Japan: Food Favourites
Japan is full of gastronomic delights so of course being incorrigible foodies, Kapil and I were in heaven. Emphasis on quality, technique and presentation is the hallmark of the Japanese approach to most things; naturally this includes food too. The Japanese attitude towards food (cooking and eating) is reverent and can, at times, be ceremonious. To an outsider this may appear too serious and intimidating, however, that is not the point at all. The idea is to savour food slowly and deliberately to truly appreciate ingredients and flavours, and also honour the efforts of the cook.
Outside of Japan, most of us have only experienced a small sliver of the sheer variety in Japanese cuisine—each of Japan’s eight regions has numerous specialties, and then certain dishes (like Ramen, for example) have countless regional variations.
Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, Yakitori, Ramen, Nabe, Donburi....The types of dishes to try here are numerous. Plus, there are as many types of restaurants in Japan as there are types of food, and each promises a unique dining experience.
Here are the dishes we sought and enjoyed the most during our two weeks in Japan:
1) Ramen:
Ramen is a noodle soup dish that originated in China and has become one of the most popular dishes in Japan. There are enough regional variations of this dish to make it almost impossible for anyone to truly be a ramen expert.
Ramen Kazu near Kinkakuji in Kyoto: This was our most memorable ramen meal.
The main components of a bowl of ramen are: broth, noodles and toppings. The most popular types of ramen broth are: Shio (Salt), Shoyu (Soy Sauce), Miso (Soybean Paste) and Tonkotsu (Pork Bones).
Tenyo Ramen Osaka: This is our second most memorable ramen meal.
Ramen Todai in Kyoto Railway Station
The noodles are made of wheat and can be thin, regular or thick. Ramen topping options are numerous but the most common ones are Chashu (sliced barbecued or braised pork), Menma (fermented bamboo shoots), Kamaboko (steamed fish cake), spring onions, leeks, seasoned boiled egg, bean sprouts, and seaweed. When the three key components are in perfect harmony, a bowl of ramen feels like a spiritual experience.
Kyoto: We don't know the name of this restaurant near Daimaru. Click here for exact location.
When tucking in to delicious hot bowl of ramen, slurping is not only ok, it is encouraged.
Viewing Suggestion: The Ramen Girl (2008) is a American-Japanese film starring Brittany Murphy. Murphy's character follows her boyfriend to Tokyo but is abandoned by him shortly afterwards. Adrift and lonely in a foreign land, she decides to become a ramen chef in the hope of bringing the healing power of food to others and to herself. I enjoyed this light-hearted movie, particularly for the parts where her temperamental Japanese mentor teaches her about the art of making ramen.
2) Yakitori:
Yakitori is grilled, bite-sized pieces of chicken on a skewer. The skewers are grilled over a charcoal fire and seasoned with salt or tare (a type of thick sweet soy sauce). Various chicken parts are used for these skewers—breast, thigh, skin, liver, and other innards. Most yakitori restaurants also serve grilled skewers of other items such as shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shishito peppers, tofu, garlic etc.
Delicious yakitori meal in Osaka: We went to this restaurant on the recommendaton of our Airbnb host in Osaka. Click here for location.
Yakitori is inexpensive food served in informal settings; generally in yakitori ya (specialised yakitori restaurants) or izakaya (a type of Japanese bar). Eating at an izakaya or yakitori ya is an experience unlike any other. A must-do. Afterwards, the smell of charcoal grill smoke on your clothes, bags, skin and hair will remind you of your outing.
Viewing Suggestion: Anthony Bourdain’s 'No Reservations’: In Season 4-Episode 16 of his popular travel show, Bourdain samples yakitori, sushi and soba in Tokyo.
3 & 4) Sashimi and Sushi:
Most of us use the word sushi quite loosely to encompass Japanese preparations comprised of raw seafood, or some combination of raw or cooked seafood, rice and nori sheets. However, sushi is vinegared rice topped with other ingredients such as seafood, vegetables and meat. A Japanese preparation that consists of slices of raw fish alone is called sashimi. If you have never given raw seafood a go, then Japan is the place to try it for the first time.
With their emphasis on quality, freshness and technique, the Japanese produce delicious edible art in the name of sashimi and sushi. While they take the creation of this art seriously, they do like to have fun with the presentation.
So, there are restaurants where you get to pick your dishes from an endless train carrying plate after plate of various types of sushi and sashimi.
Sushi train in Osaka, near Dotonbori.
Or, you can go to a place where you order your food using a screen, and your dishes arrive at your table (flying almost), on tiny plates on a conveyor belt. No waiters or staff anywhere in sight.
Genki Sushi in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Of course, there are the Michelin star sushi restaurants too, if that’s your thing.
Viewing Suggestions:
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011): This documentary is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, who is considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station; the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating.
How to Eat Sushi: You've Been Doing It Wrong: In this Youtube video famous sushi chef Naomichi Yasuda shows us how to do it right.
5) Takoyaki:
Originally invented by a street vendor in Osaka, these delectable bite-sized globules are a popular snack all over Japan; usually bought from street food stalls.
The name Takoyaki literally means octopus grilled, but there is a bit more to it than that. These gooey morsels of deliciousness are made on cast iron pans with rows of small half spherical moulds (like a profiterole tray). A wheat flour batter is poured in the moulds and then topped with diced or minced octopus, green onion, tempura scraps and some pickled ginger. Perfect snack during a mid morning or late afternoon pit stop.
6) Okonomiyaki:
A delicious Japanese savoury pancake. A dish that is said to have originated in Osaka, Okonomi means ‘as you like it’ and yaki means ‘grilled’. It is made up of a flour batter topped with lots of shredded cabbage, eggs and toppings of your choice (options include: green onion, other vegetables, shrimp, squid, octopus, pork belly, and even cheese). Okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise are applied liberally on a cooked okonomiyaki. You can also choose to add seaweed flakes (aonori), bonito flakes (katsuobushi), and pickled ginger (beni shoga) on top of that.
As the name suggests, this is meant to be a very personalised meal; so, you will find restaurants where you are seated at tables fitted with special hotplates and the waiter brings you all the ingredients of your choosing and lets you mix and grill them to your liking (for okonomiyaki newbies, your waiter will swing by every few minutes to lend a hand). We tried this and it was a really fun experience. There are other restaurants where customers sit on long counters and watch their okonomiyaki being cooked by an expert.
