Sushi and beyond p.32~

In chapter 6, Michael wrote about Japanese food program on TV. He went to watch "Bistro SMAP", which is one of corners of  "SMAP×SMAP". He said that SMAP changed Japanese prejudice that men didnot cook in the kitchen. Recently, I also think that there are many men whose hobby is cooking. Perhaps SMAP is one of factors of the trend.

Next chapter, he went to tempura shop with his family. They ordered whitebait, squid,eel and shrimp.  He was  so impressed of the tastiness. Particularly, he want to know how to make these crunchy batter, which is called"koromo" in Japanese.
He wrote that although the technique of deep-frying was originally introduced to Japan by Europeans and Chinese, the Japanese have elaborate the way of making tempura. I was amazed by the information.
He told that Japanese always serve tempura with grated daikon mixed in with the dipping sause, because daikon helps the digestion of oily foods. I thought we should eat daikon-oroshi before I eat tempura.
It was interesting that he thought Japanese people are very careful about eating, because they believe that Tokugawa ate tempura too much, so he died. 

Sushi and beyond p.20~

In this chapter, the author tried to enter an "izakaya" in Tokyo. At the izakaya, he ate yakitori. He seemed to be impressed with the taste of yakitori. He couldnot imagine to eat cartilage, called"nankotsu" in Japan, so he was amaged that of oral sensations.
He experienced some transportations of Japan. When he caught a cab, he was very surprised. Because it seems that in Paris, catching a cab is like trying to capture a wasp and requires a great deal of patience.
In next chapter, he went to a sumo stable. He learned how to make "chanko-nabe". In the sumo stable, he had a chance to look inside of the refrigerator of the stable. He had thought that there were a lot of chocolates and cakes, however, he saw there were many healthy foods like tofu, sweetcorn, chicken and  vegetables.

It is very interesting for me that foreigners think yakitori is one of Japanese original foods, and there are some strange kinds like "nankotsu".

The author saw inside of refrigerator in the sumo stable, and  I also wanted to know what rikishi eat. Unexpectedly, although rikishi eat large amount of foods, they eat relatively healthy kinds of foods like tofu and vegetables.

So far, he can eat  a variety of  Japanese foods satisfactorily. I want to read what happens  and he eats in next chapters.

Sushi-Origins and History

http://youtu.be/bdUx0kvvnyk

Sushi appeared in Southeast Asia accidentally. Because at first, people used rice as a preservative of fish and after the soaking, they throwed rice away. In the Edo period, people became to use vinegar instead of natural fermentation.

Nigiri-sushi was made in Tokyo and it became popular after an earthquake in1923. Because sushi chefs spreaded into new areas in Japan looking for works.

I was very surpresed because I didnot know about sushi's history. At first people used rice as a preservative, and fish was soaked into rice. I was also amazed that nigiri-sushi was spreaded after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. If the disaster didnot occur, nigiri-sushi might not existence in the whole of Japan.

I want to learn about other Japanese traditional cuisines' history, too.

Sushi and beyond chapter4〜

Eventually, Michael and his family arrived in Tokyo.

They were so overwhelmed by crowded places in Shinjuku. In this chapter, they went to a "depachika" in Shinjuku's department store. He said depachika was astonishing places selling just about every type of raw ingredient and processed food imaginable, and many beyond imagining, both Western and Asian.

He also expressed that depachika was like a microcosm of modern Japanese eating habits. He was impressed with an array of tempura, tonkatsu, tofu, rice balls, grilled eels.

I enjoyed his expression of soysauce. He said "a strain of dark, tangy-sweet teriyaki-sause, that we would encounter in all sorts  of dishes throughout Japan". 

After reading of this chapter, I noticed that foreigners also like a semi-gourmet, it is called "B-kyu gourmet" in Japan, such as ramen, yakitori and yakisoba.