When asked, “what do the Japanese eat?” it’s all too easy to think of only one type of food. Sushi. It’s prevalence around the world, and here in the States, means that most major cities now have chains of sushi bars. They are currently spreading out of the big cities to smaller towns across America.
Coinciding with the increase in the availability of Japanese food outside of Japan, UNESCO has recently recognized Japanese cuisine, as unique and important to the world’s heritage. Italian food has a similar status from UNESCO. But, although we are all familiar with the wide variety of Italian foods and ingredients, we don’t hear about the day-to-day foods that the Japanese eat. We know about sushi of course, and miso soup, but just like every American doesn’t live on hamburgers, every Japanese person doesn’t live on sushi!
What we all seem to know is that Japanese food is healthy and can help you live for longer. It is likely that there are two reasons for this. The first, that it is prepared and presented with care. Multiple dishes are served at once. You take a little of this, a little of that. As you move between the dishes and bowls, it allows your stomach to tell your brain that you are beginning to fill up. In effect, you consume fewer calories as you feel full sooner. The second is the nutritional content of the food itself. A soup and three dishes are the typical elements of a home-cooked Japanese meal. With soup, rice, protein, vegetables and salad all being served together.
Soup
Soup is almost always served with a meal. There are thousands of soups of course, but there are three simple ingredients to hand in most Japanese kitchens. Miso, bonito flakes (dried thin pieces of young tuna) and kombu (dried seaweed or kelp). With these three ingredients, you can make a wide variety of tasty, light soups. By adding different raw vegetables to this base stock, you have a healthy and hearty soup.
Miso, made from fermented soybean paste, is one of the key umami tastes from Japan. It is packed with nutrients and is a great source of key minerals and elements for your body: Zinc, vitamin K, together with copper and manganese. Enzymes, from the fermentation process, deliver beneficial bacteria to your gut, helping to keep it in balance.
Protein
We often think that the Japanese only take their protein raw. Delicately sliced raw fish and meat, prepared with vinegars and vegetables is known as sashimi. It is popular, but dishes are also made from cooked pork, beef and chicken. It is worth noting that the Japanese eat much more vegetables and fruit than protein. The protein that is served, tends to be thinly sliced and well-flavored.
Both fish and meat deliver an excellent amount of protein for their weight. In addition, fish is high with iodine, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. Whilst meat delivers vitamins B12 and B6, as well as niacin and iron. Having at least one portion of fish a week can reduce the risk of developing heart disease and strokes. And meat in moderation delivers complexes which are essential for muscle development.
Rice
There isn’t one type of rice that is served in Japan. But the one thing that you can be sure of, is that rice (gohan) is served with most Japanese meals. It is common to have it a couple of times a day. It’s sticky yet fluffy and can be flavored with vinegars or enhanced with toppings such as pickles.
There are lots of varieties, but for most Japanese, there are three types of rice used in daily cooking. White (hakumai), brown (genmai) and half-milled (haigamai). In general, the white, brown and half-milled are all the same type of rice, but with different levels of polishing. This removes different amounts bran and germ. White, which is the most polished, is popular for daily meals and provides the sticky white rice for most of the dishes / sushi. It is considered the staple of Japanese diets. For myself, I use the sticky white rice and the half-milled rice at home. I find the brown rice to be a little hard and less able to absorb the flavorings.
Sushi is, at its most simple, seasoned rice, flavored with vinegars. It is then wrapped or rolled with vegetables, fish or meats (either cooked or not). These little flavor parcels can often contain ten ingredients or more and deliver a wide range of vitamins and minerals.
With rice being in most meals, it serves two purposes. Firstly, it can be flavored so as to be complementary balance to the meal. Secondly, it provides energy and substance to the meal. The inclusion of rice means that other more calorie heavy side dishes, such as potatoes or pasta, are not needed.
Pickles and Vinegars
Often overlooked or simply considered pickled cucumbers in the US, pickled fruits and vegetables (tsukemono) are very important to the Japanese diet. Most meals, including breakfast, will be served with pickles.
They offer a flavor balance to the meal and a different texture. They are often colorful and they deliver a range of amazing tastes. We’ve mentioned umeboshi(pickled plum) elsewhere in the blog, it might not look it, but it is a delicious accompaniment to breakfast rice.
The way that the Japanese prepare, arrange and eat their food, together with the variety and number of ingredients in each meal, is unique and UNESCO was wise to recognize this. Japanese cuisine might not be the only reason why its people live so long, but as it looks and tastes fantastic, is healthy and wholesome, there isn’t a reason not to include some of it in your meal planning.
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