5 Unusual Japanese Food

5 Unusual Japanese Food

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1.Zaru soba (Cold soba noodles)

Let’s be honest, cold noodles sounds like something you’d only eat the morning after you got a late-night Chinese takeaway and woke up with a pounding headache and sweet and sour sauce smeared around your face. But in a country with such hot and humid summers, these chilled buckwheat noodles dipped into a sweet broth with green onions and wasabi are very refreshing.

2. Uni (Sea Urchin)

Genuinely one of the greatest foods in the world, though it might not look like it. A complex medley of flavours – sweet yet bitter, salty yet delicate – if the golden brown of the sea urchin appears on your plate you know it’s going to be a good meal.

3.Okonomiyaki

A savoury pancake made with shredded cabbage, okonomiyaki literally means “what you like cooked”. Grilled on a special hot plate in the middle of the table, popular fillings include pork and squid. Goes wonderfully with three or four Asahi beers.

4.Tori Gai (Japanese Cockle)

Large, succulent and sweet, Tori Gai are extremely rare and so rather expensive. But by God are they good. You have to have a special licence to catch them and it’s a good thing too, otherwise everybody would be doing it.

5.Kakigori

A shaved ice dessert, topped with syrup and condensed milk. Kakigori is a snow cone’s sexy younger sister. Commonly served at local festivals during the summertime.

Japan Exotic Cuisine

Japan Exotic Cuisine

1. SHIRAKO ( fISH SPERM)

After reading that individuals in Japan eat fish sperm from male fishes as a popular dish at pubs, I found it disgusting to be eating sperm from a fish or any sperm. I personally find it hard to put my head around eating sperm, however this may be because of cultural differences and the environment where I grew up.

2. BASAHI (RED HORSE MEAT)

Like raw salmon which can be serve in sushi restaurants in Calgary, individuals in Japan eat raw horse meat as an option as well. I find this to be an interesting cuisine since we eat numerous of animals and some animals and seafood raw or rare. This therefore does not seem  odd to me that people would eat horse. However, eating raw horse meat would be a challenge for me, if I had the chance to experience it.

3. FUGU(POISONOUS FISH)

This dish is a dangerous dish, since it contains poisonous skins and organs, where only license chefs can prepare and cook this dish as it kills a couple of people every year. Eating this dish is highly dangerous, but I assume individuals take the risk because of it being a delicious dish. I believe that even though the chef may be license in preparing and cooking the dish, chefs could make a mistake, therefore resulting in the deaths of people in Japan every year.

4. KUJIRA AND IJURA

This fourth cuisine is whales and dolphins where individuals can prepare these in any sort of way they decide. I believe that because of whales and dolphins being a cuisine in Japan, whales and dolphins will become extinct because of the amount of people who eat this. I personally do not like eating seafood, therefore I most likely won’t ever try experience eating one and don’t have the heart to eat whales and dolphins.

5. SHRIOUO(dancing icefish)

I believe that Japanese people find it natural to be eating these certain kind of unique dishes since they most likely grew up eating these dishes on a regular basis. Cultural differences and assumptions would cause me to be afraid to challenge myself to try these exotic dishes. I would assume the worse of these cuisine before actually experiencing them. My mind would make the assumption that it would taste bad because of the sight and knowing what kind of ingredients are used to make these exotic cuisines.

5 Weird and Wonderful Japanese Food

5 Weird and Wonderful 

Japanese Food

1. DANGO

Dango is a general name for mochi dumplings that are ball-shaped. The mochi itself is normally not sweetened but the sauces and toppings are. In my  opinion, they are a casual and everyday type of Japanese sweets that are skewered on bamboo sticks so as to make them easier and more fun to eat.

                                         2. OMURICE

Omurice or omelet rice is ketchup fried rice that has been wrapped with a thin crepe-like fried egg. It was created in Japan in the early 1900’s and introduced as a western style dish. Omurice has been a popular food among people of all ages, especially children. I secretly love it too.

3. TEPPANYAKI

Teppanyaki is grilled meat and vegetables that have been prepared on a flat iron grill. The meat used in this meal is usually beef but is not limited to it and can sometimes be interchangeable with a grilled Yakiniku beef that has been cooked on a slotted grill.

                                         4. WAKAME SALAD

Wakame is seaweed that has been cultivated in Japan for over 1000 years. The Salad may include Tofu, sesame seeds, and other variants of see weed. My family love it with soy sauce and vinegar.

5.DONBURI

Donburi is a bowl of rice that can have meat, fish, and/or vegetables on top. It is a type of Japanese food that is normally made at home or taken as a quick and filling meal from restaurants that serve fast food. When I go to restaurants that serve Donburi they are packed with office workers and salary men.

7 Kinds Of Sushi In Japan

7 Kinds Of Sushi In Japan

                                 

 1. IKURA GUNKAN

          (Salmon)

   2. EBI NIGIRI

 (Cooked Shrimp)

3. KAPPA MAKI

 (Cucumber)

4. MAGURO NIGIRI

(A lean cut of tuna)

5. UNI

(Gonad of Sea urchin)

6. TORO

( Fatty Bluefin Tuna belly)

7.  TAMAGOYAGI

(Fried egg)

5 Snacks From Japan

5 Snacks From Japan

 1. WAGASHI

Flavor profile: Small, sweet, multi-colored cakes and dumplings that glide across your taste buds.

• Part of Japanese food culture for over 300 years, these petite, sweet-tooth entrancing creations seriously look like fairy food.

2. MOCHI

Flavor profile: Sweet, sticky, and chewy, these rice cakes can be enjoyed by themselves but are also the best addition to your ice cream sundae.

