Going to Japan, I was forced out of my comfort zone and into foods I've never tried before. Granted, I would skip out on a few items that would make my stomach squirm-- but there are even some American dishes that make me do that. (I'm looking at you potato salad)
Without further ado I'm going to list my top 8 most missed foods that I ate when I was in Japan.
Without further ado I'm going to list my top 8 most missed foods that I ate when I was in Japan.
8) Kombu Tsukudani (佃煮)
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| Poor resized image quality. Sorry. |
Kombu is a sweetened (with a bit of saltiness) seaweed. This is typically used to put on top of your rice and gives it a bit of flavor. At first, I wasn't too impressed with it since it wasn't too flavorful, but after eating it nearly every day, I've come to miss it already. It taste like it has a bit of ginger on it too, which gives it its faint sweetness.
7) Shrimp Sushi (えび寿司）
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| source: sushiencyclopedia.com |
I'm not a fish person.
I've never been a fish person. However, I occasionally get the craving for some shrimp sushi every once in awhile, but one without wasabi in it... It isn't bad, really it isn't. And there is a huge misconception around sushi that it's quite a shame. However, it's understandable.
6) Curry-Rice（カレーリス）
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| source : drewpan.files.wordpress.com |
My host mother prepared this for me and my friend (Kata) who was with me while I was in Japan. It wasn't too spectacular only because she put it on the sweeter side, just in case I wouldn't enjoy the spiciness (I've come to realized that my host mother really went above and beyond while preparing food for me) I really enjoyed the curry, and I miss the aroma of the curry shops on the way back from school. (We should've went Kata!)
5) Yakiniku (焼肉）
Yakiniku (translates to grilled meat more or less) is a Japanese grill. Pretty much you get slabs of red meat (typically beef and pork) and you grill 'em up with some veggies on the side. My host mother likes to use red pepper, yellow pepper, onion, and pumpkin with it. And we have various sauces we could choose from.
Although it wasn't a restaurant, I was pretty impressed. Though... my host parents had to flip my meat for me, and put it on my plate. The meat would sizzle and pop, and being the weak punk I am-- I couldn't touch it. I'm so sad haah...
4) Nikupan (肉パン）
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| That thing on the right was gross. Never again will I eat that. |
Nikupan (translates to Meat Bun) is a Chinese food. Although there are different variations of it, the most common ones are the curry, chicken, and pork buns. The one that I've always had was the pork bun, and I deeply regretted not getting it sooner. I had tried it out towards the end of my two weeks in Japan, and I really wished I had tried the other flavors besides the pork.
3) Yakisoba （焼きそば）
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| source: wikipedia |
The first time I had tried Yakisoba. I had bought it at the corner store in America and it was a maruchan instant type of stuff (the company that makes the ramen). It was so disgusting that I had to throw it away. The second time I tried it was at a small event my town was holding, and they so happen to be serving Yakisoba. It was alright. And the third time I tried it was at a festival while I was in Japan. I loved it.
Yakisoba is a wheat noodle with soy sauce, pork, spicy ginger, and some fish flakes. There are usually cabbage and carrots in it too. It's pretty yummy and inexpensive to buy.
2) Mochi Ice Cream （餅イスクレーム）
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| source : sushitrio.files.wordpress.com P.S this was the brand of mochi ice cream that I ate |
Mochi ice cream is my lord and savior in disguise. Mochi is a sweetened rice that is pounded to become a sticky rice. Then you stick ice cream in it (the one I had was vanilla) and it's the yummiest thing I've had in such a long time. I really enjoy mochi and it's a texture you have to get use to. But it's sticky and it's fun to chew.
My host mother would literally buy it every two days for me and Kata (mostly me though) because we would eat through the box of them. There was 9 in total, and I would manage to eat at least 3-4 of them. They aren't big either, but after you had my host mother's delicious dinner, you were stuffed for at least 3 hours. Haah.
1) Tonkatsu （とんかつ）
Tonkatsu is deep fried pork cutlets. It's a western style dish made (sorta) healthy. To be honest, this was my favorite meal during the entire trip and I had it four times and was still happy. Tonkatsu is typically served with sliced cabbage and rice. Though with the picture above, I had miso soup and some other various sides dishes (I'm not too sure what they were to be honest)
After I came home Friday night, the day before I left to go back to America. I hadn't had dinner yet, so my host mother asked me if I wanted anything special. So I asked for tonkatsu, and so she quickly went to it. (Let me tell you, this woman really did bend over backwards for me. Japanese hospitality)
My host mother was so proud of me to see me eat so much that she was smiling from ear to ear. I'm not a big eater. And I was also crying my eyes out beforehand (so my stress level was high) and because of that, I was weak and needed food.
The next day for breakfast, Mitsuko-san (my host mother) made me tonkatsu again and said. "It's because you ate so much yesterday that I'm making this for you again. I was so relieved and so happy!" Then she told me how she is a small eater like myself, and thought I was going to eat a lot because I'm an American.
Stereotypes don't get you anywhere. But I still appreciated her kindness and I miss all of my friends and family I made there so much.
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