Thursday, March 12, 2009

Japanese food

When I first started blogging I thought I would be writing about quilting and knitting with an occasional cat post thrown in. Then I thought it would be easy to write once a week about what we eat around here. But I don't like to cook. I DO cook during the week but rarely on the weekends. For awhile I was even taking a monthly cooking class but the class ended and though I had fun I never have incorporated much of what I learned into the daily menus.

There are the ol' faithful menus. For our family these are things like Spicy Chinese Tofu. Curry Rice. Japanese Vegetable Soup. Korean Kimchee Stew. Sounds exotic when I write it down but these are dishes I can make with little thought and whatever I have in the kitchen. Occasionally I will try new recipes from Japanese magazines but western recipe books and recipes don't get tried often. Too many things that I can't get in the Japanese markets or if I can get them they are just too expensive to buy.

This was our dinner a couple of nights ago. It needed a little color didn't it. It turned out very Japanese and seemed typical of an evening meal. There is the ever present white rice. And there is the miso soup. I think I put turnips and deep fried tofu and green onions in it. There is a slice of grilled fish that has been marinated in miso. There is a small plate of spicy bamboo shoot pickles (from a jar). There is a salad of cucumbers and seaweed. And the vegetable is a serving of boiled greens that have been mixed with fermented soybeans (natto) green onions, and mayonnaise. Tetsu also added a block of cold tofu to his dinner but that's too much tofu for me.

Preparing Japanese food takes too long for me and all those little dishes to wash up afterwards makes the thought of making a Japanese meal dreary. I guess it is healthy enough... Tasted pretty good too.


11 comments:

Betty (picture circa 1954) said...

Now I'm wondering if frozen meals are available or is it always from scratch?

Is there anything you can't get to eat in Japan that you really miss?

Rae Ann said...

Hummmm, I don't know.....I can eat the rice, I eat it all the time, fish, well for being Japanese, I have to say I was raised on Beef and Potatoes, fish is out. The closest I come on an everyday basis is Tuna Fish. I will eat sashimi at a Japanese Resturant. Tofu is out, don't care for the texture, Miso soup is always good. I guess I would starve in Japan, unless they have an In and Out Burger! Hugs Rae Ann

Team Tabby said...

I was interested in your miso soup, so I watched an online video. The guy is so enthusiastic about making it:
http://www.lookandtaste.com/asian/Miso-Soup/62/

Our dinner tonight was stir fry, I wanted to use up veggies and one son is vegan, so this worked for all of us.

Nina

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I think the meal looks wonderful, but you're right... doing up all those dishes would get OLD after a while!

Amanda said...

I have a very poor relationship with food! There is so much that I can't eat that I end up always cooking the same - fish, rice and vegetables or salad. I'd love to use tofu more, but have no idea what to do with it. I'll have to look out for some recipes. Your menu would suit me down to the ground I think, but you're right - it looks very time consuming to make, and lots of washing up.

Shasta said...

Now if that had been an Indian dish, all the stuff would have been piled up on one plate. Do you have a dishwasher at least?

The Calico Cat said...

I heart Miso soup...
(I am an "everything is o.k." kind of gal, so for me to actually "like" something - is something...)

Mindy said...

I think the dinner looks yummy. I do have a question about seaweed. I always order seaweed salad with my sushi. I love how fresh and green and crunchy it is. Here in the states it is served with a delicious sweet/sour type dressing. Is this an "authentic" Japanese salad/dish? or has it been Americanized?

Leslie said...

You have indirectly answered a long standing question I've had. If I lived in another country, would I eat the local cuisine or cook 'American'? The fact that American foods wouldn't be readily available and therefore the decision would be made for me, never came to mind. :)

The Calico Quilter said...

Arranging each item on its own plate makes your place setting so pretty and interesting, but it IS a lot of dishes. Is there a reason (other than the cultural we-don't-do-that) for putting each thing on its own dish? Do you eat each thing one at a time, or a bite of this and a bite of that? I know a person who won't mix his food and eats only one item on the plate at a time until it's finished. He'd probably have a heart attack if I served him a casserole! Bert might do well eating in Japan!

sewprimitive karen said...

There is a good Oriental food chain here in Atlanta called Big H Mart; I wish I knew what to do with the things in it!! Likewise the produce market that has so many exotic vegetables. Wish they would post things to do with the stuff right by them.