Health

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ― It's tough to lose weight being around food all day, but one famous Philadelphia chef found a way to do it. Morimoto is an internationally acclaimed chef with trendy restaurants in Philadelphia and New York.

Japanese food is known to be healthy and diet friendly, but the chef was packing on the pounds, topping the scale at 215.

"Potato chips and beer," he told CBS station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

The American favorites, chips and beer, were Morimoto's diet downfall, causing him to gain 40 pounds. His only solution was to give them up cold turkey.

"I decided to quit alcohol, no drink and eating very healthy, mostly vegetable," he told Stephanie.

Back to basics, Japanese style - among Morimoto's creations - a signature recipe making noodles with fish, not pasta, a healthy diet version of chicken noodle soup.

He lost the extra 40 pounds in 3 months. The weight loss is evident in his face.

Japanese food has become an American favorite, with the emphasis on fish, vegetables, rice and other low fat items.

It's the way Christina Paul tries to eat with an emphasis on her favorite, sushi.

"They taste really clean to me, and after you eat them, you don't have that bogged down feeling you sometimes have," said Christina.

Morimoto says losing weight is hard work but easier when diet food tastes good. He likes soy, ginger, and sake for a little extra flavor.

He says it can work for anyone and you too could be showing off a new slender you.


Recipe #1: MASAHARU MORIMOTO'S CHICKEN BREAST NOODLE SOUP
Serves 8

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast, trimmed of visible fat
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
8 oz dried noodles
2 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
¾ cup ramen base (recipe follows)
3 cups julienned iceberg lettuce

Ramen Base
1 cup soy sauce
¼ cup sake (rice wine)
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup water
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 in. fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
2 scallions, cut into 1 ½ pieces
1 ½ tsp white peppercorns

Make the base:
1) Mix soy, sake, salt, sugar and water.

2) In a small saucepan, combine oil, garlic, ginger, scallions, and white peppercorns. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the soy mixture. Cook for 8-10 minutes.

Make the soup:
1) Place chicken in a pot filled with cold water. Add salt and sake. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 – 30 minutes, until chicken is completely cooked, then cool. Remove chicken skin, then shred breast meat.

2) Cook noodles as directed on package. Drain. In a large pot bring chicken stock to a boil.

3) Put about 1 ½ Tbsp of ramen base into each of 8 soup bowls. Divide cooked noodles among the bowls and pour the hot chicken broth over the noodle. Top each bowl with a mound of lettuce and some shredded chicken. Serve immediately.


Recipe #2: STEAMED SESAME CHICKEN
Serves 4

*A featured dish at Morimoto in Philadelphia, as well as, from Morimoto's cookbook: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 6 oz. each)
½ cup White Sesame Sauce (recipe below)
½ cup Black Sesame Sauce (recipe below)
8 teaspoons Chile Oil (recipe below)
1 Japanese or ½ seedless cucumber, julienned
8 cherry tomatoes, preferably 4 red and 4 yellow (halved)
Fresh chives

1) Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook at a steady simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cover. Let stand until the chicken looks opaque when cut in the center, about 10 minutes. Drain the chicken and let stand for 5 minutes.

2) Cut each chicken breast crosswise into ½-inch (12mm) wide strips. Place about 1 tablespoon of White Sesame Sauce in the bottom of each of 4 wide serving bowls. Top each with a sliced breast, then drizzle with more White Sesame Sauce.

3) Using a pastry brush or the back of a soup spoon, paint swathes of the Black Sesame Sauce on the inside walls of the bowl. Drizzle a teaspoon or two over the chicken breasts, along with the Chile Oil, if you like. Garnish with the cucumber, cherry tomato quarters, and chives. Serve immediately.

Scallion Oil
1 cup vegetable oil
1-inch (2 ½ cm) piece of fresh ginger; peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, sliced
6 scallions, green part only, cut in 1-inch (2 ½ cm) lengths

1) Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion slices turn a rich golden color, 10 to 15 minutes.

2) Strain, discarding the solids. Let the Scallion Oil cool before using. This can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks.

Makes about ¾ of a cup.

White Sesame Sauce
¾ cup white sesame seeds
½ cup Scallion Oil (recipe below)
1 tablespoon light-colored soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons hot sesame oil, available in Asian specialty stores

Sesame seeds can be ground into a paste then extended into a thick sauce. Regular sesame seeds make a white (actually pale gold) sauce, and black seeds, of course, make a much darker hue. You can buy sesame seeds in bulk at Asian grocers, but be sure that the regular seeds are hulled and ivory white – unhulled seeds have a grayish cast, and will make an off-white sauce.

1) Grind the sesame seeds and Scallion Oil in a blender until as smooth as possible, stopping the machine and scraping the sides of the jar as needed, about 2 minutes.

2) Add the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and hot sesame oil and blend again to combine. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with additional Scallion Oil. To store, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Black Sesame Sauce
*Prepare the white sesame sauce recipe as directed, but substitute black sesame seeds for the white ones.

Chile Oil
1 cup Scallion Oil (see above)
½ cup pure, red chili powder, preferably Korean
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
1 star anise pod, cracked
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns

1) Heat the oil in a small saucepan.

2) In a heatproof bowl, mix the chili powder with 1 tablespoon cold water. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns.

3) Pour the hot oil over the spice mixture. Let stand overnight, then strain through a fine sieve. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 1 cup.


Recipe #3: SPINACH & SESAME ASPARAGUS WITH SESAME SAUCE
Serves 4

1 bunch spinach
1 bunch asparagus
3 tablespoons sesame paste (you may use tahini or unsweetened peanut butter)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons nonfat milk

1) Rinse and cook spinach in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and cool in cold running water. Squeeze water out of spinach.

2) Cut tough bottoms off asparagus. Cook in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool in cold running water.

3) In a bowl, mix sesame paste, sugar and soy. Use milk as needed to make smooth. Pour sauce over cooked spinach and asparagus and serve.


Recipe #4: SNAPPER PANZANELLA
Serves 4

2 (12-oz) snapper fillets
2 tablespoons sake
1 oz. dried country bread, cut into 1" dice
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 oz. pitted black olives
Sliced ½ cucumber, cut into 1" dice
½ red onion, julienned
Olive Oil
Vinegar Salt
Pepper

1) For the salad, combine bread and vegetables. Drizzle with a little olive oil and vinegar to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Keep cold until ready for use.

2) Sprinkle sake over snapper fillets and lightly season with salt. In a steamer, bring water to a boil. Steam snapper for 3-5 minutes, until opaque. Let it cool, then slice. Place sliced snapper over the salad and serve.

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