Macrobiotics Today, July/August 1994, Vol. 34, No. 4
"Adding Spice To Your Life" Rachel Albert-Matesz
The art of macrobiotic cooking involves bringing out the natural flavors in foods, with the least amount of interference. The proper use of herbs and spices will bring out and enhance natural flavors. Macrobiotic dietary principles are based on traditional dietary practices from around the globe. In these traditions, herbs and spices have been used for added flavor, added nutrition, and for enhancing digestion.
Are Herbs and Spices All Yin?
No, herbs and spices are not all yin. From the perspective of Oriental Medicine, some herbs and spices are cooling, some are warming, some are dispersing, others are astringing, and many are pungent. We cannot throw all spices and herbs into a category called yin. First of all, many spices are dark- colored roots, seeds, or barks, some of the most yang parts of a plant. On the other hand, many herbs are green leaves or fruits, the more yin parts of the plant.
But this botanical approach to classification does not do justice to the variety of effects produced by different herbs and spices. For example, shiso leaf and peppermint are both herbs; however, one has a warm spicy quality, while the other has a very cool spicy quality. Likewise, sage, thyme, cumin seed, caraway and ginger have very different effects as well. It is not the case that all herbs and spices make us feel cold, spacy, or scattered in energy as a "yin" classification might lead one to believe. In fact, some - like cumin seed, dried ginger and cinnamon - are very good at counteracting cold and listlessness. Another view is to consider herbs and spices as generally more yang, since they activate blood circulation and spark the digestive fires enabling us to transform the foods we eat into the vital energy called Qi (in Chinese) or Ki (in Japanese).
A Broader Macrobiotic View
According to Oriental Medicine, when we eat a more vegetarian diet, we do not get the strong yang energy provided by animal foods. To replace this, we can benefit from the regular use of the more yang kinds of herbs and spices, such as seeds, roots, barks, and some dried leaves. In fact, when properly used and combined with salty seasonings, these often provide a warm energy and meaty flavor to foods. Some, like cinnamon or ginger, counteract the cold natures of fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, we have to be more careful with the more yin kinds, especially certain fresh green herbs, such as basil, or fresh hot peppers. While these are good for dispersing the heavy quality and excess heat of meats, poultry, and cheeses, they are not appropriate for regular use when we are avoiding such foods.
Certain herbs and spices can be deleterious and weakening if they are overused by vegetarians. However, quantity affects quality. For example, overuse of either dried or fresh red pepper can be very weakening, especially for vegetarians. Vegetarians should never use spices or herbs in a quantity that causes sweating or light-headedness. Yet dried red pepper can be used in such a way that it enhances both our health and our cooking, even if we are vegetarians. For example, a small amount of red pepper can transform, energize and enlighten dense wheat meat or cool tempeh, making them both more meaty and more digestible. This coupling of the light and spicy with the heavy and bland is a perfect example of the art of macrobiotic cooking.
More Than Japanese Cooking
Traditional Greek, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, and American cooks have all used a wide variety of herbs and spices for centuries. Although ginger and parsley are common ingredients in macrobiotic cooking, these are not necessarily the only macrobiotic herbs. If we are going to think globally and act and eat locally, we need to explore the range of herbs and spices growing in our back yard. Macrobiotic cooking is a big pasture and we should feel free to roam in it, cooking the foods of our ancestors, friends, neighbors, and personal history.
Herbs and/or spices can be added to basic dishes made by water-sautéing, oil-sautéing, stir frying, nishime cooking, quick-boiling, soup-, stew-, and sauce-making, simmering or even baking. They can also be added to seasoned, roasted seed or nut condiments as well as sea vegetable dishes.
Add To Your Creativity
Using herbs and spices will only add to the creativity in the kitchen. To do this successfully, it is helpful to learn to use herbs and spices to subtly enhance rather than mask the unique and varied flavors found in a macrobiotic/whole foods diet. Studying ethnic cookbooks can help. You can modify recipes to include better quality ingredients, and less fat, while reducing animal products and relying on macrobiotic cooking techniques.
