Japan has greater care and imagination
given to the presentation of food perhaps only comparable to
France. The Japanese table arrangement alone is meticulously in
it's presentation with attention being placed to the smallest
things including who the chopsticks are pointing at.
As throughout Asia, rice (golan) is the staple food in Japan
with the Japanese preferring eating only native born medium -
grained rice.
Japanese cuisine is unique as a large number of raw foods are
used. Tuna (akami) is the main fish used for sashimi. The raw
tuna is often eaten with soy sauce and a green horse-radish
mustard (wasabe). Cooked food is light and cooked with very
little oil and soups are very popular, mainly clear broth type
or the thicker miso variety both are drank directly from the
bowl at the same time as the main course. shrimp, squid and
vegetables are often dipped in in flour and then deep-fried,
This method is called tempura.
A newcomer to the Japanese diet it red meat and the most famous
meat is Kobe beef. Named after a manner of raising the cattle
rather than the City near Tokyo. To raise beef in Kobe tradition
means to pamper it, to administer massages to the living beef,
and to feed it on an special diet including beer to keep the
animal constantly relaxed and lazy. It is no surprise that Kobe
beef is really expensive.
Japanese vegetables include bamboo shoots, onion, snow peas,
eggplant, mushrooms, and potatoes.
The Japanese have created their own version of fast
food throughout the years with the earliest being the Bento Box, Bento
Boxes date back to the 1100s and are traditionally wooden boxes
containing a complete meal of various sushi or rice balls, vegetables or
even a desert. Today Bento Boxes are popular at train stations and
convenience stores.
Tea is taken with all meals and at all hours of the day. The
famous Japanese tea ceremony, or chanoyu, is a highly formalized
ritual dating back to the 13th century.
Saké, a fermented beverage made from rice or other grain, is a
popular drink and dates back to the 3rd century, when rice,
chestnuts and millet would be chewed by the whole village and
then spat out into a tub to ferment. fortunately today it would
not be produced like this.