• No one really knows where the mysterious mochi originated from, but Japanese mythology attributes this delicacy to the arrival of kami (Shinto spirits) to Earth.

3. TOKYO BANANA

Flavor profile: A cream-filled cake and the more frou-frou cousin of a Twinkie (also 50 times more delicious).

Fun facts:As the name so discreetly suggests, this banana-shaped goodie originated in Tokyo, Japan’s trendy HQ.

• Tokyo Banana cakes aren’t just your grandma’s desserts—with flower, panda, giraffe, and Hello Kitty patterns, the cakes are a trip for your taste buds and your inner kid.

4. DAIFAKU

This is what most westerns consider to be “Mochi”. Daifukumochi (大福餅), or Daifuku (大福) (literally “great luck”), is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly red bean paste made from azuki beans. 

*What is The Difference of Mochi and Daifaku?

mochi is not naturally sweet, which is why dango and daifuku exist because these are mochi that have additives to make them into sweet snacks or desserts. 





5. WASABI PEAS

A classic Japanese snack, the famous wasabi peas. Simple green peas covered by a wasabi flavored mixture. Usually, consumed with beer or sake as a snack before dinner.

Top 7 Best Traditional Japanese Food

Top 7 Best Traditional

Japanese Food

1. SUSHI

Sushi is, without doubt, one of the most famous foods to come from Japan. A dish that was born in ancient times, sushi originated from the process of preserving fish in fermented rice. Today it’s made with vinegared rice and fresh fish, presented in a number of ways and shapes.

2.SASHIMI

                                       

Centuries before Japanese people were eating sushi, they first enjoyed raw fish without the rice. While the name “sashimi” refers to any thinly sliced raw food, including raw beef (gyuu-sashi), chicken (tori-zashi), and even horse (basashi), fish and seafood are the most popular varieties.

3.SOBA

Soba is another type of noodle dish that has been eaten in Japan for centuries. Made from buckwheat flour, soba has a long thin shape and firm texture and is very healthy. Like udon noodles, soba can be served in a hot broth or chilled with a dipping sauce, making it a delicious and healthy option any time of year.

4.SUKIYAKI

Sukiyaki is a one-pot dish of beef, vegetables, and tofu cooked with a sweet soy sauce broth in a shallow cast iron pot. It became highly popular after the centuries-long ban on eating meat was lifted during the Meiji period, and is the perfect way to enjoy Japan’s incredibly rich and tender wagyu beef.

5. KAISEKI

The ultimate in Japanese fine dining, kaiseki is a tasting course comprised of small, seasonally themed dishes crafted with the utmost precision and attention to detail. Kaiseki was born from the traditional tea ceremony, where small morsels of food were offered alongside the bitter green tea, and over time these offerings evolved into a multi-course haute cuisine meal.

6. UDON

Udon is a dense and chewy noodle made from wheat flour. It’s one of the most popular foods in Japan due to its delicious taste, inexpensive price point, and versatility — udon can be eaten hot or cold and customized with any number of toppings. There are three famous regional varieties of udon noodle: sanuki udonfrom Kagawa prefecture in southwest Japan, kishimen from Nagoya in central Japan, and inaniwa udon from Akita in northern Japan.

7. MISO SOUP

Miso soup may seem deceptively simple, but it’s an essential Japanese food that’s served with any traditional meal. The soup is made from dashi stock – either fish or kelp stock – combined with miso bean paste to bring a savory umami element to any meal. Tofu and sliced green onions, as well as ingredients like fish, clams, and pork, can be added and may vary by the season.

Weird Food In Japan

Weird Food 

In Japan

              FUNAZUSHI

Some consider funazushi a luxury dish. It’s fermented carp – taking more than a year to prepare. It’s said that sushi originated from funazushi.

Where can I eat funazushi?

Funazushi is hard to find, but it’s regional to Shiga prefecture. Head on over to Lake Biwa in Shiga where funazushi is made from the carp caught in the lake.

                                        SHIRAKO

What is shirako?

Shirako is a creamy Japanese delicacy that consists of male cod genitalia and sperm. It’s sometimes eaten raw as sushi or eaten boiled with ponzu sauce.

Where can I eat shirako?

Shirako can be found throughout Japan. Due to how common it is, it can often be found in izakaya (Japanese pubs) or sushi bars.

BASASHI(HORSE SASHIMI)

What is basashi?

Basashi is a raw horse dish that is often served as sashimi or sushi. It’s sometimes called cherry blossom meat due to how pink it is.

Where can I eat basashi?

Basashi can commonly be found in the Tohoku region (Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata). Prefectures such as Kumamoto, Nagano and Oita are famous for basashi.

                                        HORUMON

What is horumon?

Horumon is a Japanese dish made with either beef or pork which is skewered and grilled. It consists of esophagus (gari), heart (haatsu), pulmonary artery (haatsumoto), uterus (kobukuro), mammary (oppai), diaphragm (sagari), pancreas (shibire), intestine (shiro), rectum (teppo), etc. In the Kansai dialect, horumon means “discarded goods.” It’s also considered a “stamina” food which is supposedly good for extracurricular activities.

Where can I eat horumon?

The first horumon dish was prepared in Osaka of 1940. Now, it can be found throughout Japan.

    HACHINOKO

What is hachinoko?

Hachinoko is a traditional Japanese delicacy made by cooking bee and wasp larvae in soy sauce and sugar. Again, these insect dishes were first consumed because they provide a good source of protein. Like Timon and Pumba of The Lion King (1994), the late Emperor Hirohito enjoyed eating these delicious little critters.

Where can I eat hachinoko?

Like all the other insect dishes, hachinoko is regional to Nagano.