Japanese Food For Thought

5 Comments

• 
  Ravhin Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 19:30

  Actually there are a couple of mistakes in that post.

  Japanese food is delicious yes (specially if you eat it in Japan, they are much more rigorous with their ingredients than us here and it makes a huge difference), and generally healthy, but they do tend to use a fair amount of salt and deep fry many dishes.

  The portions ARE NOT small. Maybe by American standards they are, but not by ours. Believe me you will get thoroughly sated with any Japanese dish.

  They also eat VERY fast. This entry; “This means they savor their food; eat slowly and enjoy it. No “scarfing” down hamburgers and fries here, and king size cola drinks.” is quite false. They actually have more and more fast food and hamburgers around, but even with more traditional cooking they spend some 20 min scarfing, tops. When they go out and socialize it’s a different matter of course.
  And no, eating with chopsticks is not slower if you know how to use them properly.

  I advise to take these “facts” about Japanese cooking with a grain of salt. (I actually gained weight after spending some time there)
• 
  Raquel Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:25

  I guess it’s like Portuguese food: you can choose from a zillion things, and even though we have a somewhat healthy Mediterranean diet, we can decide to eat just fattening dishes, which I’m guessing is what a lot of people do, considering the percentage of obese people here.

  I think the point she was making on her post was in relation to American food, which is a lot unhealthier as a whole, if we compare it to the Japanese diet. just the fact that they eat a lot more fish than meat, makes a huge difference.

  Having said that, when I go to Japan (I’m hoping to someday) I’ll also probably gain weight, but that would be because I am sort of a sushi addict – I even made sushi at home a couple of times (the last one was very successful, according to my friends) – and I’d end up eating a lot more sushi than I would of anything else.

  I saw a documentary a while back, regarding the ocidentalization of the asian cousine and, in China (not Japan, but it came to mind), after McDonald’s was introduced everywhere as a cheap, tasty food, the ammount of obese people there started increasing a lot. People preferred to eat the more tasteful food, regardless of it causing health issues.
• 
  Ravhin Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 12:07

  Anything is healthier than American food . Japanese food is healthier yes I was just advising against some misconceptions.

  As for sushi, you wouldn’t believe how delicious it is . The best place is around Tsukiji Market. I went there once and had the most wonderful sushi ever. Even today I still drool when I think about it yummmmm.

  But do try out many other dishes, their tempura, tendon, katsudon, soba, okonomyaki, well everything is very very good. So much better than what you eat in most (if not all) of our restaurants.
• 
  TNG Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 13:01

  “So much better than what you eat in most (if not all) of our restaurants.” If you meant it on an health point of view, yeah probably, but I would have to disagree on the deliciousness factor! Mainly on those out of the way restaurants (that ASAE didn’t close down) you can find some simply orgasmic meals.
  I would definitely love to eat japanese food (not just sushi) on Japan. Everyone that has been there (and tasted it) just keeps saying wonderful things about the food and how its much better served that in Europe. The best I’ve ever had at a spot in Soho, London but all around Paris I just went berserk with deals like 5€ for 20 salmon nigiri pieces (my fav). /TNG drolls on the keyboard like Homer Simpson
• 
  Ravhin Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 14:12

  ohhhh nigiri salmon, I prefer tuna actually, had one dish that had several different types and they all just melted in the mouth yummm.

  As for the comparison was about Portuguese Japanese restaurants vs Japanese Japanese restaurants. It’s not like I tried them all, but even though some come close, none truly compares.