Japan was and remains one of the most mysterious and luring countries for tourists. About her kitchen is known little, but the whole world is subdued by such dishes as sushi and rolls.
The Japanese generally prefer minimalism: they have food on the table that does not require prolonged cooking or other processing. While traveling in this country, it is worth at least for a while to escape from admiring Mount Fuji and visit one of the local restaurants to enjoy an original variety of taste.
1. Sushi and rolls
The proposal to visit Japan in order to try the dishes, recipes of which every provincial cook knows, seems strange. Today in a restaurant with any cuisine you can find "Gunkan-maki", "California" and "Philadelphia", without issuing a visa and passport. The best taste qualities can be demonstrated only by sushi and rolls with the freshest seafood, and these are served exclusively in Japan. Each restaurant has an aquarium or even a pond with live fish, which is caught directly to the table.
2. Ramen
In Asia, thick soups are very popular: Thai soup Rad Na replaces immediately the first and second dishes. The Japanese ramen is his close relative. It is sold as street vendors and gourmet restaurants. Ramen is a kind of assorted, because in its composition, any component can be replaced by another. Basis - meat broth from chicken, pork, and sometimes fish. In the broth, boiled wheat or rice noodles, seasoning it with eggs, green onions and algae. The mastery of the ram chef in Japan is measured by checking the texture of the meat in the soup: it should resemble a mashed potatoes.
3. Tempura
Residents of the Land of the Rising Sun do not understand the popularity of American fast food - in particular, French fries. At the Portuguese missionaries, the Japanese looked at the recipe for lean food and made a cult out of it. In each house of the country you can find a special frying pan for tempura, which is taken out before the parties, by friendly gatherings. On a small amount of oil, fresh shrimps, fish, vegetables and even fruits are fried in it. A special taste is given to him by a stick of eggs, ice water and flour, whipped to the state of air bubbles.
4. The Okonomiyaki
Burgers, the Japanese also found a substitute: they call it okonomiyaki, which means "cake with fish." As a basis for tortillas used grated cabbage or pumpkin, flour, cheese, egg and water. Ingredients are mixed and poured a thin layer on the pan to bake a pancake. Finished okonomiyaki impregnated with thick soy sauce and sprinkle with chopped flesh of tuna. The size and filling of tortillas in each region of Japan is different: in Kansai they are much larger than in Tokyo.
5. Shabu-shabu
This dish got its name from one of the types of cookware. Shabu-shabu is a deep metal plate that can be heated in an oven or on an open fire. It is poured a broth with vegetables, tofu and noodles. Separately served meat cut from duck, pork, lobster and chicken fillet: its pieces dipped in the heated broth immediately before consumption. The shabu-shabu is so satisfying that it is served on the table only in the cold season.
6. Miso
Miso soup is served as a garnish for any other dish, except desserts. It is made from miso paste, obtained from fermented soybeans and dashi broth from tuna. This basic mixture is supplemented with pieces of tofu, wasabi, onions, sweet potatoes, seaweed, carrots and radishes. It is never used as a main dish: at least one kind of soup or two rice garnishes with different sauces are always served with miso.
7. Yakitori
The Japanese could argue with the Caucasian peoples for the right to be called the inventors of shish kebab. Since ancient times, they are frying meat on coals, stringing it on bamboo sticks. For a shish kebab in Japanese it is suitable for both fillets and entrails, marinated in a mixture of rice wine, soy sauce, sugar and salt. When frying, the meat is poured with the same mixture called "taré". Yakitori is sold in small shops that meet at every corner. Japanese after the end of the working day do not consider it necessary to spend personal time preparing dinner: before returning home they buy yakitori and beer or sweet fizzy drinks.
8. Onigiri
If yakitori is purchased instead of dinner, then for breakfast in Japan order delivery to the house of such a dish as onigiri. Rice balls stuffed with beans, shiitake mushrooms or pork with various tastes are eaten as snacks, including during a working break. In Japan, they are more popular than sushi because their preparation does not require special skills. Prepare onigiri girls: they put rice and stuffing on the palm, and then roll balls out of the mixture. In restaurants located in Tokyo, you can try this kind of onigiri, like umbelos - a plum filling with salt and wine vinegar.
9. Soba
Wheat udon can be seen in the menu of any Asian country, so the Japanese decided to come up with their own variety of noodles. Soba is made from buckwheat flour, giving the pasta a gray-brown color. The dog is boiled, folded into a colander and mixed with vegetables and meat, disassembled into fibers. In small cafes and fast-food establishments, the cottage cheese is added to the chicken broth to obtain a soup of almost instant cooking. The famous restaurants serve buckwheat noodles with crabs and lobsters.
10. Gyudon
Translated from Japanese this word means "a bowl of beef". An acute dish, popular with Japanese men because of their high calorie and nourishment, is not inferior in sharpness to Thai culinary masterpieces. From the events gyudon distinguishes the amount of meat: when serving on a plate put two or three tablespoons of rice and a handful of stew with wine. On top, garnish is decorated with raw chicken yolk. In restaurants of the Japanese capital, a variety of gudon is served - katsudon with a chop weighing not less than 500 grams.
11. Yakiniku
Japanese men gathered in the company, competing in the art of cooking fried meat on the grill. The roaster is set on a clay pot with hot coals. Each man has his own recipe for yakinic, which he does not share with anyone. In restaurants yakiniku also cooks a man, using marble beef of the highest category.
12. Suama
Desserts are not popular in Japan, but before suamah, neither an adult nor a child can stand. This cake is made from rice flour and small cane sugar: the components are ground in a mortar, adding a pink dye. The color of cherry blossoms symbolizes this country, therefore it is forbidden to change the shade of the dye to chefs.