Curry Rice

The last topic is curry rice. Curry rice is very popular in Japan, and I guess most children answer curry rice when they are asked what favorite food is. Originally, curry rice was made in India, and it was introduced to Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). The main ingredients of Japanese curry rice are meat, potato, onions, and carrots. We usually add the topping. For example, cheese, sausage, or eggs and maybe the most popular topping is Katsu. Curry roux is made from a lot of Indian spices, such as turmeric and cumin. Japanese curry rice is often accompanied with a garnish of fukujinzuke (a slightly sweet mix of pickles) or rakkyo (pickled Japanese scallion). I also like Indian curry and Thai curry. Indian curry is often eaten with naan, which is oven-baked flatbread. Thai curry is roughly divided into three; green, red, and yellow curry. They are spicy but very tasty. 

Katsu Curry

Rakkyo and Fukujinzuke

Spices

Indian Curry

Thai Curry

Ramen

 

Today’s topic is Ramen. Most Japanese people like Ramen, which is a Japanese noodle soup dish. It is originally from China. Soup stock for Ramen may be made from seafood, chicken bones, pork bones or various other ingredients. It is seasoned with shoyu (soy sauce), miso, shio (salt), and other flavorings depending on the region. For example, Kyushu is tonkotsu (pork bone broth) and Hokkaido is miso. Some Ramen shops always have a very long line. I think Japanese people like wait to eat. We wait even an hour just to eat Ramen. Since the technology has been developing, we can eat Ramen easily at home. Cup noodles are the easiest way to eat it. We need only pour hot water into the cup and wait for about three minutes. A few years ago, the most famous Japanese Ramen company, Nissin, invented cold cup noodles. How to make it is same as hot cup noodles, pour hot water into the cup and wait for about three minutes, and then put a lot of ice into the cup and mix it. Since it is very unique, I’m afraid of eating it. Honestly, I think it is not good but some people said it’s good, so I want to try it later.

 

tonkotsu ramen

miso ramen

shoyu ramen

shio ramen

cold cup noodles

Korean cuisine

Today, I’m going to introduce my favorite Korean cuisine. I love Korean foods and I often eat them. Even if we don’t order, some different kinds of side dishes called “banchan” are served to our seats. We can have a second helping. One of my favorite Korean foods is Samgyeopsal, thick and fatty slices of pork belly meat. The literal meaning of the word is three layered flesh. It is most commonly dipped in sesame seed oil mixed with salt and pepper. Another favorite Korean food is Naengmyeon. This is Korean cold noodles dish and there are two main varieties, Mul Naengmyeon and Bibim Naengmyeon. The former is served as a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth. The latter is served with a spicy dressing made primarily from gochujang (red chili paste) and eaten all mixed. I like both of them. Keeaumoku Street has a lot of Korean restaurants, so we can enjoy eating Korean food. I have been to Korea only once, so I want to visit there again and eat Korean foods.

Samgyeopsal

banchan

Mul Naengmyeon

Bibim Naengmyeon

Matcha

I am going to introduce Matcha (Green tea) today. The custom to drink tea came from China. Tea ceremony is a Japanese cultural activity where people drink Matcha. Tea ceremony is held a special room, and people need to sit up on their heels. It has a lot of manners and they are very complicated. For example, before drinking, you must turn the tea bowl to your left to avoid drinking from the front, which is a decorative part of the tea bowl. They also eat tea cakes at tea ceremony. They look so cute. Honestly, I’ve never tried tea ceremony, so I hope I try it someday. There are a lot of green tea flavor foods, especially desserts in Japan. I rarely drink green tea but I love green tea flavor. I love green tea ice creams, rolls, chocolates, and drinks. I found green tea fondue and I want to try it.

tea ceremony

  

tea cakes

the manner