Friday, November 17, 2006

Tabemono

So people are always mentioning how healthy the Japanese diet is. I began wondering the veracity of this common comment. If you look at these daily photos I have been taking of my lunchtime bento boxes, which are genuinely representative of the typical Japanese lunches, you will see just how much of the food isn't as healthy as claimed. For instance, every bento comes with a big serving of rice. Health gurus in the US seem to think that bleached white rice isn't really very healthy for you. (Try telling that to a Nihon-jin!) That pink, round thing sitting atop of every photo with rice is called an ume-boshi. These are like wet saladitos. They are very salty, quite delicious little balls. But are they healthy? I don't know, that seems like quite a dose of sodium, there. Now, despite there being a huge serving of rice with every bento, it seems like there's also at least 2 more starches involved with this meal, either potato or pasta, etc.

And last but not least, my theory on the ever-present existence of rice stems from the flavors of all the other foods. Everything is either sweetened or saltified, or pickled. The rice acts as the bland food to dip yr brush into when you want to change colors...it's like a towel for the tongue. I don't drink soda or very much juice, and haven't even while in America as a way to cut out unnecessary sugars, however here in Japan, so many of the foods are sweetened. Egg is sweetened, potatos, noodles, fish (teriyaki sauce, anyone?)....So what do I do? Eat sushi/sashimi everyday? Oh man, I wish.

And that is the answer to everyone who asks me if I eat sushi everyday. The answer is NO, i wish. I probably eat it as often as I would in California...about once every two weeks. And there are no California Rolls here....though I wonder why not, since the Japanese love themselves the Mayo. I wish I saw Unagi and avocado together more. Don't the know what they are missing, I wonder? I don't know.....

Here are some photos.

This egg is sweetened. I think that was breaded and fried white fish. Underneath was sweetened spinach, japanese bell pepper, onions. The noodles had alot of Mayo and ham slices in it. Those beans beans above the noodles were also very sweetened, like candy. The pink things on the rice are pickled something....not sure what...maybe daikon? Anyway, i like them, but not as much as the light green pickled things.....Notice my phone and it's owly keychain?
Ohhh, yum, this was a good one. First, it had the green pickled things that I really like. Also, that purple stuff in the corner was nasu, or eggplant...and yes, sweetened. The tofu in the goo was really fucking delicious but I am a sucka for tofu and goo. I think that breaded and fried circle was mashed potatos with corn in it. It was okay, but weird.
Yum Yum Yum, tempura day!!! Tempura day, Curry day, and salmon day are always my favorite days....The gooey purple thing in the noodle section is called tonyaku, i think...it's really weird, and usually sweetened. That white stuff was some kind of wasabi tasting thing, or ginger maybe? Don't know but i didn't like it. Those round balls in the noodle section are these delicious potatoes that are so much more tender than normal potatoes. I love them.
The potato salad also had alot of mayo, definitely not like mom's famous potato salad. That little pork won-ton on the top was pretty tasty if you ask me.
The pumpkin was sweetened, which I which it wasn't because the pumpkins here are so delicious that sweetening them is soooo unnecessary if you ask me.
Now today I had a doctor's appointment and I did not go to school, instead I went Xmas shopping, even though I'm down to my last ni man, but I'm getting paid on Monday so it's all good. Anyway, i bought some lunch and here's what I chose. I love anything in Inari pockets...okay, so maybe I'm attracted to the sweets like an ant. Kalila, what do you think about this?
This was my lunch today, now i know I look like the biggest pig with all this food, but i was really hungry and i hadn't eaten, and I got full by the time I got to the spagetti, so there. PS. Gabby, look at the drink, It's called Gabu-Nomi....i bought it cuzza you, and it was actually really good! Good job, Gabunomi....
Tabemono

3 comments:

  1. OH HELL YEAH THE FOOD ALL OF IT LOOKS SO YUMMY..HOW DO THEY STAY SO THIN?????EXPRESS ME SOME OF THAT PLEASE...

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  2. the weird potato thing with corn in it is a croquette, though the nipponese like to spell and pronounce it a little differently--often it is served with a dab of tonkatsu sauce. that food looks like pure comfort food. hot damn!

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  3. totally, trace, they put the sauce in these cute miniture bottles that look like mini versions of a soy sauce bottle.....

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