food: Sushi, Sashimi, Natto, Nabe and Tongatsu

Two months ago I thought Japanese food is primarily consisting of raw fish (sushi/sashimi), fatty deep fried veggies (tempura) and rice as carbohydrate deliverer.

Of course, there is plenty available of that stuff, and I really like it by now. I even think that tuna sashimi (raw tuna slices) are a bit boring compared to some raw scallops or prawns... This is how taste can change - year ago any of these would have scared me away.

















Thanks to Fumiko-san's delicious food at home I had the opportunity to learn that this type of food is only a small part of the Japanese kitchen. And I only eat rice a few times per week.

My favourite is called Tongatsu, a hot pot comparable to a German Veggie Stew, with sweet potato, mushrooms and thin cut pork meat in a spicy broth.















Nabe is a similar dish, but with potatoes, Udon Noodles and cabbage. Nabe is served in a big pot in the centre of the table and each person takes the ingredients according to preference.
















A highlight was Okonomyaki a type of veggie pancake which is cooked at the table.




traditionally there are always several dishes served and one takes from everything. Another delicious, non-fish-dish is a hotpot　with Onions and thin cut beef, which is eaten together with rice.


Gyoza soup with soysprouts is great when coming home from the icy weather.

of course there is also a lot of fishy stuff involved: sardines, squid and fish of any kind are an important component of daily food, as well as Salad.






























The most famous food in Japan, which every foreigner is asked if he has already tried it is NATTO. No fish, but well-fermented soy beans in a slimey texture and a strong smell in the only ingredient. It is eaten with rice and I found it not so bad. It is like a strong cheese we have - and I guess after some time I would also do anything to spice up my zero-taste rice.

http://hararie-japan-tokyo-tokyo.com/japanese_food/2009/08/healthly-food-natto-of-japan.html


The Japanese eating habits
It is remarkable that most Japanese are not overweight and even the ones that do only work without doing much sports seem to have no weight issues even when hitting the age of 40 or 50. This really surprised me, as the cuisine is not particularly low-fat or low calorie at all. And the Japanese love cakes, doughnuts, chocolate and all sorts of other traditional and modern sweets. You can find patisserie-shops and cafes at every corner. They have no problem spending 1200Yen (10 EUR) for a piece of cake and even the skinniest girls eat it.
But they only eat the cakes directly in the cafe or at home.

So my theory why they stay thin is because they never eat on their way, inbetween trains, or while walking. Even though they spent hours in the train and it would be for me the most straight forward thing to do - nobody even snacks anything. Nobody is even eating an apple while waiting or so. It is considered very impolite to eat in such public places.
Only children are allowed to eat in the Metro or the bus. Don't know if this is true, but it is the only major difference in the bahaviour I can see.

Mental note to myself: also keep this habit back in Germany :-)