Calorie content, chemical composition of Mitsuna salad. The beneficial effect of the plant on the body. Contraindications How the product is eaten, in which dishes it can be added. Separately, it should be said about the special benefits of Mitsuna salad for everyone who is struggling with excess weight. Firstly, the product is low in calories, which means that it can be eaten practically without restrictions (observing, however, reasonable limits). Secondly, it flushes excess water and toxins from the body, which is very important for weight loss. Thirdly, Japanese cabbage helps to restore vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which often occur with strict diets, in view of the severe impoverishment of the diet. So, various Japanese cabbage dishes are an excellent basis for a diet.
Contraindications and harm of Mitsuna salad
However, before we move on to how to properly eat and prepare this salad, there is one important section to consider - the harm of mitsuna salad. The fact is that Japanese cabbage, like any other product, has both indications for use and contraindications. However, she has few of the latter.
First of all, you should avoid excessive consumption of the product, otherwise a negative reaction from the digestive system will not keep you waiting. Secondly, it is important to say about the possible individual intolerance to the components of the product. Of course, an allergy to salad crops is a rare phenomenon, but it is still possible. This means that if you are tasting a product for the first time, you need to carefully monitor the body's response to it. Particular caution should be exercised by allergy sufferers, pregnant and lactating women, as well as young children.
However, if you have certain serious diseases, especially of the gastrointestinal tract, we would also advise you to be careful - it will not be superfluous to ask your doctor if it is possible to introduce the product into the diet.
The product is rich in vitamin A and beta carotene - these components are poorly combined with alcohol and tobacco. If you do not want to harm your health, do not combine Japanese cabbage dishes with smoking and drinking.
Japanese cabbage recipes
Well, now that you are convinced that there are no contraindications to the product, it's time to figure out how to eat Mitsuna salad.
First of all, it should be said that, of course, it can be eaten as an independent product. The salad has a pleasant mild flavor with a slight spice reminiscent of mustard and black pepper. However, perhaps, it will still be healthy to eat "naked" greens, but not so tasty. This is why it is best to use Japanese cabbage as an ingredient in fresh salads: by combining it with any of your foods, you can achieve the perfect balance of taste and health.
However, no one forbids subjecting the plant to heat treatment - stewing and frying as part of vegetable stews, adding to soups, etc. But, you need to understand that in this case, most of the nutrients will irrevocably leave the product. And it should also be noted that in Japan the product is often used as an alternative to seaweed when preparing sushi and rolls, however, for this, the salad is boiled in a special way. Plus, Japanese cabbage is a great idea for decorating dishes.
In general, the use of Mitsuna salad in recipes is purely a matter of your imagination, however, if you are not a creative chef and you don’t want to come up with dishes yourself, use one of these recipes:
- Japanese salad with beef and daikon … Pierce the beef tenderloin (700 grams) in several places, marinate in soy sauce (1 tablespoon) and mirina (2 tablespoons) - a very sweet Japanese wine. After half an hour, transfer the meat to the oven preheated to 200 degrees. Meanwhile, cut the daikon (300 grams) and cucumbers (2 pieces) into thin strips. Prepare a dressing: Combine rice vinegar (1 tablespoon), mirin (1 tablespoon), soy sauce (3 tablespoons), and sesame oil (2 tablespoons). Cool the cooked meat and cut into thin strips. Combine daikon, cucumber, Japanese cabbage (100 grams), meat and season. After 5-7 minutes, you can eat the salad.
- Fruit salad with Mitsuna salad … Cut nectarine (1 piece) into cubes, pear (1 piece) into thin slices. Boil eggs (2 pieces), cut into 6 slices. On a plate, make a green Japanese cabbage pillow (70 grams), top with eggs and fruit. Season the salad with olive oil to taste and drizzle with lemon juice.
