What's your favorite Japanese food?

G

ghettocities

Sempai

16 Jun 2002

812

13

• 18 Jun 2002

• #26

When I was in Japan, I asked if my girlfriend wanted to go out to eat? When she asked what I wanted, I said, "A Grilled Cheese Sandwich", she had no clue what I was talking about. I then explained it was practically an all American thing like the slice of cheese we put in between the two grilled pieces of bread. Understanding it was American food, she took me to an American restaurant in Shinjuku. I remember we ordered our drinks first, and next to the drink menu had a list of snacks. I noticed "Beef Jerky", and my mouth began to salivate, so I ordered it for 500yen. We were interrupted moments later when our drinks arrived. I sipped my corona and looked with confusion at what was then placed in front of me. It was the beef jerky in A CRYSTAL CHAMPAGNE GLASS, I laughed to notice it wasn't even that fancy of a restaurant and they probably had just assumed that beef jerky, all .99 cents of it was a delicacy in America, it's like people who eat a candy bar with a fork and knife, cultural differences are funny but not stupid, it's little things like that happening that kept a smile on my face the whole time I was there, even in my sleep probably.

Josh

 

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Admin

14 Mar 2002

21,050

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• 19 Jun 2002

• Thread starter
• #27

Hi Josh,

thanks for sharing your story. Being an ignorant European I even had no clue what "beef jerky" was. Browsed Google and studied a few recipes. I don't think that Central European kitchen offers anything closely comparable to "jerky".

Btw, I found some teriyaki jerky

http://www.thejerkyguy.com/freejerky.html

Ever found that in Japan, lol?

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 19 Jun 2002

• #28

Over here in the UK we have a snack called Peperami, which is like jerky. I think Peperami is made from pork though, and comes in several spicy savoury flavours. Not the same as jerky, but close enough. A funny observation when my friend first tore open the outer plastic film wrapping to reveal the wrapped salami inside: "How convenient. They even wrap it in a johnny"

LOL Josh. From the UK I can't totally get my head around grilled cheese sanwiches either. Same goes for cheese steaks too. Wish they had more meat on a stick over here though. I also love corn dogs. Man, the UK is behind with everything!

 

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Admin

14 Mar 2002

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• 19 Jun 2002

• Thread starter
• #29

Um, yeah, if jerkies are salami-like snacks, we have them too. The recipes I mentioned above explained how to prepare them at home, they exceeded the limits of my culinary imagination.

Man, the UK is behind with everything!

Click to expand...

Well, only if you view corn dogs and jerkies as culinary progress.

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 19 Jun 2002

• #30

Jerky... I am not sure how to prepare that at home. Would take a fair bit of drying and seasoning though. I don't believe I have the patience to do that when I could just nip to the store in a second.

I still think one of the greatest culinary inventions is instant ramen. I wonder how many days I'd have gone hungry if it didn't exist!

Thomas... I believe meat on a stick is the future. In the future we will not longer stick utensils into the food we are about to ingest. Besides the airborne bacteria you are introducing into the food, doing that will be seen as inefficient and we won't have the time for it anyway since all our time will be taken up in front of a computer screen of some sort. We will no longer use chopsticks to pick up food. The food will be on the chopstick. Meat on a stick. It's the future.

Ok, I should be getting to bed now

 

moyashi

後輩

15 Apr 2002

1,717

19

• 19 Jun 2002

• #31

anybody ever try kangaroo jerky? I've seen in the shops that specialize in foreign goodies ... hehe poor matilda.

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

0

• 19 Jun 2002

• #32

YIPES!!!!

WHOA! I love jerky but never had that before!!! Had buffalo and elk jerky and salmon but nothing that exotic! The closest to kangaroo is a stuffed koala bear an aunt gave me years ago..supposedly it is made of kangaroo fur...(keep this a secret from PETA..lol)...the most unusual "meat" I've had was probably canned whale meat...was from Japan too. I only recall it being very seasoned with soy and sugar and other spices so I could really taste it but the texture was like tuna..canned tuna.

 

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Admin

14 Mar 2002

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• 19 Jun 2002

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• #33

The food will be on the chopstick. Meat on a stick. It's the future.

