The Japanese really care about their food. They care not only how it tastes but, just as importantly, how it looks. A Japanese proverb about food says, 'Let little seem like much, as long as it is fresh, natural, and beautiful'. Plates are never piled with food as they are in western countries. Instead, tiny portions of fish and vegetables are served like a work of art.

Many westerners today still cannot grasp the idea of eating raw fish. As a country of islands, the sea has always been very important in Japanese life. The Japanese eat a wide variety of fish and most eat fish at every meal. To the Japanese, raw fish is considered a delicacy. It is felt that the taste, flavor and texture of fish is best appreciated when it is very fresh and eaten raw.

Japanese Food is Healthy!

The Japanese live longer than any other people in the world. They also have the lowest rate of heart disease, which is a big problem all around the world. What’s so healthy about the Japanese diet? The Japanese diet consists of a lot of rice, noodles, vegetables, and fish, so their diet is high in starch, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and low in fat (that’s one more good reason to dine Japanese tonight!)

One of the most significant foods is the soybean. It is a good source of vegetable protein, and it makes the most important seasoning in Japanese cooking: Soy Sauce. Tofu is a bean curd made from thickened, strained soybean milk. Miso is also made from the soybean and the Japanese drink miso soup at least once or twice a day. Most soy bean recipes were devised by Buddhist monks, who abstained from eating meat for doctrinal reasons and relied heavily on tofu and miso as a source of protein.

As noted above, so much of Japanese food comes from the sea. Seaweed is popular and many types are used for wrapping food and flavoring stews. Seaweed is a useful source of fiber, vitamins B and C, and minerals such as iron and iodine. Many Japanese people believe that seaweed contains essential vitamins for healthy hair.

Noodles are another big part of the Japanese culture. There are three types of Japanese noodles- udon, somen and soba. Udon and somen are made from wheat flour. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat. It is common to see these noodles come in soup or with a separate sauce for dipping. Yes, it is normal to slurp as you eat noodles; if you do not slurp, it means you didn’t enjoy the noodles! Kitsune means 'fox' and foxes love deep-fried tofu, so udon noodles with deep-fried tofu is called kitsune udon (F2 on our menu!)

Eating with Chopsticks

Japanese food is usually served in sizes suitable for picking up with chopsticks. The Japanese ate with the fingers prior to the introduction of chopsticks by the Chinese in the seventh century. To Westerners, chopsticks seem to be very exotic eating utensils. But chopsticks are not difficult to manage once you have learned the basic technique. Chopsticks are very convenient; they serve as a fork, knife, and serving/cooking utensils! Spoons, however, although common in China and Korea, did not catch on too well in Japan, probably because the habit of sipping soup from handheld wooden bowls made spoons useless. Here are some chopstick guidelines:

WAH-sah-bee

Wasabi is a green-colored condiment traditionally served with raw fish (sushi and sashimi) and noodle (soba) dishes in Japan. The ground root fiercely flavors many foods in Japanese cuisine and its bright green color adds color contrast. The best way to enjoy the flavor of wasabi is to spread a little between the fish and the rice, dip the fish side of the sushi into soy sauce mixed with wasabi. Wasabi does not just add a burning, hot sensation, but in small amounts it adds a fragrance to assist the taste of fresh fish with soy sauce. Because of the difficulty in growing wasabi plants, substitutes made of mixtures of horseradish, mustard and food coloring has widely replaced freshly prepared wasabi. Some Japanese claim that the active chemicals in wasabi act as an antidote to food poisoning, one factor that might have led to the use of wasabi with raw fish dishes in Japan.

Japanese Cuisine: The Growing Popularity

The Japanese are very inventive. They are constantly looking for new ways to make a dish look imaginative and mouth-watering, as well as bringing out the flavor of the food in the best way possible.

Some chefs abroad have invented new dishes using ingredients they can get locally. In places like Los Angeles, sushi has become quite popular and chefs create sushi unlike any you can get in Japan. For an example, the California Roll has avocado (avocadoes are very uncommon in Japan), crab and occasionally, mayonnaise. They have become so popular that some Tokyo chefs are serving them back home too!

As the number of Japanese restaurants grows, more and more people are discovering Japanese food. What makes it increasingly popular is most likely the wide variety of healthy dishes, the rich tradition, and the beautiful arrangements - a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds!