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What Japanese Foods DON'T You Like?

What Japanese Foods DON'T You Like?


  • Total voters
    177

Brooker

Anjin
Contributor
10 Apr 2004
1,290
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What Japanese foods HAVE YOU TRIED that you didn't like?

I was adventurous and tried as many new foods as I could while I was in Japan, and most of them I liked. I'm usually pretty easy to please when it comes to food. The only things I didn't like were unagi (eel), and umeboshi (pickled apricot).

kabayakigif-1.jpg

unagi

Oh, and I can't stand nattou. The texture, smell, and taste is disgusting. It doesn't even taste like something that should be eaten. And in izakayas they'd sometimes serve chicken joints (don't know the Japanese name). Didn't like those. Usually that's the part of the chicken that gets thrown away.

But I'd like to stress that I really like Japanese food. There's only a few things that just didn't appeal to me.

(Feel free to help me with the names of some of these things. And please tell me of things you'd like to add to the poll and I'll add them.)
 
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I can't say that I don't like nattou (I hate the smell so much that I have never really tasted it!) But I really can't eat umeboshi! I checked wasabi just because I really don't prefer the taste. I CAN eat it but prefer not to!
 
Of the things you have on your list, I do not like nattou, umeboshi, okonomiyaki, crab brains, raw horse, salmon roe, and chicken joints(are we talking cartilage?).

Some other things I don't like are uni(sea urchin), shoga(pickled ginger), hasu(lotus root), konnyaku(potato jelly, I guess you could say)...and many others, I'm sure.

Unagi happens to be one of my favorites. Yum...unadon... ;-)
 
Crab Brains!

Oddly, I can stomach everything else. Yesterday I actually tried wasabi dipped nuts, and DAMN! That'll wake you up in the morning.

:eek2:
 
Although there is really very little in the way of food that I do not like, or that I won't eat, Natto is some of the nastiest stuff I have ever attempted to eat.

Of the other things on the list:

I have tried uni, and it is one of the very few things that I won't order when in a sushi restaurant.

I have never tried raw horse meat, and I doubt that I will.

Chicken joints? Well I have never smoked one, but I hear that they are ok if you don't inhale :)
 
Bob in Iowa said:
I have never tried raw horse meat, and I doubt that I will.

It's actually not bad at all. It's just the idea of it that's a little hard to get past (like a lot of Japanese food). Don't know if I'd make a habit of eating it though. Now that I've tried it I'm not feeling a huge desire to eat it again. It's really expensive too.

Chicken joints? Well I have never smoked one, but I hear that they are ok if you don't inhale

:50: +:smoke: = :D

I find it a little hard to believe that that many people have tried raw horse and crab brains. I think people are saying that they don't like it even though they haven't actually tried it. :eek: And when it comes to Japanese food, a lot of things that you wouldn't think you'd like, are actually good.

I didn't vote against crab brains because I never got up the courage to try it. Although I think it's good to try as many new things as possible, I've cleaned crabs before and I know that stuff ain't goin' in my mouth.

On another note, several of the items people voted against, I actually really like, such as okonomiyaki (like a Japanese omlette), squid/octopus, and salmon roe. With salmon roe it took me a long time to work up the courage to try it, but then I really liked it. I usually special order it when I get sushi. On special occasions I'll get a can of it from the local Asian market, but it's really expensive.
 
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What's more disturbing is a sea cucumber. They are worms that live on the bottom of the ocean and turn inside out to protect themselves from predators. You keep chewing and chewing on its slippery texture until it gets so hard that you just have to swallow it. It is called "NAMAKO" in Japan.

I like most of the food on the list except 'crab brain' 'raw horse meat' and 'konnyaku'; a lot of the Japanese dishes contain food with a weird texture or flavor.
 
oh I forgot umeboshi in my list !! ohhh man tooooooo sour >_<...they made me eat one WHOLE prume xD...so out of respect I ate it ;_; and I don't like crab brains either, just drunk lotsa beer with it hehe 😊
 
Brooker said:
I usually special order it when I get sushi. On special occasions I'll get a can of it from the local Asian market, but it's really expensive.
Man, I am so jealous. They don't even have the salmon roe at a sushi restaurant where I live. There isn't any fish market that sells fresh seafood either. :(
 
misa.j said:
Man, I am so jealous. They don't even have the salmon roe at a sushi restaurant where I live. There isn't any fish market that sells fresh seafood either. :(

That's the nice thing about Seattle and the West Coast, it's easy to get good Asian food. :)

Looks like so far the big losers are:
#1 crab brains (anyone know the real names for these?)
#2 raw horse
#3 chicken joints
#4 nattou
#5 umeboshi
 
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Brooker said:
#1 crab brains (anyone know the real names for these?)
It is called,
"KANIMISO" :)
It smells terrible, I really don't understand why some people even eat that stuff when there all kinds of other thing to eat...

