Kore wa nan desu ka? What is this?

Probably one of the biggest changes for the students visiting Japan this summer is the food. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, meals are generally eaten at the same time each day and consist of many small dishes. Generally there is always rice and a type of soup served with the meal. The types of foods eaten at a meal can vary depending on the region you are visiting. Here are some typical Japanese dishes:

Rice Based

Domburi

Rice – rice is the base to all meals. It is often served in the morning with a raw egg and soya sauce. For lunch, cold rice will be packed for lunch.

Sushi – this is a rice based dish that uses rice cooked in a sushi vinegar. There are many different ways of making sushi and different toppings.

Domburi – this is a bowl of rice with other cooked foods placed on top. Toppings might be tempura, egg and chicken (oyakodon, also know and mother and chick), or beef.

Onigiri – This is something that you often find at convenience stores and people purchase for a quick snack. Onigiri are rice balls made with cooked rice that are then wrapped in nori seaweed. The center of the rice ball generally contains another food such as umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), tuna or salmon.

Kara Raisu – Curry is very popular in Japan. Kara Raisu is a curried rice. Curry is not a spice that is native to Japan but has become a part of their diet. Kare Raisu can be served with additional toppings.

One Pot Dishes



Shabu-Shabu

 These types of dishes are call nabe and are often cooked and served in the winter months. They are often cooked and served right at the table. Typical ingredients used in nabe include negi (Japanese leek), hakusai (Chinese cabbage) as well as mushrooms and meat.

Oden – this dish often contains fish cakes, boiled eggs, seaweed and boiled in a soya sauce based soup.

Sukiyaki – this dish contains thinly sliced meat, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and konyaku noodles. Prior to eating, the foods are dipped into a raw egg

Shabu-Shabu – this is like a fondue, Japanese style. Thinly sliced meats, vegetables, mushrooms and tofu are served. Each item is then dipped into a hot soup and then a vinegar or sesame sauce prior to being eaten.

Noodle Dishes

Omuraisu

Noodles are very popular in Japan and many meals will contain some type of noodle.

Soba – Soba noodles are a traditional Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Soba noodles are thick and can be eaten hot or cold with a variety of toppings.

Udon – Udon noodles are a Japanese noodle made from wheat flour. Udon noodles are thicker than soba noodles and can also be served hot or cold with a variety of other foods and toppings.

Ramen -Ramen uses a Chinese type noodle that is cooked in a soup. It can be served with different toppings. Although ramen was traditionally a Chinese based dish, it has been adopted by the Japanese and very popular.

Somen – Somen are also a Japanese noodle made from wheat flower but thinner. This type of noodle is generally eaten cold and served in the summer time.

Yakisoba – Yakisoba is a deep fried or fried Chinese noodle that is ofter served with meat, vegetables and ginger.

Meat Dishes

Meat is generally a part of each meal but only in small amounts. Popular meats include pork, chicken and seafood. Beef is served but is very expensive.

Yakitori

Yakitori – this is grilled chicken pieces on skewers. Most parts of the chicken are used.

Tonkatus – Tonkatsu are deep fried pork cutlets. It is over served with shredded cabbage and topped with cooked rice or curry.

Nikijaga – this is a popular way of cooking meat and potatoes.

Other Dishes

Miso Soup – this soap is served with most meals. It is made by dissolving miso paste into hot water and adding other ingredients such as seaweed and tofu.

Omuraisu – this is like a omelet. Cooked rice is wrapped in a thin omelet and then generally served with gravy sauce or ketchup.

Hayashi Raisu – this is a type of beef stew. The beef is sliced very thin and cooked with onions in a sauce and served over rice.

Okonmiyaki

Hamubagu – this is the Japanese version of a North American hamburger. The burger patty is cooked and served on a plate with a sauce and vegetables. There is no bun.

Tempura – This is a deep fried dish. Piece of seafood, vegetables and mushrooms are coated with the tempura batter and then deep fried. Tempura was not a dish native to Japan but is very popular.

Okonomiyaki – This dish is one children often learn to make. It is a mixture between a pancake and a pizza. Pork, cabbage and seafood are mixed together with a type of dough. The mixture is then spooned into a pan and fried.

Gyoza – Gyoza are dumplings that fried. They contain mined vegetables and generally some type of ground meat.

Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi – This is a steamed egg custard that generally contains pieces of seafood, chicken and ginko nut mixed inside.

Tsukemono – these are Japanese pickles. There are lots of different kinds of pickles. This dish is generally served as a side dish with meals.

Gohan desu yu! It's time to eat!

Meals in Japan are eaten on a regular schedule. It is said that “in order to increase one's energy, one must eat meals regularly.” In Japan, young people are not often given a choice of what to eat. At meals, the mother serves the children what she has cooked, including what they drink. It is considered polite to not give you a choice but instead provide you with what has been prepared. In North America if we are hungry or thirsty we would simply go to the cupboard or fridge and get what we would like to eat. In Japan this would be considered very rude. Children almost never help themselves to something to eat but instead wait and eat only what was prepared and served.

Since I am visiting Japan in the summer time, much of the food is served cold since it is very hot in the summer (often in the mid 30's with high humidity). This includes cold rice, tea, soup, meat and noodles. A typical meal would have a number of items served including rice, a soup, a meat that might be chicken, pork, fish or beef (beef is very expensive) and then different vegetables, fruit and other smaller dishes. Everything is eaten with chopsticks. Chopsticks are used for picking up food from communal serving bowls on the table and for pulling food apart. Rice is served at lunch and supper and can also be served at breakfast.

Since arriving in Japan last week I have been eating a lot of vegetables. Twice we have ate meals that consisted of only vegetables. Early in the week we visited Karakura. Karakura is located about an hour outside of Tokyo. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant and our lunch had eight different courses, all vegetable based. We started with a tomato based soup, then a plate of seasoned cucumbers, then seasoned spinach. Next was a HUGE plate full of big and small tomatoes (not my favourite food!). After this we had some small dark green hot peppers, then squash, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. This was followed by a flat bread with basil leaves and tomatoes. Dessert was a melon slice. You can see why the Japanese people are generally healthy and thin. You hardly ever see an individual that overweight or on the heavy side. This is probably due to the healthy diet they eat and the amount of exercise they get on a daily base. Since most people walk or bike to the local train station, they are always on the move.

Prior to eating your meal you say “itadaki-masu” which means “I gratefully receive this food” and after eating say “gochi-sou-sama dishita” which means “thank you for the delicious meal”. This is said before and after each meal, even when eating out.

I have been in Japan for over a week now. We have yet to go to a grocery store. Most foods are delivered directly to the home. The family I am currently staying with is also a part of a cooperative buying group. There are seven families in this coop. On Mondays, all the food is delivered to my host families home and placed in the carport (one of the cars had to be moved down the street to provide enough room). All the food and products were in bins and coolers. There was even a scale for weighing amounts of vegetables and products they are taking.

Throughout the day, families involved in the food cooperative stopped by with their shopping basket and picked up the items they had ordered, sorting these the buns and weighing things on the scale. The food included everything from fresh meat, frozen products, vegetables and eggs. There was also a lot of visiting that took place as the neighbours came by to pick up their groceries. One of the neighbours was a single gentlemen. He said I was very beautiful and asked if I was available. Upon leaving with his food, he forgot to take his order form for the next weeks delivery. My host mother had to call him later that evening asking him to swing around. She laughed and said that he had probably forgotten it on purpose so he come back and see me again. I just smiled and continued cleaning up and putting the bins away.