This dish is just gorgeous. It is spicy, flavoursome, exotic, and is packed to the hilt with skin boosting nutrients.
1 portion of dried wholewheat noodles – cooked and drained
Half a punnet of shiitake mushrooms – thinly sliced
1 handful of cooked king prawns
2 large spring onions – coarsely chopped
1 handful of baby spinach
5-6 fine green beans – halved
2 cloves of garlic – finely copped
1 green chilli – finely chopped
3 dashes of Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of honey
Quarter of a teaspoon of chinese five spice powder
Heat a little olive oil in a wok. Throw in the chopped garlic, chilli, spring onions, and green beans, along with a small pinch of crystal salt.
Saute until the onion is beginning to soften. At this stage, throw in the baby spinach leaves, and shiitake mushrooms, and continue to stir fry until the mushrooms have softened. Add the prawns and the noodles, and mix well until all the ingredients have been well distributed through the noodles.
Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and five spice. Mix well then ready to serve.
Medicinal Properties
Shiitake mushrooms – are well known for their ability to increase both the production and activity of white blood cells. This can be especially useful in skin conditions such as acne, where there is actually active infection. An increase in white blood cell number can help to shift infection that little bit faster.
Spinach – is a very rich source of beta carotene. This is a fat soluble antioxidant. As it is fat soluble, it will naturally migrate into the fatty subcutaneous layer of the skin. This is the area where the collagen and elastin fibre network that give our skin its structural integrity, actually have their roots. By offering antioxidant protection here, we can protect these important fibres from excessive free radical damage, which can reduce premature ageing of the skin. Beta carotene will also offer a certain amount of mild anti-inflammatory activity, which can help to reduce the severity of any red angry skin lesion, from acne through to eczema and psoriasis.
Prawns – are a very rich source of the powerful trace mineral selenium. This compound is a vital precursor for the body’s own endogenous antioxidant compound – glutathione peroxidase (GP). GP is involved in the removal of cellular waste, and like many other antioxidants, can reduce inflammatory damage in tissues. Prawns are also very rich in zinc, which among other things can actually help to regulate the activity af the sebaceous (oil producing) glands in the skin. If the skin is excessively oily, zinc seems to be able to reduce sebaceous output. Conversely, if the skin is very dry, then being replete in zinc can actually increase oil secretion.
