Japanese food

[emiru]

hey boys n girls...

I havent got alot xp with japanese food, but i want to, so i would like to get some pointers as to what to stay clear of and what is safe to eat. natto is obviously not eyecandy or consider as edible for most so you can skip the natto tips, natto stories are welcome tho...any other stuff? my only j-food xp comes with sushi at london central train station, not really a connuiessur(spell) :P

[Crispy]

Donburi is your friend, in all its forms. My favorites are oyakodon (chicken and egg on rice) and katsudon (breaded pork cutlets with egg on rice). And you thought Japanese food was healthy...

[katakori]

are you talking about japanese food in japan? you are planning a trip, or something??

anyway, any decent human being should (omg!! i speak like gai, now!!) eat,

at least once a week (in any order) :
=======================

tonkatsu/katsudon
fried crumbed pork cutlet, served either with a semi-sweet sauce (tokatsu) and minced cabage, or on a bowl of rice with a poached egg on top, and a little steemed with broth. make sure you get egg, and not tororo, if you don't like sticky things...
tonkotsu ramen
noodle soup where the broth is made with the marrow of pork bones. addictive! usually the noodle themselves are also different from the usual ramen. straight and finer.
sushi/sashimi
salmon (sâmon/sake), tuna (maguro), fat tuna (otoro), and eel (unagi) are a must!
tempura/tendon
deep fried battered stuff. often prawn/gambas, and vegetable. served with salt. and in the case of tendon, on a bowl of rice with a brownish sweet sauce.
yakitori
chicken skewers. be adventurous and try everything on stick. there are many other things than chicken, but it's some kind of generic name for grilled skewers.
yakiniku
grilled meat korean style. prefer the coal barbecue to the "cheaper" hot plate. get the fat meats.
onigiri
rice ball with some stuff in it (sometime just rice though), from grilled salmon to tuna-mayo, from fish eggs to tempura. often wrapped with nori (dried seaweed). try the dry nori and the wet nori (it gets wet when in contact with the rice. the dry one have a sheet of plastic wrap between them that you remove just before eating) to see which you prefer.
nikuman
steamed bun with meat in it. butaman is pork meat.
chicken tatsuta
mc donald's chicken sandwich only available in japan. marinated in ginger and soy sauce, with minced cabage, a mayo-like sauce, and sweet soft bun. yummy even if you don't like mc donald's stuff!!
senbe
japanese rice cookies. all shapes, tastes available. try them all!

daily :
====

gyoza
chinese dumplings usually filled with pork, ginger, and green onion, pan fried, then steemed.
miso
in soup or anywhere, miso has several types and several colors.
find the one you like, then have miso soup every morning with breakfast . miso can be cooked in a variety of ways, for example, meat marinated in miso for the yaki niku is just amazing.

once a month, at least :
===============

okonomiyaki
a lot of stuff mixed together and cooked like a big omelette on a hot plate. heavy stuff.
omuraisu
omelette on rice. cheap and nice.
kareraisu
japanese curry. or katsukare if you want katsudon in it

3 times per week at least :
=================

sake
cold or hot, dry or sweet... find the type you like. try them all and see what is your preference.

i might have forgotten something. but that should get you started. please, people add whatever is missing.

[GomiGirl]

hey boys n girls...

I havent got alot xp with japanese food, but i want to, so i would like to get some pointers as to what to stay clear of and what is safe to eat. natto is obviously not eyecandy or consider as edible for most so you can skip the natto tips, natto stories are welcome tho...any other stuff? my only j-food xp comes with sushi at london central train station, not really a connuiessur(spell) :P

The range and quality of Japanese food will depend on where you are living.. ie what country. If you are in Japan (the inventors of fast food eg stand-up noodle shops) then you can get everything so well categorised above by Katakori..

If you are outside Japan, your options will be limited. But the best Japanese food I found outside Japan was in the Japanese kitchen type shops that you can find in big cities and run by people who have actually been in Japan. Sushi is great for novelty factor but Japanese home style cooking is fantastic.

[canman]

Chahan. Can't forget chahan. Chinese fried rice.
Shabu shabu. Pork or beef cooked in boiling water and then dipped in either ponzu, or sesame sauce.
Gyu Tong. Beef tongue. That should be an everyday food, I think.
An donut, those sweet red been paste donuts. No wonder my diet keeps failing!

[ramchop]

once a month, at least :
===============

kareraisu
japanese curry. or katsukare if you want katsudon in it

Curry is a food made in heaven, but the Japanese variety is nothing special. If you're getting a monthly dose of kereraisu I hope you're getting at least a weekly dose of the vastly superior gaijin varieties.

[katakori]

of course, i was talking about j-food only here. katsu-kare is to curry what burger king is to hamburgers : something different, but sometimes you still have a craving for it, and not the original.

but you have to eat pasta italian style, curry indian style, a lot of french stuff, and so on, on a very regular basis, to keep an equilibrium in your gaijin-ness, in your gourmet abilities, and also so you can appreciate all the j-food like if it was for the first time again...

[emiru]

wow, sounds great guys...ill be keeping busy trying all that stuff out. I just found a japanese resturant nearby and checked out the menu, all i can remember is that they had miso soup. have to go there someday soon!

[katakori]

you never really answered about where you intend to eat japanese food...

the thing is that you can find many restaurants that claim to be japanese pretty much everywhere. but a lot of them are serving bad chinese food in disguise, made by not so skillful chinese people.

let me explain : is pizza hut making pizza? is mc donald's making burgers? anyone can make miso soup and chicken skewers. unfortunately, very few places even bother trying to make something "real". some do, and you should find them.

if you are in a big city like london, avoid the sushi places to start with. first, they are usually just trendy spots and have nothing japanese at all. and as GG said, you should try the "real" stuff. to do so, enquire about where the japanese tour buses bring their tourists for lunch. in paris, it is rue Sainte Anne, near the opera. there, you can find one japanese shop after the next, all serving real everyday food, like noodle soup (ramen), curries etc.

the best, of course, is to try it in japan, especially since food is one of the least expensive thing here

[emiru]

true, very true...Since we dont have many japanese restaurants here in Gothenburg there's not much to go on. One day i was sitting and having a beer across from a japanese restaurant and i saw many japanese business men and random j-ppl going in and out( as if they had a meal there and not as if they were on errands). If thats not a good sign that they serve genuine japanese cuisine i dont know what is, what do you think?

[American Oyaji]

*drool*

I need to go back to Japan.

AND SOON.

Buy I think you forgot the most important.


GYUDON!!!