From: lgold@callahans.Cadence.COM (Lynn Gold)
Subject: Re: Intro to Japanese food
Organization: /mnt4/lgold/.organization
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1992 09:54:05 GMT

In article <9207222038.AA02136@jupiter.nmt.edu> john@JUPITER.NMT.EDU (John Shipman) writes:

>Here is a brief introduction to some of the commoner forms of
>Japanese food.  Disclaimer: I am not Japanese, just a rabid
>fan of their cuisine.

I've been to Japan and picked up a couple of cookbooks while I was
there.  I'm not Japanese, but I've had "The Real Thing(tm)," so I'll
elaborate on what you've said.

>TERIYAKI: Somewhat like barbecue.  The food is usually
>broiled and basted with a thick sweet sauce.  Fish and
>meats are the usual foods.

To the uninitiated, think of teriyaki as a somewhat thick, sweet soy
sauce.  Also in this category are SHIOYAKI (broiled with salt and
pepper) and YAKITORI (chicken barbequeued with a teriyaki-like sauce).

>SUKIYAKI: A beef and vegetable stew, usually including "bean
>threads", a transparent noodle made from mung beans.

Sukiyaki was developed by the Japanese in response to stew.  The best
sukiyaki is prepared fresh at your table, rather than served as a soup.
Very few places do this.

>UDON: Thick noodles in broth.  I forget what Nabeyaki Udon
>is, but I believe it is a meat or fish dish.

Yaki is chicken, if that's any help.

>O-BENTO: An assortment of foods in a compartmented box.  A
>good way to try lots of different foods.  The exact contents
>vary widely but you can usually ask your server what's what.

Sometimes you'll see that referred to as "lunch box."  Don't let the
English translation put you off!

>SUSHI: Not always fish, and not always raw, but usually
>both.  Nigiri refers to a form where the food is served on a
>thumb-sized bit of sticky rice, and it also often means an
>assortment.  MAKI is a variant where the food item and rice
>are rolled into a sheet of dried sea vegetable ("seaweed",
>if you prefer).  Examples of sushi other than raw fish
>include tamago (a sweetened omelet with some seafood in
>it, usually minced or ground so it is unobtrusive);
>unagi (freshwater eel, cooked), kappa maki (cucumber),
>and ebi (cooked prawn).  Try these for starters.

Corrections:  Tamago is a sweetened omelet that's just egg and sugar,
sometimes with water or broth added.

An Americanized sushi that's cooked (you won't find THIS one in
Japan!) is "California Roll" or "California Maki" -- crab (or more
often, imitation crab) and avocado in a sushi roll.  An easy intro
into the raw stuff is sake, or smoked salmon.  Think lox.  Another one
for the squeamish-of-raw-fish is ikura -- salmon roe.  Think caviar.

>When you are feeling a bit more adventurous, try maguro (raw
>tuna) and hamachi (yellowtail, a relative of the tuna).  I
>have probably seen 100 non-Asians try these, and maybe 3 of
>them didn't care for it (assuming the quality of the food is
>good).

Those are what you move onto from the smoked salmon.

>If you like these, here are some more "challenging" types:
>saba (pickled makerel), mirugai (razor clam or "geoduk",
>from the Seattle area), or tobiko (flying fish roe).

A good move.  Also try the salmon skin roll and scallop (if available --
it's usually lightly broiled).

As for Uni, I never had to eat it when I was in Japan.  My hosts had
been instructed by my (now ex-) husband to "try to freak us out."  It
was amusing to see what they came up with: raw clams on the half-shell
(they were disappointed to find out that I grew up on 'em :-) ) and
oysters.

NEVER did they expect me to eat Uni, and never did I see THEM eat it!

--Lynn
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