A grain-based, vegetable-rich diet can be made more taste-tempting with the addition of fresh and dried herbs and spices. The trick is to use a light hand and to understand the flavors of various herbs or spices so as to create the most pleasing dish. Once you discover that macrobiotic cooking includes Italian, French, German, Russian, Greek, or American-type dishes, a whole new world of possibilities opens up.
So how do you spice up an otherwise uninspired head of cabbage, enliven a sweet vegetable stew, or turn a so-so soup into something spectacular?
Quality Is The Key
For starters you'll want to use the highest quality and freshest herbs available. If possible, buy from a store that you know has a fast turnover of merchandise. Herbs and spices can lose their flavor and punch if they've been on the shelf for more than six months. Once home, store them in a cool, dry place, in sealed glass jars. It's best to avoid storing them directly on or near the stove where moisture and heat can cause them to spoil and lose their potency.
Look for pure herbs and spices, without additives, preservatives, MSG, or other unnecessary additions. A high quality herb shop, gourmet kitchen shop, or health food store is your best bet. Some places sell herbs in bulk while others sell pre-bottled herbs and spices, singly or in combination. Either way, buy in small amounts that you'll use up within 3-6 months. After that they usually lose a good deal of flavor and aroma, requiring increased amounts for taste.
The Whole of It
Herbs and spices are available whole, powdered, fresh, dried, bottled in essential oils, or as extracts. The term spices generally applies to dried roots, barks, pods, seeds, and berries while herbs are generally classified as leaves, flowers, and stems. Ideally, one should buy spices whole rather than ground. Exceptions are tumeric, cinnamon, chili pepper, and chili powder which are generally sold already ground. Whole spices become more flavorful when lightly roasted in a dry skillet until aromatic, then ground in a small suribachi, or if desired, an electric coffee-spice mill.
Herbs like oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, dill weed, chives, parsley, and bay leaf can be purchased in their dry form, though many other herbs lose their flavor and aroma if they sit for too long. For this reason, many cooks prefer fresh herbs over dried ones. However, drying fresh herbs is neither difficult nor time consuming. Pick fresh herbs from your local farmers market. Tie them in bunches and hang upside down, in a cool, dark place using clothes pins and a line. When dry, crumble and put in small jars.
Dried parsley and chives make an excellent garnish for vegetable or bean soups, stews, casseroles, dips and spreads, or flavorful additions to stuffings. In warm seasons, fresh parsley, dill weed, chives, garlic chives, and arugula make good garnishes on top of hot cereal, pasta, grain, or vegetable salads, soups, dips, and bean dishes. Other dried herbs like basil, thyme, marjoram, sage, and oregano can be added to soups, stews, sautés, stir-frys, or casseroles; or roasted, poached, pan-fried, or marinated and broiled in combination with tempeh, tofu, or wheat meat cutlets.
Sweet spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamon, fennel, or anise seed may be used in soups and other side dishes containing winter squash, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, onion, or rutabaga. You could add some to your next pureed root vegetable soup, nishime, kinpira, or azuki-bean stew. These flavorings are also good in dishes containing apples or pears such as stewed, baked, simmered, or pressure cooked fruit compotes and sauces.
How Much Is Enough?
Dried herbs and spices are more pungent and concentrated than fresh. In general: 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs will replace 1 teaspoon dried herbs in any recipe. Some cooks use essential oils to season foods. These have a longer shelf life than either dried or fresh herbs, and can be more thoroughly mixed with other ingredients. Two drops of essential oil is equal to 1 teaspoon of dried herbs or spices.
Essential oils like anise or peppermint can be added to puddings; or stewed, baked or simmered fruit desserts. Rosemary oil is especially nice added to dumplings, potatoes, sauces, stews, stuffing, biscuits or corn bread; or hearty seitan, tempeh, or bean and vegetable soups and casseroles.
