Taipei Travel

Natural Ingredients –
Great Tasting and Easy on the Body!
 

Article: Hong Chuanyu

Photos: Chen Yiwei, Wang Hanshun, Lin Junyao

The raw food trend now sweeping Taiwan comes highly recommended by many Hollywood actresses. This diet aims to retain as much nutrition as possible by keeping cooking temperatures under 45 °C. The main ingredients of raw food dishes include unrefined and unprocessed vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit and sprouted grains, and all must come from the natural world.
 

Low-temperature cooking is not as easy as it looks; preparation is very complicated and time consuming. Take nuts as an example: to preserve most of their inherent nutrition, nuts need to soak for over eight hours for activation, and then be baked in the oven for two days at 45 °C. The same applies for seeds and beans.

 

Sprouted grains

Sprouted grains contain the energy of seeds transformed into plant life,
and are richly nutritious. Soaking time for sprouting varies according to grain type.
 

Nutrient activation

Soaking nuts for eight hours before cooking
ensures easy digestion and absorption of nutrition.

Customized Natural and Organic Cuisine

“Calculate nutrition, not calories!” is the motto at Plants, an eatery which knows a variety of ways to prepare ingredients, such as activation and sprouting, and which works with small local farms. By using crops grown with friendly, organic and natural methods, Plants delivers a raw-food-based cuisine that is full of life and has multiple layers of flavor.
 

“Gluten free” is another guiding principle at Plants. Barley, wheat and rye are replaced by such things as red lentils, flaxseed and buckwheat; so people with a gluten intolerance can enjoy their dishes as well. Their signature dish, the Mexican Wrap (墨西哥裸食捲) contains a puree of carrot, taco and vegetables, along with salad greens, cashew sour cream, and alfalfa sprouts in a corn and flaxseed tortilla. With a side of pitaya salsa, the resulting flavor is as good as any meaty meal!
 

At Plants, all ingredients are listed on the menu, and this eatery provides customized service. Each raw food lover has his or her specific needs met, and can happily enjoy their dishes.

▲The Orange Cream Cake tastes both sweet and sour.
 

Hand-made Dishes for a Balanced Diet

“I believe that customers will come back only when they receive tasty dishes. Sooner or later, they come to understand the health benefits of raw food,” says of Ooh Cha Cha (自然食) co-founder, Mai Bach from California.
 

When Mai developed recipes for their restaurant, he paid attention to the nutritional components of a balanced diet. He uses a lot of natural ingredients and insists on not using processed products; he even makes his own sauce. He is also concerned that many vegetarians may not be getting enough of the unsaturated fatty acid, Omega 3, so he adds yeast to his dishes to provide a more complete nutrition for his customers.
 

The Orange Cream Cake (可可甜橙派) is the star product at this store! This multi-flavored raw cream beauty has a brownie base and includes such things as activated and sprouted sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans and a cashew-based cream filling. This treat is sure to satisfy your taste buds and be easy on your body!
 

Plants
Tue.~Thu. 10:30~18:00;
Fri.~Sun. 10:00~21:30
10, Ln. 253, Sec. 1, Fuxing S. Rd., Daan Dist.
02-2784-5677
 

Ooh Cha Cha
(Technology Building Branch)
11:30~21:00
4-1, Ln. 118, Sec. 2, Heping E. Rd., Daan Dist.
02-2737-2994
 

[Recipe]

Chia Pudding
(by Plants)
 

Ingredients (for two servings)
Raw nuts    80g
Filtered drinking water    400ml
Chia seeds       20g
Coconut nectar       2 tablespoons

Preparation

1. Add a pinch of salt to the drinking water, put the nuts in to soak, and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Drain off the water and rinse the nuts. Then blend them in fresh filtered water until the mixture is smooth. This is nut milk.

3. Add the chia seeds to the nut milk and wait twenty to thirty minutes, until they have soaked it up.

4. Add seasonal fruit, nuts, desiccated coconut, cornflakes or coconut nectar to taste, and let it sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving.
 

[Recipe]

Brownie Balls
(by Ooh Cha Cha)
 

Ingredients (for six balls)
Walnuts   60g
Almonds  50g
Dried coconut flakes       30g
Dates       60g
Coconut or cacao powder       7.5g
Sea salt    1g
 

Preparation
1. Soak the walnuts and almonds overnight, then rinse and put them in a dehydrator at 40 °C for 12 to 24 hours to dry.

2. Grind the dried coconut flakes into powder in the food processer, and then add the walnuts, almonds, dates and sea salt. Blend the mixture to a paste.

3. Scoop the paste into large spoonfuls and roll into balls by hand.
 

\TIP/

These can be served as is or dipped in coconut or cacao powder for variety.