Wrapping up our tour of the basic flavor sensations is
that relatively new taste known as umami.
Though the term umami was first
proposed by Kikunae Ikeda in 1908, it has only been widely recognized for the
past 30 or so years. But what is umami?
We all can easily describe its four siblings, sweet, salty, bitter and sour but
how do you describe umami? It’s most
commonly described as a “savory” flavor, sometimes as a “brothy” or “meaty”
flavor. And though we usually associate umami
with monosodium glutamate, the ribonucleotides guanosine and inosine
monophosphate also give foods that umami
character.
Where Does Umami
Reside?
or starters, there are receptors on the tongue that
detect the acid end of the glutamate molecule but your tongue specifically
needs the salt form of glutamic acid. Plain glutamic acid just won’t do and
doesn’t give the same flavor perception as glutamate as in monosodium
glutamate. Do we also have ribonucleotide receptors on the tongue? Not exactly
but what guanosine and inosine does is it “turbocharges” glutamate. Combine the
ribonucleotides with glutamate 1 plus 1 plus 1 now equals 10!
But other than the Aji-no-moto bottle, where do I find umami? One of the first discoveries that
Dr. Ikeda made was that konbu was
high in glutamate residue. Since that first discovery, it is now known that
glutamates are also naturally found in meats and vegetables with naturally
occurring inosine occurring in meats and guanosine in vegetables. All three are
found in fish, shellfish, mushrooms and vegetables. They also are found in
fermented and aged products like shoyu,
cheeses and cured meats.
Starting to Make
Sense?
Now do you see why that Caesar Salad tastes so good? I
mean simply plating Romaine lettuce with a dressing of egg yolk emulsified
lemon juice and olive oil can’t be that delicious, can it? Or is it because of
the umami from the anchovies (very
high in umami) and Parmesan cheese
(also very high in umami)? Or that
simple bowl of ramen that you crave?
I mean, ramen at its simplest is just
noodles in broth but when that broth is made from umami rich konbu, bonito and niboshi with a hit of shoyu…
The key is using umami
fortified ingredients to simply enhance the flavor of the whole dish, not
trying to overwhelm the dish with one flavor. Again, think of glutamates,
inosinates and guanylates as “turbocharging” the flavors. Like any turbocharged
vehicle, if you push the throttle too much you’ll end up crashing. So simply
use your ingredient “turbochargers” to enhance but not crash your dish. If
you’ve added anchovies to the point where all diners taste is salty, fishy
flavors then you’ve crashed. Or shoyu
to the point where all you taste is salt, again crashed.
But I’m Allergic
to MSG
What most people refer to as an MSG allergy is mostly a
hypersensitivity to MSG. True allergies manifest as mild to severe rashes or swollen
body parts, usually the oral mucus membranes or breathing passages. However,
since glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter that’s also active in the brain,
hypersensitivity to these effects or simply just consuming too much MSG can
cause unwanted side effects. Like I once experienced many moons ago… though
being in the sciences, I thought it was kinda cool… in hindsight.
While working part time at the East West Center as an
undergraduate at the University of Hawaii, I routinely ordered lunch take-out
with the other student employees. One of their favorite take-out joints was a
local Chinese restaurant. So I ordered the Pork Fried Rice. It was so good that
I consumed the whole take-out container. And while consuming it, I kept
wondering why it tasted so good. After all, it was simply rice, bits of chopped
char siu, green onions and bits of
scrambled egg. Then about 15 minutes after I finished the container, the “side
effects” started. I constantly detected movement just at the periphery of my
vision – even if no one or nothing was actually moving. I also thought I heard
sounds and words even before they were spoken. And I did develop a mild
headache. Needless to say, I never ordered take-out from that same restaurant
again.
Turbocharging
Flavors
This simple soup combines umami from konbu and bonito flakes in the dashi along with umami from the shiitake
and enoki mushrooms and the shoyu. And since the only added salt is
from the shoyu and scallop liquid,
it’s actually a healthy alternative to canned soups.
Umami Soup
8 cups water
1 2 ounce package dried dashi konbu
1 ounce or 30gm shaved bonito flakes
1 can (about 4oz) boiled scallops
2 tbsp shoyu
About 2/3 cup sliced dried shiitake rehydrated in hot water
1 large bunch fresh mizuna
chopped to 2 inch portions
1 medium daikon,
peeled and julienne sliced to 2 inch portions
2 packages enoki
mushrooms chopped to 2 inch portions
3 medium carrots, peeled and julienne sliced to 2 inch
portions
1 long piece of gobo,
peeled and julienne sliced to 2 inch portions
1 medium piece hasu,
peeled and julienne sliced to 2 inch portions
Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat then “steep”
the dashi konbu and bonito flakes for about 10 minutes until
a fragrant stock is produced. Drain the stock removing the konbu and bonito
reserving the clear stock. Add the boiled scallops with the liquor and the shoyu and heat to a gentle simmer.
Though the scallops usually start breaking apart on their own, I facilitate the
process so that only individual “strands” of scallop remain. Add the water used
to soak the shiitake being careful
not to add the grit that falls to the bottom. Add everything else to the stock
except the mizuna and simmer until
the gobo and hasu are tender then add the mizuna
and continue simmering until the mizuna
is tender.
If this recipe looks a lot like a traditional New Year’s
Day staple, it is my personal recipe for ozoni
minus the mochi. So if you want to
add the mochi, go ahead. There’s no
law stating that ozoni can only be
consumed on the 1st of January. Or swap out the mochi for somen, udon or soba noodles. The umami
will still be there.
So experiment using naturally occurring flavor
enhancers like shoyu, konbu and cheeses in non-traditional
ways. Like using shoyu in desserts or
konbu dashi in stews and sauces. I
personally am still trying to incorporate Parmesan cheese in a dessert – I
haven’t perfected anything yet but in cooking, the journey is just as rewarding
as the final destination.
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