にほんでたべもの

にほんでたべもの

Food in Japan

Feeding my family in Japan is a great adventure. Before living in Japan, I had very limited knowledge of Japanese food. I knew of sushi and hibachi…miso soup and tempura. Loren and I have always loved trying different types of food, everything from Filipino to Indian. Also, one of our hobbies is cooking new types of food- everything from falafel to smoked southern BBQ with homemade BBQ sauce. My horizons were broadened this past February when I first experienced Japan. Loren and I had the luxury of spending eleven days in Japan and tried many foods, from convenience store dinners in our hotel, to bento boxes on trains, Japanese Yakiniku (including cow tongue), raw squid with a Japanese friend, Kinme by the ocean, mochi and bean paste desserts with Loren’s boss, cherry blossom ice cream under the sakura trees, and natto (fermented soy beans) for breakfast…the list goes on. We even had the pleasure of trying takoyaki for dinner at our Japanese friends house right before we left in May.

In reality, actually moving to Japan and preparing meals for the kids or trying to take them out to a restaurant is a bit less romantic. From grocery shopping to resisting the McDonalds 5 minutes from our house, the challenge has been great. Grocery shopping for six without a vehicle was the first greatest challenge. Much of the “American” food is very expensive, as is fruit. The selection is different, and in some ways, more limited than in America. A few weeks ago I learned that Japan imports more then half of its food. There are so many people living in Japan and little space for growing the amount of food it needs. We have fallen in love with Japanese rice and Japan is self-sufficient in providing 100% of its rice supply. In the beginning, I would mostly just wander the isles of the supermarket looking for anything familiar and trying to Google translate labels (ummm, still kinda do). I would peak over at everyone’s shopping carts, trying to figure out what people were buying and wonder what they cook with it (also still do). About a month ago, I was given the opportunity to visit Avalyn’s elementary school to taste a school lunch sample. I felt like I was catching a glimpse of what might be served as a homecooked meal in Japan. The following week, I was invited to a mom luncheon at a Japanese restaurant and had cold udon and a variety of other Japanese dishes. At church today we also had a fellowship lunch of udon (which was awesome) and we continue to seek out and learn about the flavors of Japan.

Feeling inspired, I made miso saba and Japanese curry (Kitty’s favorite) last week. We cook fish with heads on them, fresh veggies, lots of cabbage and tons of rice. My focus lately has been to ask a few friends to teach me how to cook Japanese food. I learned about mirin and cooking miso saba from my Japanese language instructor. A friend last week taught me how to cook Okonomiyaki and I am in the works of lining up a sushi lesson. I also just recently got some tips on rice ball making. I want to learn so much about Japan, and if I can cook the way a Japanese mother cooks I can utilize the authentic ingredients surrounding me, instead of seeking out all things American…and lower my grocery bill a bit in the process.

 

I have to admit, Loren and I have been keeping some nostalgia in the house through BBQing and splurging on cans of beans and tortillas at the international food store in the mall. Loren even made homemade chorizo.

 

The kids eat Japanese food at school and Avalyn is thankful she learned how to use chopsticks in America. Avalyn says her favorite food is the school rice and she also loves when we cook a whole fish. I would say London mostly loves the rice, she also really enjoys salmon and cheeeeeese (another hard things to find the type we had in America and in a larger quantity). Sonia loves rice and she looooves Yamachan chicken wings. Kitty loves onigiri (rice balls) and Japanese curry.

I used this recipe as a rough guide to making the saba miso with the other tips from my language teacher:

Saba Misoni