Description: A slightly sweet flavour of miso sauce amazingly matches with cucumbers. Cucumbers become magical vegetables if you use the right seasonings. You can beat the food while preparing. Why don’t you prepare this meal when you are stressed? 
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• Cucumber – beaten then torn, 1 piece or 200g
• Chicken breast – steamed and torn, 150g
• Sesame oil – ½ tablespoon
• Miso – ½ teaspoon
• Sake cooking wine – ½ tablespoon
• Ginger – pureed, 2g or ½ teaspoon
• Sesame seeds- 1 teaspoon

Method

1. Mix all the seasonings well in a small bowl except sesame seeds.
2. Beat the cucumber with a rolling pin until it gets cracked then tear it into bite-size pieces. (Do not beat too much to the point the cucumber is completely crushed)
3. Place cucumber and chicken in a small bowl, then pour the miso sauce on top.

To serve: sprinkle sesame seeds

Nutritional Values Per Serving

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fibre	Sugars	Salt	Saturated Fat	Phosphorus	Vitamin B3	Vitamin B12
192.5	16.8g	11.3g	6.3g	0.8g	2.8g	0.3g	2.6g	166.5mg	7.6mg	0.5μg
9.6%	33.5%	16.1%	2.4%	2.6%	3.1%	5.6%	13.2%	30.3%	58.6%	37.8%

Nutritional Tips

Cucumbers are really low in calories (15 kcal per 100g), and low in carbs, protein, sodium, fat and cholesterol. This recipe helps make the cucumber tastier along with miso sauce. On top of that, adding steamed chicken breast boosts the nutritional value of this dish easily! You can take some protein, phosphorus, vitamin B3 and vitamin B12 without boosting fat intake. You may eat this as a side dish or even a healthy Japanese-style snack. You may add a larger amount of cucumber in the recipe and use olive oil alternatively So this could be a good recipe for weight control. Alternatively, filling up with low-carb / calories vegetables is a good way for people with diabetes, especially type-2, to control their blood glucose (Asif, Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 2014; 3: 1.). However, if you consume a large amount, be mindful of how much miso/oil you will be taking. As sometimes people get obsessed with just eating one single thing all day over several days, you may omit the sauce to avoid eating too much fat/salt. As I always say, balance is the key! 🙂

Olive oil is known as a healthy oil and a key ingredient in the Mediterranean diet and some study shows beneficial effects on the human body (Pérez-Martínez et al. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2011;17(8):769-77.). Extra-virgin olive oils are generally more beneficial than other types of olive oils since other types can be refined or processed. Olive oil consists of more than 70% of monounsaturated fats and the rest is mostly polyunsaturated fats. Both monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are protective for our heart while saturated fats raise our blood cholesterol. However, to maintain or improve our health, a healthy balanced diet with lower salt and saturated fat intake and regular exercise are also important. Adding lots of olive oil to the diet while not looking at other factors might not give a desirable outcome.