Click to expand...

I was told that the future is insects: they exist a-plenty and are rich in proteins. Grilled locusts were the most unusual food I've ever tried in Asia. They taste like potato chips, but contain no fat. Oh, and you can also serve them on a stick.

Kangaroo and Koalas? Couldn't eat them without guilty conscience, hehe.

There's a discussion about whales somewhere in this forum. My wife used to have whale meat for school lunch, she hated it for its smell and the high amount of fat (tran-oil). Whale steak however must be delicious, but frankly, I wouldn't touch it for obvious reasons.

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 19 Jun 2002

• #34

Hmmm, I am not so sure if I'd try certain types of meat such as dog or cat. Tried alligator and horse though (horse meat is popular in France, or used to be 8 years ago). I don't think I'd touch koala. The image of those poor little blighters really turns my around inside

Thomas, you may be right about the insects too. Consumed in vast quantities in Asia and Africa, they are considered a delicacy in other parts. Why, recently here in London an new restaurant called "Edible" was opened. They serve up dishes such as ants marinaded into mashed potato as well as many other insect based dishes. For tipples, you can try a glass of their champagne with a pickled scorpion resting at the bottom. Prices are pretty high!

I've had locusts too, and you're right... they do taste somewhat like potato chips because they're just so crunchy. If you close your eyes and eat them you wouldn't even know you were eating an insect. If anyone is considering trying insects, I'd highly recommend starting with locusts unless you wanna go straight for the oversized African cockroaches

Here's another bit of food trivia... at cinemas in Korea, dried squid is consumed in a similar fashion to popcorn in the west

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

0

• 19 Jun 2002

• #35

UGH! The only time I eat insects are if I don't know they are there! I try not to make it a habit either. I used to see a program on Animal Planet tv called "Insectopia"...the guy resembled an actor who played "Curly" in the movie City Slickers...forgot his name now but this guy I guess was an entomologist (spelling?) and talked about some interesting insects. One episode was about edible insects...was very interesting and LOOKED yummy but the idea of eating worms and grasshoppers/crickets still turns my stomach. I would think that when you eat things like grasshoppers and crickets you'd get stuff stuck in you teeth. Anyway, I am strange in that I get grossed out at the idea of eating "escargo" and yet I wouldn't hesitate to eat clams and other shellfish...even eaten raw octopus. I guess I stepped on one too many snails here.

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

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• 19 Jun 2002

• #36

Dried squid?

I love that stuff but the theaters/cinemas must stink because the only dried squids I've eaten have been pretty smelly. We used to munch on that and/or "arare"/"senbei" while watching tv on weekend nights ages ago.

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 19 Jun 2002

• #37

I had bad stomach memories growing up watching Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom (you know, that banquet scene). I have a hard time eating wormlike things without legs such as snails, but I love seafood. I've tried dried squid and I do not know of the type eaten in S Korea (they are salted I believe, and not covered in butter!) but I ate the non smelly variety.

Raw octopus intrigues me. Octupus when cooked is a chewy mouthful, but what about raw? Does it cling onto you or slide down like raw oysters?

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

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• 20 Jun 2002

• #38

It's not slimy...

I think it can be a little chewy but firm. It's been a long time since I ate some...it's been at least three years since I've had it. I miss Japanese food but it isn't easy to get here in the central valley. We do have at least four Japanese restaurants..one of them really authentic..the other is similar to Beni Hana's. Up in Fresno you can go to "Chinatown" to a neat Japanese market (yeah...they call it Chinatown when all the stores you see are Japanese ones) and buy fresh seafood.

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 20 Jun 2002

• #39

We have Benihana's over here too and although I like their food... it does (pardon the expression) feel really westernized. I prefer going somewhere in Chinatown or a place with a more traditional approach to things. Benihana is still excellent for teppanyaki though!

Do they have "Yo! Sushi" over there? We've got several chains in the UK. It's a conveyor belt Japanese diner with robot drinks waiters too! I think I read that Yo! Sushi in Piccadilly (central London) has the longest sushi conveyor belt in Europe!

 

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Admin

14 Mar 2002

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• 20 Jun 2002

• Thread starter
• #40

This thread is growing fast. Shows that food is always a tasty topic, hehe.

