Last week I was happy to take part at Maki’s fermented foods workshop. We found that there are rather few fermented ingredients in the Hungarian and European cuisines, but all the more fermented foods are traditional to the Far East: soy sauce, mirin, miso, etc. A beautiful variety of quick dishes were prepared of the fresh ingredients and fermented foods at hand. The most important lesson of the evening for me was, that the flavor that makes me nostalgic of Japanese food and that I’ve been missing so much of my cooking is umami, the fifth taste.
Luckily, I always keep a bottle of high quality tamari (gluten-free) soy sauce at home, so I had the chance to improvise a quick lunch with Asian flavors.
Luckily, I always keep a bottle of high quality tamari (gluten-free) soy sauce at home, so I had the chance to improvise a quick lunch with Asian flavors.
Although I already have a well-tried gluten-free, wholegrain home-made pasta recipe, as you will see, I used store-bought paste for this dish. On one of my let’s have a look at what’s new shopping sprees I came across Sam Mill’s Pasta D’Oro pasta. The label claims that they are low GI despite of being made of corn flour. According to the manufacturer, the pasta’s glycemic index is 33 (it’s considered “low” below 55).
I was sceptic at first, of course (as usual) and tried other brands of corn noodles, as well. I found that other kinds of corn pasta get overcooked much more easily. As the glycemic index of foods does not only depend on the ingredients used, but also the way of preparation (e.g. al dente vs. overcooked noodles), I began to like these noodles. I have used them to a bunch of dishes until now and not once have I felt my insulin levels to rise high, but I don’t take regular blood sugar levels, so I cannot know for sure.
As I’ve already mentioned before: when in doubt, eat more veggies! Whenever I’m not sure about the glycemic index of a dish, I choose to have it with lots of vegetables, as dietary fibers also lower the GI.
I enjoy the flavors of Asian cuisine so much, because keeping some “magic ingredients” at hand allows me to whip up delicious, healthy noodle dishes in mere minutes without even thinking about how I can avoid cream (dairy) or tomato sauce (boring).
Ingredients for 2 servings:
125g spaghetti noodles
1 medium red onion
approx. 300g cut green beans
1 slice of pork meat (shoulder)
1-2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil
2-3 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce (gluten-free)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
125g spaghetti noodles
1 medium red onion
approx. 300g cut green beans
1 slice of pork meat (shoulder)
1-2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil
2-3 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce (gluten-free)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
I use Clearspring organic tamari soy sauce because it’s gluten-free and of really good quality: hand-manufactured in Japan according to a 500 years old recipe.
Before you get anxious about the sugar content of honey and balsamic vinegar, I recommend to consider the applied amounts: in this case, they are rather just spices, needed to add that special little something to the flavors. You need all five basic tastes in a meal to make it whole: sweet (balsamic vinegar, honey), savory (salt, soy sauce), sour (balsamic vinegar), bitter (soy sauce) and umami (soy sauce).
Before you get anxious about the sugar content of honey and balsamic vinegar, I recommend to consider the applied amounts: in this case, they are rather just spices, needed to add that special little something to the flavors. You need all five basic tastes in a meal to make it whole: sweet (balsamic vinegar, honey), savory (salt, soy sauce), sour (balsamic vinegar), bitter (soy sauce) and umami (soy sauce).
- Boil 1.5 liters of water with a teaspoon of salt. Add the spagetti and cook until done, but still firm – “al dente” – approx. 10 minutes.
- Cut the pork meat in thin (couple of millimeters thick) slices, cut the onion to stripes and the green beans into shorter cuts, if necessary.
- Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large pan or wok. When really hot, toss the meat stripes, and fry them until golden brown while continuously stirring or tossing. Toss sesame seeds and onion stripes and continue until the seeds begin to pop and the onion turns golden. Now toss the green beans and fry for a couple of minutes, until they are done, but still firm.
- In the meantime, the pasta must be ready, so drain and rinse with cold water.
- Pour the honey and balsamic vinegar in the middle of the pan, give the vinegar half a minute to evaporate and the honey to turn to caramel.
- Gently stir the pan and add the noodles: mix gently, not to break them. Turn off the heat and season with soy sauce and salt to taste. Done, enjoy!
This delicious pasta dish can be done in 20 minutes, typing it just took me over an hour. 🙂
A simple dish like this can be made of any vegetables, just keep in mind their carb contents. With lots of veggies and nuts this would make a great vegan dish. I used some pork meat this time to surprise my husband: however, these tiny slices were actually not too much and really tasty.
This quick lunch contained (honey, balsamic vinegar included) approx. 58g CH/serving carbs.
A simple dish like this can be made of any vegetables, just keep in mind their carb contents. With lots of veggies and nuts this would make a great vegan dish. I used some pork meat this time to surprise my husband: however, these tiny slices were actually not too much and really tasty.
This quick lunch contained (honey, balsamic vinegar included) approx. 58g CH/serving carbs.
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