And about Seattle, yes, I heard that there are very nice food markets where they sell fresh fish, bread, fruit and more. That sounds so cool.
 
I love nattou, I love kanimiso and uni; however, while tasting horse sashimi I knew I had reached my limits.
 
I think I mentioned in another post that I tried wasabi once and it was like sucking down fresh lava. YOW!!! As for food I hate, my vote's also for natto, never mind the omnipresent stench, the taste is positively revolting. UGH! Sea cucumber? Crab brains? Raw horse? No thanks! Think I'll give that stuff a pass! :eek:
 
With Misa's help, I was able to add some of the Japanese names to the poll. Thanks Misa!! 🙂
 
Okonomiyaki = omelet?

Tamago-yaki is usually referred to as an omelet. Okonomiyaki is more like a pancake because of its flour base?
 
I could eat nattou everyday for breakfast, good if you stir it well, I usually had it with karashi(mustard), katsuobushi(bonito flakes) and the sauce that came in the package.

Honestly though, I am not sure if I still like it or not. It's been so long since I had nattou last time, and my taste buds must have changed.
 
Because protein and vitamins are included in large quantities, fermented soybeans are very good for beauty and health. 👍
There are the fermented soybeans, which I do not smell.
TOROROMESHI (a grated yam meal) and okra want you to eat.
It is food sticky both.
Is UMEBOSI (a pickled plum) eaten?
Please try to eat KUSAYA.
Please try to eat 'IKA NO SIOKARA'.

日本人より 😊
 
Oddly, I don't like wasabi, unless its in a cracker... I don't like Salmon roe, I don't like Maki nori, but I like green Nori... oh and anything Aloe flavoured.
 
Hiroyuki Nagashima said:
Because protein and vitamins are included in large quantities, fermented soybeans are very good for beauty and health. 👍
There are the fermented soybeans which I do not smell.
TOROROMESHI (a grated yam meal) and an okra want you to eat.
It is food sticky both.
Is UMEBOSI (a pickled plum) eaten?
Please try to eat KUSAYA.
Please try to eat 'IKA NO SIOKARA'.

日本人より 😊

Nagashima-san,

Kusaya dake wa kanben shitekudasai! :sorry: :D
Sore igai wa sukikirai arimasen.
 
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there's so much Japanese food I don't like, and I haven't even tried a handfull of what's out there... Just gimme an onigiri and I'll be fine.. other than that I'd rather eat something... not Japanese...

(I can stomach most sushi and I like miso soup and so on... but lets just say it'd be easier to list what I do like in Japanese cuisine.)

Also, I eat with my eyes. I'm not normally very picky, but if something has an odd texture or looks disgusting (like that sea cucumber.... god dammit...) I can't eat it. If someone says "but it tastes great!" I'll reply with "but it looks gross!". I'll try it. I try everything. But in my opinion, how something looks affects how it tastes.
 
Good news for anyone who would like to get the health benefits from eating natto, but who would wretch at the very sight and smell of the putrid stuff. My wife introduced me to a food supplement derived from natto. Now, I can consume the nutrients without the risk of losing most of it from vomitting after consumption.

For anyone who is interested here is the link to a description of the product Pure Encapsulations
 
Bob in Iowa said:
Good news for anyone who would like to get the health benefits from eating natto, but who would wretch at the very sight and smell of the putrid stuff. My wife introduced me to a food supplement derived from natto. Now, I can consume the nutrients without the risk of losing most of it from vomitting after consumption.

For anyone who is interested here is the link to a description of the product Pure Encapsulations

What about eating "eda mame"?

That's better than even eating tofu because tofu has no dietary fiber but edamame is the whole bean so you get all the nutrients and fiber.
 
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