | Polyunsaturated fat: Trace |
| Cholesterol: 20 mg | Sodium: 60 mg |
Shrimp and Chicken Custard
(Chowan Mushi)
This savory dish may be served either as a soup course or as a side dish. Morsels of chicken, shrimp, and mushrooms lie beneath an intriguingly flavored unsweetened custard. Any small heat-proof cup, preferably of ceramic glaze, will do if you don't have the special Japanese lidded china cups that are made for this purpose. Feel free to use other meats and vegetables that would harmonize both visually and gastronomically with custard, such as tender french-cut beans and thinly sliced carrots. Keep in mind that some may have to be parboiled or blanched first. Serve the custard hot on cold days and chilled in summer weather. Normally 4 whole eggs are used to make 4 servings. However, since a single egg yolk contains about 274 mg of cholesterol, only 2 yolks and 4 whites are used in this recipe. If further reduction is desired, use 1 yolk and 5 whites. However, a very stiff custard will result.
4 small