Use a light hand when seasoning with herbs and spices, since a little bit goes a long way. In general, macrobiotic diets are less fatty, rich, and dense than others. Also, vegetarians must be careful not to overuse the more dispersing herbs or spices, the leaves and fruits. Therefore, use less spices and herbs than is common in more rich cooking styles. A general rule of thumb might be, 3/4-11/2 tsp. ground herbs or
1/4-1/2 tsp. finely ground spice for a dish to serve 4-6, though this can vary depending on the freshness of the herbs or spices, the portion size, the amount of oil, nuts or seeds in the dish, and the selection of other dishes in the meal.
You can always add more seasoning if needed, but you can't take it out if you add too much. Allow flavors to mingle and simmer 10-15 minutes. You will develop your intuition by repeated study of traditional use of herbs and spices along with consistent measuring.
For ethnic dishes like chili, refried beans, curry, or pasta sauce you may need to use a larger volume of herbs or spices than was mentioned above. For example, to make 4 cups of chili you might use 1-2 Tbsp. chili powder or 1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper powder, 1/2-1 tsp. cumin, and 3 cloves of garlic. Remeber, if you are primarily vegetarian, don't use spices such that they cause sweating. For 4 cups of a mildly seasoned bean soup, you might use 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, 1/2 tsp. of powdered cumin, 1 tsp. of thyme, and perhaps a single bay leaf.
Whole spices require long cooking to release their flavors and are best cooked into dishes for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours. Ground spices and herbs flavor foods more quickly and their volatile oils and delicate tastes can easily be lost if cooked too long. In some instances it is helpful to add ground herbs or spices during the last 10-20 minutes of cooking when possible. Stuffings, pot pies, biscuits, desserts, and casseroles are the exception, as these dishes may require longer cooking. Use ground herbs or whole spices/seeds when marinating tofu, tempeh, or vegetables for pressed or marinated salad. In desserts, depending on the effect you want, you may use whole or dried spices.
When using whole cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, mace, cloves or peppercorns, be sure to remove them before serving to avoid an unpleasant taste or a chipped tooth. In preparing soups, some cooks spike a whole onion with cloves, or in making mulled, spiced cider, an apple or orange is spiked with cloves which makes removal at the end of cooking much easier. Likewise, a whole bay leaf is often added to bean dishes or soups, then it can be easily removed.
Although nearly everyone is familiar with the use of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in fruit deserts, there are other more European-style options. For example, stewed, baked, simmered or pressure cooked pears or apples with raisins go well with whole anise, caraway, or fennel seeds.
Don't Get Too Mixed Up
It is a good idea to combine only a few herbs or spices in a particular dish unless you are following a particular ethnic recipe with time-tested combinations. Too many different flavorings can create chaos in a dish and lead to sensory overload. Certain herbs in combination work well; for example garlic, basil, oregano, thyme or marjoram; or the old song "parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme;" or bay leaf, caraway, fennel and cumin; or garlic, mustard, and cumin; or garlic, ginger and red pepper. The possibilities are endless.
Herbal Guidance In the Kitchen
Pick up a copy of one of the following books: Fresh from a Vegetarian Kitchen by Meredith McCarty, American Macrobiotic Cuisine by Meredith McCarty, Laurel's Kitchen by Laurel Roberts & Carol Flinders, or Nikki and David Goldbeck's American Whole-foods Cuisine. You can always modify the ingredients from non-macrobiotic books, so don't be afraid to cook from other books.
Kidney Bean & Walnut Chili
Preparation Time: 20 minutes Serves: 4 (or 2 meals for 2) Serving size: 1 cup per person Cooking: 45-90 minutes for beans Season: Fall, Winter, Spring
This hearty vegetarian chili tastes incredibly meaty. The secret is chopped, roasted walnuts. The tomato-red color comes from red kidney beans rather than tomatoes. The seasoning is quite mild, so feel free to fire it up as you like! From the perspective of Oriental Medicine, this chili is a good food for warming and strengthening cold and weak kidneys.
