Fine Dining At Home Japanese Style
The secret of a long and healthy life
Baked raddish, broccoli and green beans with a drizzle of Italian olive oil is a tasty savoury treat at home always most welcome at our table for two.This is just one small part of the reason the Japanese live such a long and healthy life.
The English live on fish and chips, the Italians on pasta and pizza and the Japanese on sushi, right ? Errrr, no actually.
The English live on excellent cuisine, as do the Italians and the Japanese, but that’s what happens with stereotypes, they take hold of the collective imagination and become a kind of truth, at least in the minds of those who do not know any different.
Living in Japan I can tell you sushi is but a small part of the Japanese national diet. At home my wife and I eat sushi about once or twice a month. Don’t get me wrong, I love the stuff, but not that much that I want to eat it every single day. Especially when the Japanese have so much more to offer in terms of culinary delights.
And I have to say, baked anything always sets my tastebuds salivating. Potato wedges, chunks of carrot and broccoli on top of baked fillets of cod has me frothing at the mouth, just like one of Pavlov’s dogs. And it is as healthy as it is tasty.
Who would’ve thought that tofu and baked rice with a seasoning of of soy sauce would look and taste this good. Yes, it tastes even better than it looks. Delicious.
Now this is a lovely looking, colourful bowl of pumpkin, lotus plant root, sweet potato, baby corn cobs, tomato, a touch of broccoli…..mmmmm, what is not to like about this dish, which is as delightful as it is exotic and healthy. And believe it or not, this is a Japanese takeaway meal from a local supermarket!
Ok, now I must admit initially I found this one a bit of a challenge. This is nato, or rotting soy as my lovely wife jokingly calls it. This one is bought at any supermarket and comes with a sache of soy sauce and one of mustard. I could not eat this without either. It is gooey and looks and tastes like rat poo…….lets just leave it at that. I only continue to eat it because my wife persists in presenting it to me with the assurance that it is good for my health.
Well, in a country of 128 million people, 15,000 of them a hundred years old plus, who am I to argue. I think it is an acquired taste and I am secretly quite getting to like it, just don’t tell my wife I said that.
