Vegan day 14: Adzuki beans with wakame seaweed in a miso broth
What is an adzuki bean? First off, It’s also called aduki or azuki. It’s used as a healing food in many eastern countries. Adzuki beans offer many health benefits:
- Used for kidney- adrenal malfunction
- Strengthens kidneys by bringing about diuretic effects
- Promotes bowel movements necessary for proper elimination and detoxification which also keeps bad cholesterol (LDL) low
- Lower in fat and higher in protein than most beans
- High source of soluble fiber
- Great source of vitamins and minerals: potassium, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, B vitamins, manganese, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron; one serving is 20% of the iron RDA.
- Phytoestrogens; may help with breast cancer prevention
- Tones the heart and spleen
- Heals swelling (edema)
- Promotes the flow of fluids
- Helps to reduce high blood pressure
What is wakame? It’s a sea vegetable or seaweed. Other popular sea vegetables include: kombu, kelp, arame, hijiki, nori and dulse. Benefits of sea vegetables include:
- High in minerals: calcium, iron, iodine, potassium, sodium, chloride, vanadium and sulfur
- Source of antioxidants and phytonutrients
- High in vitamins A, B, C and E. Also may contain some B-12, although I need to research this further
- Some seaweeds are high in protein
- Contain “algin”- a fiber molecule which helps remove metals from the body
- Higher bioavailability
- May assist with high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and thyroid problems
- These naturally have sodium and can be used as salt alternatives ie. kelp granules etc.
Adzuki beans with wakame seaweed in a miso broth
Ever heard of “trinity roots”? It’s a concept in cooking with herbs that I heard from K.P. Khalsa at culinaryherbalism.com. I took this online course– really nice! Check out this site for the next time it’s offered. Anyway, K.P. talks about trinity roots at the base of many meals rich in herbs. It’s a trio combo– onions, garlic and ginger. This is very popular in Ayurvedic cooking. Let’s get started:
Adzuki beans
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Water
Wakame or seaweed of choice
Miso paste
Lot’s of pre-soaks here! First pre-soak the beans – as in overnight! I happened to soak mine for 2 days but 1 night is fine. If you soak them longer than 1 night, be sure to drain, rinse and add fresh water to continue the soaking.
Drain the pre-soak when you are ready to cook the beans. Add water– I would do double or more for just the beans and triple or more for a soupy base. I tripled the water to beans. Then, I simply added the chopped onions, garlic and ginger- feel free to simmer them first and then add to the beans. I let them cook for about an hour– give or take. Sorry, I have to write things down next time lol.
Next I pre-soaked my wakame (maybe 5 minutes); mostly to rinse it. I then added the seaweed and cooked the beans and seaweed together a little bit longer. Keep in mind that the seaweed expands. While I was doing that- I pre-soaked the miso. I used a tablespoon to 1 cup of water but don’t quote me. Wait until the miso has dissolved into the water then add to the beans. Miso should be cooked on a super low flame and not for more than 2 minutes– DONE!!
References:
http://www.thehealthbenefitsof.org/the-health-benefits-of-adzuki-beans/
http://www.organiconline.com.sg/prod01L.htm
http://ingenira.hubpages.com/hub/Azuki-beans-or-Red-Beans
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=135
http://www.loveseaweed.com/health.html
Disclaimer: The information given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
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