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Of course a part of every season’s blessings is also the seasonal ingredients that will be made available to us all for our enjoyment. I got into this topic with Kuniko Shimada (picture left), which some might have seen her feature in Zaobao few weeks ago as Singapore’s first Japanese certified TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) physician. It was at the invitation of AsiaX that I conducted a 2-page spread interview and discussion on food, health and wellness with Shimada san.

To know Shimada san is to see her determination to succeed in a totally foreign field. As a trained pharmacist, she’s always has an interest in the ancient art of Chinese medicinal treatment. With no knowledge of the Chinese language, she simply persevered and only through sheer determination completed her 7-year TCM program in Singapore. She refused to give in to her obstacles and so for over 2 hours, we talked everything about Japanese food, local dietary habits and TCM dietary principles which interestingly I discovered just how balance sushi actually is when you understand the basic 5 elements of Chinese medicine….

It is an amazing dish that’s so well balance in all the elements – in just 1 dish, the ingredients typically include konbu / nori, vinegar, wasabi, shredded daikon, soy sauce, mint leaf and seafood making it one of the most complete (balance) food (according to TCM principles).  So if you’ve ever wondered why sushi is so well-loved, maybe it is because our body is trying to tell us it is good for our body.

But you know we have this “funny” habit of picking out little things that we do not like for whatever reasons in a dish (e.g. spring onions in a bowl of ramen is commonly removed by many) but in TCM principles you’ll realize these “little weird-tasting” condiments actually helps to give an “elemental balance” to the dish. Do not think it is for mere presentation or to “brighten up” a dish with its fresh color, it actually does your body a great favor in return. Maybe less of us will fall sick too.

I admit this “funny habit” of ours gets to me sometimes, I only hope I will never witness it on our food trips to Tokyo, (to my relief, people on our trip knows all about enjoying food or at least been adventurous and sporting enough to try it all and I appreciate that a lot…hey, we just live once right?)

I hope this is ancient wisdom can help you, even though I may not know much about TCM but if you have been reading my writings over the years, you know well that I’m a 100% believer in the relationship between our diet and overall well-being. And as you can see in the case of sushi, nature is so kind to us, for good health you really don’t need fancy (costly) ingredients (or some celebrity endorsed multi-pills), just very “innocent” and basic natural ingredients, eaten in variety. Funny enough, these are also the common ingredients easily dismissed and discarded most of the time.  We cannot live on sweet (processed and artificial) and rich food every day even though they taste “great”, to get back your balance, include all elements of sweet(natural), sour, bitterness( badly neglected?), salty(natural – think konbu and seaweed), and heat (spicy). Over-indulgence in any element is always not recommended, what we want is balance =)

 Simple is good. Let’s get back to life’s basics.

Ok, I leave you with photos of all that has gone on the past weeks, many thanks to all who turned for the sushi classes and the lecture organized by the National Library Board. I trust everyone went home happy and has learned something new.

And enjoy this month’s O+ (we looked at the Japanese curry invasion that has landed on our shores). I have great news for Japanese food lovers up north too!  Thanks to our faithful supporters and business partners, we have secured rights to distribute our publication in Malaysia, teaming up with one of the country’s largest retailer network. Stay tuned friends! We’ll be coming to a town near you very soon.  That’s all folks, eat well, stay well and you’ll be “genki” always!  Sushi anyone?

You can view the edited coverage of my conversation with Shimada san here (in Japanese).

That’s all folks, time to get back to work =)
Eat well and do something for the good of your body this Spring!

Prepared on Mar 30 (3rd issue of 2009)

Honoree – Spirit of Enterprise Award 2007

Recipient of the OsakaPrefecture GovernmentJapan Food Cultural Exchange Award 2006/07

Culinary Programming Partner of Singapore Airlines and Tradewinds Singapore 2006/07

A.News provided for informational purposes only. Always consult your doctor before

making changes to your diet or lifestyle.