Ingredients - 11/2-12/3 cups cooked kidney beans or - 2/3-3/4 cup dry kidney beans, water to cover 1" over beans for soaking - 4" piece kombu or kelp sea weed - Fresh water for cooking beans - 2 tsp. toasted sesame, light sesame, or olive oil - 1/8 tsp. sea salt - 1 large onion (11/2 cups), minced - 2-3 cloves garlic, minced - 1 bay leaf - 1/4-2/3 tsp. ancho, Anaheim, or chipotle pepper powder, or more to taste - 1 tsp. powdered cumin - 1/2 cup roasted walnuts, coarsely chopped or ground in a suribachi - 1/4 tsp. sea salt - Additional water as needed to yield 4-41/2 total cups of chili
Seasoning & Garnishes 1-3 Tbsp. red miso, brown rice, or barley miso or tamari
Minced scallions, chives, garlic chives, or dried chives
Directions
1. Wash and sort beans. Soak beans 6-12 hours, drain, then add kelp or kombu and fresh water to cover. Pressure cook 1/2 hour or simmer 1-11/2 hours until tender.
2. In a 2-3 quart pot, saute onions in oil. Add 1/8 tsp. sea salt to draw out additional moisture. Stir until browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and spices; layer nuts, bay leaf, salt, cooked beans, bean liquid and water in a 32-ounce measuring cup, filled to the 4-cup line. Empty into soup pot. Cover pot, bring to a boil, slip a heat deflector under the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer, 2-3 hours. Or cook 8 hours in a crockpot on low heat. (Gas stove is really best for taste and strength.)
3. Chili should be wet and slightly soupy. Add a small amount of water to thin if needed. Season to taste with miso, tamari, or shoyu. If you make it too salty, add a few teaspoons cider vinegar or brown rice vinegar to disguise the salty taste. Add more chili powder if desired.
Serving Suggestion Ladle out 8-10 ounces of chili per person. Serve with brown rice or millet and/or corn bread, steamed corn buns, or tortillas; and boiled or pressed salad. Add a side of winter squash (baked or nishime cooked in fall or winter; steamed in the spring) or baked, steamed or pressure cooked corn on the cob (spread with diluted ume or apriboshi or white miso) in summer or fall.
Mustard Glazed Vegetables:
Preparation Time: 10 minutes Serves: 4-6 (or 2-3 meals for 2) Cooking: 8-9 minutes Serving size: 1/2-3/4 cup per person Season: Any Season For a rich taste, without oil, try glazed vegetables. Simmering and glazing in a clear sauce transforms the simplest vegetables into a real taste treat.
Ingredients - Soup stock, pasta water, or pure water to just cover the bottom of the pot or wok - Optional, 2 cloves garlic, minced - 4-5 scallions, cut in 1" logs; or 1 cup onion or leek, cut in thin half moons or rounds - 4 cups chopped broccoli or cauliflower, cut in florets, tender part of stalk peeled and minced; or 6 packed cups packed, cut cabbage, kale, or collard greens, including stems
Sauce - 1/2-2/3 cup cold or room temperature water, soup stock, or pasta cooking water - 11/2 tsp. arrowroot powder or kuzu - 2 tsp. tamari, shoyu, or umeboshi/apriboshi vinegar - 1 Tbsp. prepared mustard; or 1 tsp. dry, powdered yellow mustard
Directions 1. Cut cauliflower or broccoli into florets; leafy greens into 1-2 in. squares; cabbage into strips; onions in half moons or crescents. Peel broccoli stalks then cut into thin slices; finely cut kale or collard stems; finely chop cabbage or cauliflower cores. (You may wish to cut some vegetables into large pieces and some into small or thin slices, depending upon kind.)
