At this year’s By <\/strong>ron Bay Writers Festival I interviewed the 2010 Masterchef winner, Adam Liaw.\u00a0 For those of you who never watch TV and managed to miss the whole Masterchef thing, he is a charming, obviously intelligent young man who looks like a very friendly samurai.\u00a0 He is of Chinese Malay heritage and spent several years living in Japan.\u00a0 He wants everyone to realise how simple Asian food is to make, and\u00a0 often just uses just salt as a seasoning, not dozens of obscure ingredients.\u00a0 So it is fitting that we started the show with Brad Sarson, a healthy salt enthusiast.\u00a0 Salt is the single most important seasoning in the world.\u00a0 Many roads started as ancient salt trade\u00a0 routes.\u00a0 Salt is at the origin of the very word for sauce, for salary (the money to buy salt), salt and bread mean hospitality in Russian, salt means intelligence and wit.\u00a0 And our bodies are a salty sea, our bodies have the same percentage of salt as the oceans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Himalayan salt<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n ALL SALT IS SEA SALT…<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n was the most interesting thing I learned today. <\/strong>At one time all salt was sea water says Brad.\u00a0 We still get some straight from the sea, but some was deposited long ago and became solid crystals,\u00a0 with all sorts of interesting trace elements which colour it grey, yellow, brown – or a pretty pink, like Brad’s favourite salt, Himalayan.\u00a0 This salt was made when the biggest mountains in the world sat on top of an ancient sea for a few million y<\/span><\/span>ears, trapping 84\u00a0 minerals that our bodies need in its crystals. <\/span><\/span>Brad and Jen Sarson run the Byron Bay Healthy Salt Company, go to their website<\/a> for lots of information about salt in general and Himalayan crystal salt.\u00a0 All salts are definitely not the same.\u00a0 Basic cooking salt has been stripped of all trace elements, and has other chemicals added to keep it running freely.\u00a0 I don’t know enough to comment about the health claims for Brad’s salt, but it does taste good, and it is intensely salty, so you can use less.\u00a0 Most of the ‘gourmet’ salts do have a more interesting, balanced flavour than basic salt.\u00a0 Or maybe that is just my body recognising what it needs, the same way grazing animals look for salt to lick. Brad was keen to share a healthy way <\/span><\/span>to start the day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n HIMALAYAN SALT SOLUTION SOLE’\u00a0 (stored sunlight)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Fill a jar that has a lid with mineral water.<\/p>\n Add Himalayan crystal salt to water and leave overnight.<\/p>\n If all the salt has dissolved add more salt and leave it overnight again.<\/p>\n When salt crystals are still visible it means no more can be absorbed, so the solution is saturated.<\/p>\n Have one teaspoon in the morning 20 to 30 minutes before food.\u00a0 It\u00a0 will gently start your digestion and has amazing health benefits. Brad Sarson <\/p>\n ADAM LIAW AT THE BYRON BAY WRITERS FESTIVAL<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Adam Liaw in his first cookbook, Two Asian Kitchens, is on a mission to get us all just having a go at Asian food.\u00a0 He told belly about summer fish and winter fish, the birthday cake with tomato sauce his father made him once, life after Masterchef and why there were so many lawyers on the show, among other things. The full interview is here, just click on the audio links below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam Liaw part 1 audio <\/a> <\/p>\n Adam Liaw part 2 audio<\/a> <\/p>\n His favourite food is Hainanese chicken rice, and he does seem to love chooks and ducks.\u00a0 Here’s a bunch of links to his recipes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n KAPITAN CHICKEN<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n LARB DUCK<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n LAKSA FRIED CHICKEN<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SPICY GROUND CHICKEN AND RICE NOODLES<\/a> HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n FRESH REPORT Lots of lovely kale in the markets at good prices, try making a super healthy kale pesto.<\/strong> Strip out the central stalk and stick the raw leaves in afood processor with olive oil, toasted pinenuts (or macadamias), garlic, salt and parmesan.\u00a0 No need to use a mortar and pestle, the kale leaves can take it.\u00a0 Or try the same ingredients as a salad.<\/span> BELLY BULLETIN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Choice the consumer rights organisation would like our help.\u00a0 As part of a nationwide review of product labelling,\u00a0 it would like the government to introduce traffic light style labelling of fat, sugar and salt content, so we are no longer misled by products that claim to be healthy because they are very low in salt, for example, or have added fibre, while they are very high in sugar or fat.<\/p>\n This<\/strong><\/a> is the link to the Choice better labelling\/shame the claim campaign<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/pink-salt.jpg\" "\\"pink")
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