what japan taught me about...FOOD pt 2

Onto the middle-range foods.  These would be the better izakayas, restaurants, and cafes.  This price range would be around 800-1200円, about $8-12.  These are the places you go for dinner or for a nicer lunch, and are typically sit down restaurants.


My staple 'nice meal'?  RAMEN!!  It's hard to go wrong with a big bowl of ramen.  Unlike its college dorm counterpart, ramen in Japan is loaded with flavor and is delicious!  Depending on the type of soup base you get the calories can run fairly high, but those calories are from real food that wasn't mass produced or flown in from the other side of the world.  

Most ramen will have seaweed, pork belly slices, onions, fish cake, and some variety of cooked egg (variety depends on the chef).  Don't let those ingredients fool you, they blend in perfectly with the hearty flavors already present in the broth.  And the noodles are nothing short of perfection!!  They're the same long wheat noodle that comes in instant ramen, but fresh and chewy.

 

My first ever bowl of real ramen!!

My favorite, tonkatsu ramen, is made by boiling down pig legs until all of the collagen and fat and nutrients dissolve into the broth.  It's about 800-900 calories a bowl, but let me tell you, after walking 3 miles to get back to your apartment those calories are needed!  Don't forget to slurp it up!! (It's good manners to slurp!)
 

There are many European style cafes and restaurants in Japan, especially Italian and French cuisine.  The absolute best Italian food I've ever had was a $12 bowl of crab alfredo in Nagano.  The Japanese execute everything to such a high degree of quality that no matter where you go, you will not be disappointed, no matter the ethnicity of the food.  In addition to European food, there is a plethora of Indian/Middle Eastern food available. And a heaping bowl full of buttery Indian chicken masala with naan is exactly what hits the spot after walking around Tokyo for 7 hours.

 

Indian curry in Ikebukuro

Even izakaya food is high quality.  They're ordered tapas style, and typically are salty to complement beer (an izakaya is essentially a bar).  The ingredients are incredibly fresh and go together in a simple manner that boasts complex flavors.  My favorites are cheesy potatoes, fried lotus roots, and karrage (fried chicken).  And no izakaya trip would be complete without a big bowl of salted edamame :) 



What are your favorite foods in Japan? Let me know in the comments, and check back later for my next food related post!!

Bento Love

A 'bento' is simply a small portion meal or lunchbox here in Japan.  I am sure that many of you have seen how 'kawaii' or cute these can be made, even if you didn't know what they were called.  Here are a few examples of the adorable ones:

As you can see...NO ONE HAS TIME FOR THAT. But it's adorable.

A much simpler bento is extremely common here in Japan, in fact finding a bento box was super easy.  I got mine at the local 100yen ($1) store along with all of the accessories needed.

 

Here is my bento (beige), disposable chopsticks with pink wrappers, and panda elastic

A bento consists of one or two compartments that are easily closed up, just like a Tupperware.  You also need an elastic to hold it together, as the pieces don't snap closed.  Without the elastic they could pull apart mid-walk to work and your lunch is ruined :(

So with my bento in hand I set off for the grocery to the pre-made food section and got several small tasty looking things to put into my bento for tomorrow's lunch at work.  Total food cost was around $6, and not all was used for this one lunch.  Photos begin...now!!

 

The two large compartments, and the small one on top...which is so small I don't know what you can even put in it besides a packet of soy sauce.

 

Another angle of the two compartments

 

What it will look like when closed and ready for transport

 

Little cupcake holders, which are actually used for bento here! You divide food with these to keep flavors from mixing

 

My array for this bento making session (not all food was used)

From top to bottom starting at upper right:

Tuna maki roll

Japanese grapes (DELICIOUS)

Yakisoba

Rice onigiri (rice ball)

Steamed veggies

Some sort of fried something (later turned out to be rice wrapped in batter and deep fried)

 

My bento for tomorrow's lunch!! I had over half of the yakisoba and veggies left over, so that will be dinner.  And only 3 grapes, so I can munch on them more tonight and tomorrow night :)