2. Add water to just barely cover the bottom of a wide and shallow skillet or wok (about 1/4 in. of liquid). Bring to boil, add scallions, leeks or onions first. Add a pinch of sea salt and the garlic. Stir until tender. Add any vegetable stems first then broccoli, cauliflower, or greens. Stir, cover, and simmer over medium heat until almost tender, (about 2-3 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve. Heat and stir to thicken. Pour over crisp-tender vegetables and stir until sauce thickens even more. Transfer immediately to a bowl. Cover with a bamboo sushi mat. Do not leave vegetables in the pot or they will overcook and become soggy.
Serving Suggestions Serve with whole grain, pasta, or bread; and a bean, or yellow/orange root vegetable, round or ground vegetable soup (squash, parsnip, corn, rutabaga, etc.) and/or a bean, tofu, or tempeh dish (if no beans appear in the soup); and condiments (sea vegetable flakes or dish; a roasted, seasoned seed condiment; and/or pickles). These vegetables are also tasty served atop hot morning cereal with seed condiment, roasted and crumbled dulse, and a garnish of minced scallions, chives, or parsley. Refrigerate leftovers, then serve close to room temperature. Use within 24 hours.
Variations Use above procedure and proportions for any seasonal vegetables. Try a combination of two or three colorful vegetables. Add the harder longer-cooking vegetables before the greens or other tender vegetables. When using carrots, celery, rutabaga, or daikon or red radish, cut into match sticks, thin slivers, rounds, crescents, or other thin slices.
Omit mustard if desired then add 1 tsp. dried herbs (such as basil or sage) to the sauce mixture.
Alaria "Caviar" Condiment ;
Soaking: 1-8 hours Yield: 2- 21/2 cups Cooking: 1-11/2 hours Serving size: 1-3 Tbsp. per person Season: Any season Seaweed has a very cold energy, and a bit of red pepper warms it up. This condiment is delicious spooned over rice or other cooked whole grains, or pasta, especially with a few teaspoonfuls of roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or roasted, chopped walnuts. It has a slightly fishy almost caviar like taste and keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator. As a condiment it is best served by the spoonful rather than by the quarter or half cup! (Alaria can replace wakame in any recipe; it just needs longer cooking.)
Ingredients - 2 cups tightly packed, dry, alaria sea weed - 3 cups water (slightly more if boiling) - 2 Tbsp. tamari (natural soy sauce) or shoyu - 2-4 Tbsp. brown rice vinegar - 1/4 tsp. red pepper, powdered (ancho, Anaheim, or chipotle)
Directions 1. Soak alaria in a small bowl in the above volume of water for 1-8 hours to soften. It is helpful to place a smaller bowl on top of the sea vegetable to keep it submerged in the liquid.
2. Lift alaria from water and chop finely. Return it and the soak water to a pressure cooker or a 2 quart pot with a tight fitting lid. Add tamari or shoyu and vinegar.
To pressure cook: Bring to full pressure then reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.
To boil: Proceed as above, except bring to boil in a pot with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 11/2-2 hours, or until tender. Check the water level periodically. When boiling, you will need to add more water to keep the alaria moist and to prevent burning.
3. After pressure cooking, remove lid, add spice if desired, then simmer away excess liquid. You should have a thick paste. If it is very watery or runny, cook it down to evaporate excess liquid. Puree in a blender if needed or mash with a suricogi (wooden pestle); this should not be necessary if you have soaked the sea vegetable, chopped it finely, and cooked it thoroughly. Pour into a pint-sized glass jar. Cover and refrigerate when cooled. Keeps for several weeks, though you may go through it sooner!
Serving Suggestions Spoon a tablespoon or two over rice, millet, or a two grain combination (rice with millet; sweet rice with millet; barley-rice; etc.) with a sprinkling of dry roasted, chopped nuts, or umeboshi roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds; sautéed, parboiled, or stir-fried greens; and a colorful root, round or ground vegetable soup, stew, or side dish.
End of Article
Author bio-statement: Rachel Albert-Matesz is the author of Cooking With Rachel, GOMF, 1989. Rachel lives with her husband Don in Seattle, Washington where they offer macrobiotic education services.
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