- Pickled salmon salad … Marinate salmon fillets (300 grams) in a mixture of salt (100 grams) and sugar (20 grams). After 15 minutes, rinse the fish and pat dry with a dry towel. If possible, the salmon should be smoked a little over an open fire, but this procedure can be neglected. Combine olive oil (50 ml), lemon juice (from one fruit), miso paste (50 grams), chopped ginger root (20 grams) - it is better if it is candied. Cut the apple into strips (1 piece), radish (5 pieces) into thin circles, fish in thin layers, daikon (100 grams) into semicircles. Make a pillow of mitsuna salad (50 grams) on a plate, put the fish in the center, spread apples, daikon, radishes in a circle and pour over the dressing.
- Herbs and broccoli puree soup … Boil broccoli (1 head) and celery root (1/2 root) in different saucepans, do not pour the broth. Transfer the prepared vegetables to a blender, add Japanese cabbage (100 grams) and spinach (70 grams), pour in a little broth and whisk. Evaluate the consistency of the soup, if thick, add more broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste - this soup is best served with cream or goat cheese and croutons.
- Nabemono … Divide the strips of bacon (4 pieces) lengthwise into three parts. Cut salmon (70 grams) into cubes, drizzle with sake (2 tablespoons) and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Thinly cut daikon (50 grams), mushrooms (8-10 pieces) - any favorite will do, separate the caps and cut each in half, no legs are needed. Peel and dice the potatoes (2 pieces). Cut the onion (1 piece) into half rings. Preheat a saucepan, pour in vegetable oil (50 ml), put in bacon and onions, after a couple of minutes add - salmon, daikon, mushrooms, potatoes. After 3-5 minutes, add the thawed green peas (200 grams) and pour in the cream (4 tablespoons). Cook for another 5-7 minutes, check the readiness by the tenderness of the potatoes. Sprinkle the finished dish with Japanese cabbage to taste.
Nabemono is a traditional Japanese winter dish. This means that it is cooked mainly in winter, like okroshka in Russia in summer. In addition, this is a classic New Year's dish, it is usually prepared in a large clay pot and served in it so that it keeps warm for a long time. Everyone eats from one pot. In restaurants, the dish is served on special plates that continuously heat it up.
It is worth noting that the given recipe is one of the many variations of the dish. The main thing is not the ingredients, but the tradition of eating food from one pot. The name of the dish corresponds to this tradition, “nabe” means “pot”, and “mono” means “different things”. However, the backbone of the recipe exists: there must be some kind of meat or fish, always mushrooms and vegetables and always fresh herbs, usually in the face of Mitsuna salad. Sometimes noodles and eggs are added.
Interesting facts about Japanese cabbage
Japanese cabbage is often called cabbage for the lazy, since it is very easy to grow it, it is extremely unpretentious and does not require special care. All that the plant needs is regular watering, but you should not be zealous with it, if you pour it, it will start to rot.
Cultivation of Mitsun can be carried out both on a personal plot and at home - in a pot. It is better to plant it outdoors in April, and the crop can be harvested several times - after cutting the stems, new ones quickly grow in their place.
In America, the salad is called green mustard or Japanese green salad. In Russia, the product is more associated with lettuce than with cabbage. Perhaps for the reason that it is not at all similar to our white cabbage, but it has an almost identical appearance of arugula, which is quite famous in our country.
In terms of the content of useful components, Mitsuna salad is very close to Peking cabbage.
Some grow it for decorative, not culinary purposes - firstly, it itself has beautiful curly leaves, and, secondly, it blooms beautifully.
Cut salad - homemade or store bought - is best eaten straight away. If you have to store it, you need to do it in the refrigerator and no longer than a week.
Watch the video about Mitsuna salad:
Mitsuna is a healthy salad originally from Japan. It resembles arugula in taste and appearance, and Chinese cabbage in terms of its useful composition. It's not so easy to get it on the shelves of our supermarkets, but if you really want to try it, you don't have to go to Japan, you can grow the salad yourself. However, do not forget to familiarize yourself with the contraindications of the product in advance, so as not to turn potential benefits into real harm.
