Seiyo meshida to ebi no tosazu-oroshi-ae / lady fern fiddleheads and shrimp in bonito flake infused vinegar dressing with grated daikon radish

Grated daikon radish adds a slightly spicy, refreshing note to the dressing. Aside from taste, since daikon's digestive enzymes work best when uncooked, adding grated daikon makes the dish a nice companion for something cooked with oil.

1/2 of recipe: 
54 calories; 8.8 g protein; 0.2 g fat; 3.9 g carbohydrate; 2.0 g net carbs; 150 mg sodium (with usukuchi pale soy sauce with standard sodium content and 50% reduced-sodium koikuchi regular soy sauce); 65 mg cholesterol; 1.9 g fiber; 215 mg potassium

Sansai tanuki soba / buckwheat noodles with mountain vegetables and tempura pearls

As a noodle topping, sansai mountain vegetables alone give a refreshing taste but could be a bit too light. Tenkasu tempura pearls add a rich note but could lack texture. They soak up the soup, which could also mean you get more sodium than desired. Combining these two ingredients while reducing the volume of each is one delicious solution. Sliced young myoga stems offer a clean aroma and taste.

For the recipe below, usukuchi pale soy sauce and regular dark soy sauce, not reduced-sodium soy sauce, are used for the soup to achieve stronger umami. Dried enoki mushrooms are also added to enhance the umami effect. The strong soup means more satisfaction with a smaller amount compared to a weaker soup, and this naturally makes us refrain from taking extra sips, preventing excess sodium consumption. This works especially well with unflavored toppings or toppings that contain lots of moisture.

1/2 of recipe: 
425 calories; 17.7 g protein; 3.6 g fat; 78.6 g carbohydrate; 8.4 g net carbs; 479 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 7.2 g fiber; 371 mg potassium

Meshida to satsumaage no nibitashi / Western lady fern fiddleheads and deep-fried fishcakes in light broth

An everyday comfort side dish featuring fiddleheads in season. The faint bitterness of meshida lady fern with its succulent texture tastes great with gently mellow fishcakes.

1/2 of recipe:
73 calories; 6.5 g protein; 1.5 g fat; 8.7 g carbohydrate; 6.1 g net carbs; 67 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber 

Gomadashi udon / wheat noodles with fish sesame paste

Gomadashi udon is simply wheat noodles, fish sesame paste, a garnish and plenty of hot water. It is amazingly simple to prepare, as it was originally developed as a quick warm dish for fishermen coming back from the ocean. To satisfy our taste buds with a smaller amount of reduced-sodium version gomadashi, I use a small amount of dashi instead of hot water and add other goodies for overall umami enhancement and color to stimulate the appetite. This is one of Tom's recent favorites.

1 serving (with 150 g fresh low-sodium udon noodles):
575 calories; 22.6 g protein; 13.6 g fat; 87.9 g carbohydrate; 80.8 g net carbs; 460 mg sodium (with reduced-sodium gomadashi); 118 mg cholesterol; 7.1 g fiber 

1 serving (without udon noodles):
191 calories; 12.8 g protein; 11.0 g fat; 11.6 g carbohydrate; 7.3 g net carbs; 450 mg sodium (with reduced-sodium gomadashi); 115 mg cholesterol; 4.3 g fiber

Abokado to meshida, ebi no sarada, tonyu no yooguruto-fu doresshingu / avocado, Western lady fern and shrimp salad with soy milk yogurt-style dressing

Juicy, succulent lady fern fiddleheads lighten up the golden combination of avocado and shrimp, with everything held together by a softly spicy and creamy dressing made of soy milk.
Drawing out enough water from soy milk after mixing with apple cider vinegar takes a bit of time, so strain the mixture of soy milk and apple cider vinegar ahead of time -- the rest goes pretty quickly.

Salad with dressing (1/2 of recipe):
148 calories; 8.8 g protein; 10.4 g fat; 6.3 g carbohydrate; 2.3 g net carbs; 55 mg sodium; 38 mg cholesterol; 4.1 g fiber

Dressing only (1/2 of recipe):
46 calories; 2.0 g protein; 3.1 g fat; 1.9 g carbohydrate; 1.8 g net carbs; 14 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 0.2 g fiber

Meshida to tomato no sarada / lady fern fiddleheads and tomato salad

Enjoy the delicate flavor of succulent lady fern fiddleheads in a simple pairing with tomatoes. Goes well with any cuisine!

50 calories (1/2 of recipe); 2.6 g protein; 2.1 g fat; 6.9 g carbohydrate; 2.7 g net carbs; 15 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 4.2 g fiber

Hotate to meshida no bataajoyu itame / stir-fried scallops and Western lady fern in butter and soy sauce

The softly mellow taste of scallops and faint bitterness of lady fern heads complement each other really well as the no-fail combination of butter and soy sauce works again here for a pair of ingredients from the sea and the land.

1/2 of recipe:
116 calories; 12.8 g protein; 2.7 g fat; 8.4 g carbohydrate; 5.7 g net carbs; 192 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce; 304 mg with regular soy sauce); 27 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber

Meshida no kobujime / kelp-sandwitched lady fern

Pickled fiddleheads fully boosted by kombu kelp. Yummy!

Seiyo meshida no jon / jeon Korean piccata with lady fern fiddleheads

Jeon Korean piccata is another easy way to enjoy the delicate harvest of the season!

Whole recipe (when made with kogomi and served with dipping sauce made with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce and diluted with water):
82 calories; 3.8 g protein; 5.0 g fat; 5.6 g carbohydrate; 3.0 g net carbs; 75 mg sodium; 71 mg cholesterol; 2.6 g fiber

Seiyo meshida no gomaae / lady fern fiddleheads in sesame dressing

One of the typical dishes for kogomi ostrich fern fiddleheads in Japan. The recipe below uses locally harvested lady fern fiddleheads. The refreshing taste and aroma of succulent and crispy fiddleheads blend wonderfully with the slightly sweet and toasty taste of sesame dressing. Using the freshest fiddleheads, ideally ones harvested the same day, is the key to bringing out the best taste.

1/2 of recipe (when using kogomi):
28 calories; 1.5 g protein; 1.3 g fat; 2.8 g carbohydrate; 1.1 g net carbs; 58 mg sodium (with 50% reduced sodium; 116 mg with regular soy sauce); 0 mg cholesterol; 1.7 g fiber