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There are dozens upon dozens of sushi restaurants in Toronto, so naturally people think Japanese food = sushi. Not so! That’s like saying American food = hot dogs, or German food = sausages. Yes, those cuisines include those foods, but they are just one type of dish. Likewise, sushi is only one type of dish.
Here is a menu of actual Japanese foods that we ate in Japan and learned from our Japanese relatives and friends:
- Kabocha No Nimono (simmered pumpkin)
- Agedashi tofu (deep fried tofu with amber sauce)
- Gobo to Ninjin No Kimpira (burdock and carrot kimpira)
- Tofu Dengaku (grilled miso tofu)
- Oden (simmered stew)
- Sekihan (celebration red rice)
- Edamame (boiled green soybeans)
- Tsukemono (Japanese pickles)
- Japanese Canadian Chow Mein
- Udon Noodle Soup
- Chawan Mushi (steamed egg custard)
- Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad
- Matcha Ice Cream
Japanese food relies on differing ratios of only a handful of common flavourings: dashi, miso, shoyu, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame, and mirin. Only a few cooking methods are used for many different ingredients, including grilling and simmering (nimono). You can swap the main ingredients in each recipe to get a completely different dish. That is, instead of simmered pumpkin, you could make simmered daikon.
Furthermore, other than the occasional deep-fried tempura or tofu, most dishes have little or no added fat.
This is so true! I lived in Japan as well and when I say Japanese food, most people assume tempura or sushi. In fact, I rarely ate sushi in Japan. I recently published an e-cookbook on Japanese cooking actually. Honestly, I’d just love to get my hands on some konyaku. I just have no idea where to find it in the States. :/ Japanese food is the best!
I would love to try the burdock and carrot dish 🙂 And the fried tofu.
Looks tasty! Thank you for sharing with us at Brag About It! Pinned and tweeted to share.