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February 14, 2000
THE JOY OF SOY
I'm not a health-food nut. As I've mentioned before in this column, I'm a world-class junkfood junkie, and anyone who knows me will readily agree. So imagine my surprise when I woke up this weekend and realized I've been eating something healthy all my life: Soybeans.
| Natto smells like concentrated dirty socks (like a football team's locker room after a game) and looks like rabbit droppings coated with mucus (in ordinary English: "snot"; in Japanese, "hana-kuso"). |
I awoke Sunday to a radio talk-show about health, with two doctors taking calls from listeners seeking advice for various ailments. Several callers in a row wanted to discuss the benefits of soy for muscle-building, managing post-menopause and general health maintenance. And both doctors repeatedly said how soy in all its forms is good for you (though your body can't absorb too much protein at once, they recommended having soy several time a day).
I started thinking about how the soybean and its many by-products have been a part of my diet all my life, especially in the form of tofu and the salty paste called miso that's used in traditional Japanese soups. I can't say that everything soy-based that I eat is necessarily good for me, though. I've always used a lot of soy sauce, for instance, and that much sodium isn't healthy. I guess everything in moderation....
But I make up for the soy sauce with some less-known types of soy products that I enjoy, including edamame, an increasingly popular item on Japanese restaurant menus -- salted and boiled soy beans in their fuzzy pods, which you squeeze together to pop the bean into your mouth. It's sort of like Japan's version of beer-nuts. Then there are the various leathery forms of soybeans which are by-products of the process of making tofu, and results in a leathery tan or light-brown edible "skin." You can see this stuff most often in a form of sushi called "inari-sushi," which is just vinegared sushi rice in a pouch made of the soy by-product.
I also enjoy a curious product called "natto", which is fermented soybeans. Natto smells like concentrated dirty socks (like a football team's locker room after a game) and looks like rabbit droppings coated with mucus (in ordinary English: "snot"; in Japanese, "hana-kuso"). It's very inelegant, but when you mix it with a little soy sauce (OK, a lot of soy sauce in my case) and some hot mustard, then mix in with warm white rice, you get a tasty meal that turns out to be good for you too! Admittedly, both the smell and appearance of natto can be off-putting, and even its "tastiness" can be debated. I like it, and have eaten it all my life, but I know that even many Japanese find it so gross they won't even try it.
It's their loss -- I hope to be shoveling natto and rice down my throat when I'm a robust 100 years old.
The radio talk show covered many other types of soy, including soy protein powders and diet supplements. Most Americans are familiar with tofu, of course, and one caller even mentioned she made her healthy daily milk shakes using tofu. I was surprised at that, since I've always had tofu as a (more or less) solid food, not a liquid. Tofu's so popular that in Los Angeles, it's celebrated with an annual Tofu Festival held in Little Tokyo.
Later in the day, at the supermarket, I noticed for the first time that there are about as many brands of soy (and rice) non-dairy milk substitutes as there are brands of milk from cows. There are soybean oils in the baking section; salted dried soybeans as snacks; and locally-produced brands of tofu for mainstream American consumption. Also that afternoon, I tried a drink at Starbucks Coffee that I hadn't tried before: a frothy, frozen concoction of ice, mango iced tea and half-and-half. Except I had it soy milk instead of the cream, and it was great. You can also order hot chocolate with soy milk, and of course have soy milk instead of cream with your coffee.
The soybean is everywhere, it seems. If Starbucks has committed to soybeans as an smart alternative to traditional coffeehouse ingredients, I realized it's now as American as apple pie (with soy-based crust, naturally). It had snuck into the U.S. consciousness without my noticing.
Soybeans were first cultivated in China over 3,000 years ago, and found their way to Japan in the 6th century and to Europe in the 17th century. The American Soybean Association reports on its Web site that soybeans were first imported in the early 1900s and became a popular cash crop in the 1930s when wheat and corn surpluses made soybeans an attractive alternative for farmers to raise during the Depression) and the scope of products -- both edible and inedible -- made with soybeans. Soy's used for various oils and liquids such as milk substitutes. It's used in industrial applications in anti-corrosive agents, lubricants, inks, caulking compounds, diesel fuel, oil, paint, pesticides, soap and shampoo, cosmetics, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and many more surprising items. You can ingest soy in baked goods, candy, beer, baby food, crackers, pancakes, mayonnaise, sandwich spreads, grits, diet food and meat products (Hamburger Helper was originally packaged soy meat substitute used to stretch out your ground beef).
According to the ASA, the lowly soybean became a superstar during World War II, when its many uses made it a key crop, and production of soybean oil doubled to meet shortages caused by the war. The surplus of soy during the post-war years was converted into exports to European and -- surprise -- Asian markets, and now the U.S. supplies two-thirds of the world's soy consumption.
Like rice, the other Asian staple that's become ubiquitous around the world, soybeans have taken root in Western cultures. I've suddenly learned a lot about soybeans, and I've decided to explore the joy of soy to its fullest.
All of this information gives me hope that maybe I'm a healthier person than I think. So, pass the Valentine's Day candy, please!