@ insects: roaches and beetles are eaten throughout SE-Asia (Thailand exports them). I've read somewhere that they are also eaten in certain parts of Japan. Saw a docu about Aborigenes a few days ago: they eat this unusually huge kind of maggot, fried in leaves. Fried alive, of course.

@ dried squid: very yummy. Also healthier than potato chips or popcorn. Difficult to obtain in Europe.

@ horse meat: in Japan they offer horse sashimi. Horse meat is also eaten in Central Europe, ususally as meat-loaf. Although not very common anymore.

@ Escargots: absolutely tasteless without sauce (that's the reason why they are served with lots of garlic in France)

Reading your posts really made me hungry...

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

0

• 20 Jun 2002

• #41

I COULD NEVER EAT HORSES!

Yeah..I've seen those travel shows where natives dig up grubs and then eat them (like Lion King.."tastes like chicken")...somehow I picture the times I've accidentally stepped on them or dug them up and squished them accidentally...the idea grosses me out.
I love horses and I don't think I could or would want to eat one...hmmm, is that where the saying "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" came from?
We have some fastfood Japanese places: Masaru, (2) Teriyaki Bowls, Teriyaki Stix. I think that's it. The regular sitdown restaurants: Tachibana's (authentic..owners are from Japan), Tokyo Gardens (the Beni-Hana wannabe) and probably King Buffet which serves several kinds of ethnic foods including Japanese.

 

samuraitora

先輩

29 May 2002

903

3

• 20 Jun 2002

• #42

I remember the first time my nihongo no sensei told us what he ate for breakfast and everyone's reaction.

Later I tried the raw egg over cooked rice and still eat it about once or twice a week. That was over 9 years ago.

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

0

• 20 Jun 2002

• #43

raw eggs over rice

Yep...we used to do that fairly often back in the '60s (yeah, I am OLD) until there was some sort of warning about uncooked eggs so we stopped doing that. I don't like plain rice and I have to have something on it when I eat it...even if I just put shoyu on it.

 

TomAsInfinity

後輩

2 Apr 2002

91

2

• 20 Jun 2002

• #44

My pappa used to down raw eggs in the morning too for breakfast. I believe he did this till that salmonella warning in the early to mid 80s. I've never actually downed one whole or had it on donburi... but sometimes when I am making ramen I like to break a couple of eggs into the soup. They don't always cook throughout everytime I prepare it so sometimes turns out gooey. "Me no like"

jus_defy, if you don't like plain rice, you should try sesame seeds on top. I sometimes eat just that when I am in a snacky mood. The seeds give it that salty/savoury balance and are of course, nutritious

 

samuraitora

先輩

29 May 2002

903

3

• 20 Jun 2002

• #45

me no like gooey too

 

J

jus_defy

後輩

12 Jun 2002

35

0

• 20 Jun 2002

• #46

LOL!

 

Himura

Hadoken!!!!!

19 Jun 2003

648

1

• 1 Jul 2003

• #47

JAPANESE FOOD!!! -But what do you like best???

The Japanese kitchen knows a lot of really good meals... Yeah!
-But what is the most popular? -What kind of food do you like? -What would you prefer???
I love Ramen! yum yum....
...and sushi.....

 

Iron Chef

Villain

Rest in Peace

26 Feb 2003

2,337

86

• 3 Jul 2003

• #48

I've found that I have developed quite an affinity for Squid after my time in Japan. Octopus I can either take it or leave it, although I do love fresh Takoyaki. Unfortunately, Squid is not really considered popular fare here in America by most.

 

kirei_na_me

Where I'm Supposed to Be

31 Jan 2003

5,051

166

• 3 Jul 2003

• #49

Oh gosh. I have many favorites. Chirashi zushi, inari zushi, futomaki, katsudon, tempura soba, nikuman, daifuku, kitsune, all different variations of miso soup....this list could be neverending....

I have come to like squid too. I've got lots of it frozen now. Will probably use it for tempura and put it in a sauce Italian style.

 

Tellklaus

後輩

9 Jun 2003

27

1

• 3 Jul 2003

• #50

Sushi! especially a Tuna Fish one!