Okra and mozuku vinegar (mozuku su)

Okura to mozuku no sunomono（オクラともずくの酢の物）

What kind of dish is Okura to mozuku no sunomono??

This is a dish of okra and mozuku marinated in sweet vinegar. Sticky foods are rich in dietary fiber. This is the perfect menu for summer when appetite wanes.

A very simple and delicious menu. It is served not only at home but also as an appetizer for Buddhist cuisine at restaurants.

I love the fresh mozuku you can buy at the supermarket because it has a great texture. However, the mozuku on the market is often pickled in salt or vinegar to prevent spoilage.

The commercially available “Mozuku su” contains sweet vinegar, so you can mix okra with it.

What kind of foof is mozuku??

Mozuku is a type of seaweed that looks like threads. Most of the mozuku consumed in Japan is farmed in Okinawa. In the natural world, it grows by attaching itself to other seaweed, but currently it is cultivated by attaching it to ropes.

Seaweed is an ingredient with low calorie and carbohydrate content. You can eat it without worrying about dieting, so it is recommended when you want a healthy side dish.

Mozuku contains a water-soluble dietary fiber called fucoidan, which is what makes mozuku so slimy. Soluble dietary fiber is expected to have effects such as improving constipation, suppressing rise in blood sugar level, and lowering blood cholesterol level.

About iodine intake

Iodine is abundant in foods found in the sea, especially in seaweed such as kelp, hijiki, and wakame seaweed. For this reason, Japanese people who live in island countries surrounded by the sea tend to have an excessive intake of iodine. Conversely, people living in countries without sea are prone to iodine deficiency.

Most of the iodine in the body is in the thyroid. Excessive iodine intake from food does not usually affect thyroid function. However, in rare cases, the thyroid gland may become overactive and the secretion of thyroid hormones may decrease. Thyroid hormones control physiological processes such as reproduction, growth and development.

If pregnant women are deficient in iodine, in addition to stillbirths and miscarriages, the babies born may suffer from retarded mental development, short stature, and deaf-muteness.

The recommended intake of iodine for Japanese is 130μg/day. (The upper limit is 3000 μg/day, and 2000 μg/day for pregnant women.)

Mozuku contains 140μg of iodine per 100g. 50g per person is a good amount to use at one time.

It means that you should eat the right amount of any kind of food.