I went out dancing again last night. A final fling for the International Division students. Monday is our last day of class before everyone starts heading home. Anyway, at about 1:00am last night, an old friend asked me how I enjoyed Japan. I said it was all right. I asked him (he's Japanese) what he liked about Japan. He said the food is good and it is relatively safe. I disagreed with his second point, but I have to say I love Japanese food.
No, this is not a story about sushi and knife-tossing chefs. There is a lot more to Japanese food than just raw fish. At the basic level, most food has a sort of salty soy sauce taste. Many meals are accompanied with a bowl of rice and another of miso soup. When Japanese people travel overseas, these are the two things that they miss the most: moist white rice and soy-bean paste soup. Seafood has always been popular in Japan as well as a number of vegetables and tofu. Many foods are either fried or boiled, while baked goods, such as breads and cakes are not so common.
Most Japanese people eat three meals a day. While I have stayed with my tradition of eating cereal for breakfast, most Japanese people have rather elaborate meals in the morning. Sometimes it is just leftovers from the night before. Other times they bake some fresh fish and eat it with rice and miso soup. Just about anything goes for breakfast.
The famous boxed lunch (o-bento) is still very common among office workers and students. It is either prepared at home or bought at a Bento Shop. It contains a few little compartments of rice, seafood, etc. My host father eats lunch at home every day, but he has a boxed lunch delivered to the house every day. For those who eat out, there are plenty of ramen noodle, curry rice, and hamburger joints. One friend once told me that McDonald's was not suitable for dinner, because sandwiches and such were for lunch. At any rate, there are a number of variations for lunch, but generally it is a lighter meal that doesn:t cost much more than US$5-7 at a cheap restaurant.
Dinner is still a big dinner that is eaten as a family. My host family eats at about 8pm which is a bit late, even for Japanese people. It is already prime time for television programs, so we always watch some quiz show while eating. This seems to take away from the idea of eating a meal together, but it is rather popular among Japanese families.
Some of my favorite dishes at my house are okonomiyaki, tempura, and teriyaki fish. The most interesting of these is okonomiyaki. Directly translated, it amounts to something like "fry what you like." It is a newer invention that is something like a Japanese pancake or pizza. One mixes some flour, egg, milk, etc, with all of the vegetables and seafood that he likes. The liquid is poured onto a grill or skillet (preferably at the table) at becomes hard after a few minutes. It is then covered in special sauce and eaten with friends. It is rather simple, cheap, and fun to make with friends. It is not the most beautiful food (in Japan, food is supposed to look better than it tastes), but I think it is my favorite.
A normal Japanese meal includes a bowl of rice, miso soup, maybe some fish, and many small side dishes of various pickled vegetables, etc. There is not usually a main dish that is spooned onto a big plate. Most meals include many small dishes eaten that are lifted on to ones own small dishes and bowls using chopsticks. I once heard that Japanese people use a triangle method of eating. Rather than finishing off a hamburger all by itself, they would eat a little fish, then some rice, then soup, etc. Anyway, there is generally a lot of variety, so one can find something he likes.
We also eat a lot of Chinese food (noodles, stir fry), Italian (mainly spaghetti), and sort of Western food. Now and then we will order pizza (at my request) or have cheese fondu which is also one of my favorites. Of course, Japanese Western food tastes different than it does in other countries. The number of fast food restaurants and convenience stores has increased the amount of snacking on Western junk food too. Many kids love donuts, potato chips, chocolate, and breads. It seems that they eat only the bad food from overseas.
Japanese love to ask foreigners how they like Japanese food. There are a couple dishes that are famous for among foreigners as particularly un-tasty. Sushi itself does not mean raw fish, so there are rolled sushi (makizushi) that are just vinegared rice and vegetables rapped in seaweed paper (nori). This is good stuff. The reaction to true raw fish or sashimi is mixed. First of all, it is expensive, so I generally turn it down when offered.
Another infamous dish is fermented soybeans or natto. Japanese people seem to want to prove their specialness by demonstrating that foreigners can't eat this smelly specialty. However, the fact is that less than half of Japanese people themselves eat natto at all. It is supposed good for you, but I prefer new beans really.
As far as raw fish goes, it is not so bad. The word sushi itself does not mean raw fish, but refers to a whole style of food that includes raw fish served on top of rice. Other forms of sushi included rolled (maki) sushi. This consists of vegetables and seafood rapped in vinegared rice and covered in a sort of seaweed paper. This is my favorite kind of sushi, but as it is expensive, I seldom eat it.
One last point about Japanese food is on the subject of health. I am still stumped as to why Japanese people (or Asian people in general) are able to stay thin. Many of my Japanese friends like to point out that American hamburgers and hotdogs are fattening. However, I don't think Americans eat much more meat than most Japanese people and potato chips are not an everyday meal. Japanese food on the other hand is often fried, as I said; and oil is hardly used sparingly. Many people would suggest that the amount of food served up in the West is greater than the East. My personal experience has found this to not be true. I almost always eat less than my Japanese friends. And then when I am stuffed, they move on to dessert. I suspect that Japanese people just eat at fancy restaurants overseas and order the duck with a big sundae; that's where they get the impression that everything is big in America. So, in the end, I have concluded that there is something about the Asian metabolism that makes people skinny here. I think some nutritionists should study this secret ingredient and import it into Western people.
As for me, I stay thin and eat cheap anywhere in the world. I have come to really love Japanese food and will have to find a good Oriental food mart when I return to the US. I will also have to find a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Olive Garden, because I am dying to have some of that good ole American food.