For that crazy-busy week when you haven’t had a chance to plan ahead for the week’s meals, here’s a super-quick dish that only requires ingredients from the freezer and store cupboard.
Fermented foods such as miso and tempeh are great additions to your diet and great for your gut microbiome.
Miso, popular in Japanese and Asian cuisines, is a paste made by fermenting soybeans or brown rice with a starter, koji, containing a fungus called Aspergillus oryzae. It has a strong, salty, ‘umami’ (savoury/meaty) flavour and can be used in soups, stir-fries and marinades.
Miso is very nutritious – 1 tbsp (15g) of miso provides:1https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-miso
- 30 kcal
- 2.0 g protein
- 0.9 g fat
- 3.5 g carbohydrate
- 0.63 mg iron
- 0.49 mg zinc
- 5 mcg folate
- 1.37 g salt
Tempeh is also made from fermented soybeans, this time using a starter containing Rhizopus 2https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8267862/ to form a firm, textured block which can be cut into cubes and used in stir-fries, soups, curries and stews.
A 100g serving of tempeh provides:3https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-tempeh
- 166 kcal
- 20.7 g protein
- 6.4 g fat
- 6.4 g carbohydrate
- 5.7 g fibre
- 3.6 mg iron
- 120 mg calcium
- 70 mg magnesium
- 200 mg phosphorus
Benefits of fermented foods on the gut microbiome:
- The microorganisms used during fermentation are a good source of prebiotics as well as probiotics.
Ingredients:
- Oil for cooking – sesame oil/rapeseed oil
- 1 block of tempeh (can be stored in the freezer)
- 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger (or 1/2 TBSP pre-chopped frozen ginger)
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 300g frozen stir-fry vegetables
- Soba noodles
Method:
- Cut the tempeh into small cubes.
- Finely dice the fresh ginger (unless using pre-prepared).
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan or wok and add the tempeh cubes and diced ginger to the pan.
- Fry the tempeh as per packet instructions.
- Add the miso paste and soy sauce and combine with the tempeh and ginger – if it gets too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan.
- Add the frozen vegetables and stir-fry for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil a pan of water and cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions.
- Once cooked, drain the noodles and add to the pan to combine with the stir-fry, then serve and enjoy!
If you’d like to read more about fermented foods as well as a host of other articles on well-being and gut health nutrition, have a look at our Gut Health Express blog 🙂
References
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