Brown Rice (making it sexy)

Asia is king when it comes to snacks and the pure variety of different options.  It may be sold off the street wrapped in newspaper or banana leaf, have dried sea creatures adorning it, and cost $2, but I can assure you there are some of the most intense flavors and textures in the world to be found out there.   Don't even get me started on the beaches and rain forests.  Check out some of my links to other blogs to see what I am dreaming about most of the time.


I have made Asian food about 50% of my diet.  Partly because its what makes me nostalgic, but also because of the cost.  Ingredients that originate from intense spice pastes matched well with bulk meat and grain products make Asian cooking a logical choice for nutrient dense meals that an athlete can enjoy.

I went to the Asian Grocery this past weekend.  This is like going to a Vegas casino for me.  I was ping-ponging around from aisle-to-aisle finding some amazing treats, but also trying to route out a few healthy additions to help me get through my daily helpings of brown rice.  I found two but there are sure to be more.

Both are a little out there, but this is a blog for people who can handle far out food....so read on.

Brown rice is a staple of most diet plans.  Former Olympian Jay Cutler eats it multiple times per day.  I challenge you to find any fitness or bodybuilding competitor who hasn't at one time had it as a major part of their diet or list it on their website as such.

My wife however has been holding back on me.  When we were over at the store, she casually picks up the most amazing topping ever and it finds its way back home and in the cupboard without me hardly noticing it.  My wife grew up in Hawaii and has exposed me to some great things that are popular over there, many with a Japanese influence that I otherwise would not have discovered.  I grew up in south east Asia, so anytime someone from the US shows me anything Asian that I have never heard of, I am delighted, humbled, and pissed off I have been missing out on the good stuff!

Furikake

No, not a new genre of Japanese adult entertainment.  This is an incredibly robust 28 calorie per serving, Japanese seasoning mixture for rice.  Depending on which of the 20 or so blends available at my local Asian market you get, it will contain things like seaweed, barley, dried yolk, shaved bonito, sesame etc...

I take about a tablespoon or so and mix it in the cooked rice.  There are so many flavors it really just sends me to walkabout trying to figure out which flavor is coming out in each bite.


It is extremely savory and also goes great on popcorn.  I am told on good authority its typical in Hawaii to get it in the movie theater.

Serving size: 1T on 1/2 cup (dry measured) brown rice

Cals
C: 300 P:36 F:32, Total - 368

Grams
C:75 P:9 F:4

Ratio C/P/F

82/10/9