The culture of a country includes the history, the sights, the people, and their way of life, but also the food. Food is an essential element of culture and that’s what I think is the best way to get to know a culture. When eating together you always get into conversation with the locals and with delicious food, you always have a topic of conversation worldwide. Only those who have tried the typical and special dishes of the country have been to the country. You have to feel, smell and taste a country! Because every country has its national dishes and traditional dishes, that you should try. Moreover, maybe they even taste so good that you too can cook some of the international dishes at home.

For many, Japanese cuisine is primarily raw fish, Kobe beef, and, of course, rice, which is considered sacred in Japan and is particularly revered. A controversial delicacy among Japanese dishes is whale meat, about whose capture by the Japanese there is always a dispute. Today, international treaties to save them from extinction protect the vast majority of whale species. Of course, Japanese dishes cover a much wider range than udon noodle soup, sushi. Among them is a whole range of recipes that are crazy for us Westerners. With these delicacies, everyone has to decide whether you want to try it when it gets the chance.

When You Think of Japanese Food, Sushi Comes to Mind?

However, Japanese cuisine has much more to offer than raw fish. The basis of Japanese cuisine is ramen, the traditional Japanese noodle soup. They are the cheapest fast food you can get on every corner. The soup originally comes from China and is prepared very differently from region to region. You will find a particularly large number of restaurants in subway stations. In Tokyo and Kyoto, there is a separate Ramen Street in the main station, where one Ramen restaurant is lined up with the other. There are over 5,000 ramen shops in Tokyo alone! This is how popular the noodle soup is with the Japanese. You can distinguish between clear broth with soy sauce, broth flavored with fermented soybeans, light broth cooked from fish and seafood, and cloudy broth cooked from pork bones. You can find more information here.

Traditional Dishes

One of the varieties of ramen is soba, which can amaze you with its unusual taste. In addition, there are many traditions associated with it. Soba is thin brown-gray buckwheat noodles that were brought originally from Nagano, Japan but can now be found all over Japan. Depending on the season, pasta is served warm or cold. Soba noodles are served traditionally with hot or cold dashi broth with mirin, soy sauce, and green onions. It is often garnished with fresh wasabi or ginger. There are side dishes such as tempura, raw egg, or tofu. Traditionally, on New Year’s Eve, the last meal of the evening is tosikoshi soba, which brings financial good luck in the New Year and long life.

Fugu is a Japanese specialty made from a highly venomous pufferfish. In Japan, only special fugu chefs are allowed to prepare it, as just one wrong move can infect the meat of the fish with deadly neurotoxins. Eggs for breakfast – delicious! But raw? In Japan, using a plain raw egg for breakfast is almost a tradition. It is usually mixed with rice and natto, a spicy sauce. Nama Tamago, but is also used as a dip for some hotpot dishes. The slimy consistency in particular takes some getting used to.

Teppan-Yaki

Teppan-Yaki sounds surprisingly exotic, and the word comes from Japanese cuisine. In many Japanese restaurants, these stainless steel plates are built right into the table or counter, after which the cooking is celebrated in front of the guests. In Japanese private homes, portable teppanyaki plates are often preferred. Experience innovative cuisine at the teppanyaki restaurant. Find the information you need here: best teppanyaki restaurant singapore.

Tempura is fried vegetables and seafood. All the ingredients are wrapped in a batter made of egg, flour, and ice water and fried in hot oil. Tempura can be served two ways: either directly over rice or on the plate in front of you at the counter. It is served with a clear soup or soba. You can pick up the tempura pieces with the chopsticks and bite off a piece. You can eat it either up whole or put some back in the bowl. Consequently, you can eat some rice with every piece of tempura.

Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture

At the foot of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture, a special hoto noodle soup is prepared. However, the recipe for this dish was handed down by a leading Japanese restaurant. Unlike the classic udon noodle soup, these noodles are cooked like dumpling dough. As such, they are significantly thicker than udon or soba noodles. In the past, warm soup with a hearty addition of vegetables and noodles was the perfect dish for farmers who had to work in the fields in any weather. The simple preparation made this Japanese dish popular among the locals, and to this day, it is served as a traditional meal in many restaurants around. After a cold hike around the lake, there was nothing better to warm up again. Served in a cast-iron pot, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and vegetables are tossed with noodles in a miso-spiced broth.

Classical

 Everyone knows this, and sushi is now served everywhere. So it’s not a big feature in and of itself. Nevertheless, anyone who has eaten sushi will say that this cannot leave you indifferent. Usually, sushi is served in its most original and fresh form, without crunch or fancy cream cheese filling. However, sometimes chefs can experiment with sushi, and thus baked sushi has appeared that is not inferior to its original. The beauty of any kind of sushi lies in its high quality due to its proximity to the sea, and its satiety.

Don’t miss your chance to taste the delights of Japanese cuisine!