What’s the best way to improve your physical and mental health? I believe the answer is simple: Eat well, sleep enough, and exercise regularly. When you follow these habits, you’ll find yourself waking up every morning with more energy and enthusiasm than you know what to do with. And if you take it one step further by treating yourself to delicious recipes like these three yakuzen recipes I’ve discovered, you’ll also benefit from improved immune function, better circulation, and much lower stress levels overall.
If you’re interested in taking your health to the next level and gaining an incredible amount of energy, then you might be wondering what yakuzen is and how it can help you achieve your goals. Yakuzen is the practice of using traditional Japanese medicine as a way to improve your health and get more energy in your life. It also refers to the food that’s used to make these remedies, which many consider to be delicious and appealing. Here’s everything you need to know about this powerful form of medicine and food!
History of Yakuzen
Japanese cuisine’s Yakuzen tradition is based on a method that combines Korean philosophy, locally sourced Japanese ingredients, and Chinese medicine. The Satsuma clan is thought to have been instrumental in the development of yakuzen in Japan due to their extensive trade connections and political allegiances; much of their education at the time was based on Chinese and Korean philosophies.
Yakuzen places a strong emphasis on nutrition and maintaining a healthy diet; the idea is that food itself acts as medicine. Chinese medicine and yakuzen practices place a stronger emphasis on prevention and overall wellness than Western medical practices, which typically prescribe a treatment to address an issue that has already arisen.
Prior to the introduction of Western medical practices to Japan, yakuzen was the preferred strategy for fostering health and wellbeing. The practice fell out of favor after Western medicine and technology were introduced to the nation, but it is currently enjoying a renaissance.
What is the Origin of Yakuzen?
Yakuzen’s origins can be found in the Satsuma clan, Daoism, and a conventional natural philosophy called wuxing. This philosophy is based on groups of five and holds that five elements correspond to five tastes, which correspond to five different parts of the human body.
What is Exactly is Yakuzen?
Food that contains kanpo (Chinese herbal medicine) is known in Japanese as “yakuzen”. The practice of eating yakuzen medicinal foods not only helps patients recover from illness, but it also helps prevent illness by promoting wellness.
In an ideal setting, the season or the dietary requirements of the diner would be taken into consideration when choosing the ingredients. Based on concepts from oriental medicine, yakuzen meals are prepared with ingredients and preparation techniques that are specific to each person’s physical condition. Food’s medicinal value and other aspects besides nutrients are carefully taken into account in Yakuzen food practice.
Yakuzen Pork Ingredients
- 700 grams Block of pork meat
- 1 Onion
- 1/4 Apple or Asian pear
- 1 piece Ginger
- 1 clove Garlic
- 2 cup Water
- 3 tbsp Sake
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp Honey
- 6 tbsp Soy sauce
How to Make Yakuzen Sauteed Pork
- To help the flavor penetrate the pork, pierce it with a fork, tie it up with kitchen twine, and brown it in a frying pan.
- To add to the flavoring ingredients in a pressure cooker, finely chop the onions, apple, and pears; grate the ginger, and add the grated ginger and garlic.
- The pressure cooker should be heated up, brought to a boil, and cooked for 10 minutes on high heat. Cook on low heat for ten minutes. After removing the heat, let the food rest for about 15 minutes.
- Juices should be boiled after removing the lid. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes at a low temperature. The meat should be turned over and covered with sauce.
- Pour the dressing over the meat after it has been cut to the desired thickness.
- Satsuma Mandarin skin that has been sun-dried adding the equivalent of 1 large teabag, and it won’t be as heavy on the stomach.
Yakuzen Hot Pot Ingredients
- 500 grams Chicken bones
- 1 leek’s worth Japanese leek (green stalk)
- 1 Onion
- 1/2 Carrot
- 1 stalk’s worth Celery leaves
- 1 small knob Ginger
- 1 clove Garlic
- 100 ml Sake
- 1 Asian ginseng
- 2 Jujubes
- 1 Goji berries
- 100 ml Nibandashi (second dashi)
- 100 grams Thinly sliced pork belly
- 1/3 Japanese leek
- 1 Shiitake mushrooms
- 10 cm Burdock root
- 1 as much (to taste) Tofu
- 1 Ponzu
How to Make Yakuzen Hot Pot
- Rinse the chicken bones very thoroughly.
- To get the blood off the bones, soak them in water.
- Prepare the vegetables of your choice to add flavor.
- Boil at a high temperature. Skim any scum off with care. Do not use a lid to cover.
- After about an hour, it should resemble this. Still keep the flavor and color light.
- After three hours, here it is. Longer boiling will result in a richer, sweeter flavor and a golden color for the soup, but it will also bring out more of the flavor of the chicken broth.
- Discard the bones and flavor-boosting vegetables after straining the broth.
- Take a break and savor a cup of plain broth that has been seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with green onions and the white stalks of Japanese leeks that have been finely chopped.
- Get ready your preferred medicinal herbs.
- To soften, rehydrate the jujubes and Asian ginseng in water.
- Jujubes should be minced separately and put in an empty tea bag. This will greatly enhance the sweetness.
- Reduce the number of ingredients to a minimum. For instance, simply add grilled Japanese leeks and pork belly.
- Then, add the niban dashi, burdock, and medicinal herbs along with the soaking liquid. Bring to a boil.
- To finish, incorporate the grilled onion, shiitake mushrooms, and pork belly. Scallions should not be boiled.
- For added enjoyment, serve it with yuzu ponzu sauce and a slice of sudachi citrus.
Yakizen Shrimp Roll Recipe
Beer tastes good, but it makes you cold. Why not strike a healthy balance by snacking on something warming? Both shiso and shrimp are warming. Enjoy this snack-like dish that you can eat with your hands. The shrimp are cooked to remove the fishy odor and to make them plump. To make the wraps more snackable, I made them thin and stick-like. Because they are visually appealing, they are ideal for serving to guests.
Yakuzen shrimp Ingredients
- 6 Shrimp
- 8 Shiso leaves
- 1 slice Sliced cheese
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Black pepper
- 2 Spring roll wrappers
- 1 Mayonnaise
- 1 Salt
- 1 Katakuriko
- 1 Sake
How to make Yakuzen shrimp roll
- The shrimp should be deveined, salted, and rinsed with sake. Put in hot water and then cover with katakuriko.
- When the shrimp’s color changes, they are cooked.
- Cut the cheese into four equal pieces. Wash and dry the shiso leaves. The shrimp should be cut in half. Triangles were created by cutting the spring roll wrappers in half diagonally.
- Place the shiso leaves, cheese, and three shrimp cuts on each wrapper (in that order), then top with mayonnaise, a dash of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Rolls are deep fried. The spring rolls are finished when they turn golden brown because the filling has already been cooked. Drain after removing from the oil.
- Consume the rolls plain or with dip, soy sauce, chili sauce, or salt.
Japanese food used to be very seasonal, with some dishes only being prepared during specific times of the year when the ingredients were in season. In Japan, there are four distinct seasons, and each brings about different changes in the body. Foods that are in season and from your region can ease sporadic symptoms. Additionally, there are foods that cool the body on hot days for people who are hot and foods that warm the body on cold days for people who are cold.
Yakuzen, Endnote
If you’re a fan of Japanese food, then you’ve probably heard of miso soup, tofu, and matcha green tea. But there’s another popular Japanese food called yakuzen, which is usually served at the end of an acupuncture session and usually consists of dishes that help to restore balance to the body and mind after acupuncture treatments or physical activity. In this article, we discussed what yakuzen is, history and origin, how it helps treat disease, how it’s prepared, and some recipes to try making at home.
