Have you ever thought about or noticed what the anatomy of a Japanese meal looks like? For those who don't know anatomy, it's the structural organization, maybe you've noticed that Japanese dishes, the way they eat and the culinary art are very different from Western foods. In Brazil we simply fill our plate with food, mix it all up and eat. In Japan this is quite different, so it's worth taking a little study.
We are not going to generalize and say that in Brazil or in the West we simply fill our plates with food, without any aesthetics or order. In restaurants, for example, we are served with a light appetizer, then with a main course and then dessert, this is an organization. Our diet is based on rice, meat and beans in addition to leaves and vegetables. O breakfast common is bread with butter and coffee, sometimes a delicious cheese bread or bagel.
Índice de Conteúdo
The traditional Japanese meal
In Japan things are served separately. The traditional Japanese meal is served in small bowls separating the cooked rice from other dishes. A soup, which is usually the miso soup comes in a separate bowl where we can gently drink it straight from the bowl or with a ladle. Things like fish, meat and salad can come with the rice or in separate bowls.
The noodles, soba and somen can be separated and pure, so they can be dipped in a sauce or mixed manually with other foods. Rice is most often the main dish. The side dishes are called okazu. The most common okazu are high in protein like grilled fish or meat.
The most common way of eating a Japanese meal is taking the bowl in your hand and using the hashi. Occasionally, you put down the rice bowl and have some soup. Dessert is not usually a traditional Japanese meal. Most of the time a meal ends with a hot cup of tea. The Japanese usually eat sweets for lunch or at other times. Of course, the influence of the West has made these customs change, while Japanese breakfast usually has rice and fish, nowadays many eat bread or a basic snack.
The art of Japanese cuisine
Some think that the Japanese eat a lot of food, due to the amount of bowls, options and dishes in a meal. Others believe that the Japanese eat little precisely because the bowls are small. The Japanese usually eat the meal slowly to enjoy and do good health.
Traditional Japanese cuisine is an art, we can see it in the way sushi is made, in obentos prepared for students and in various Japanese inventions and dishes. This difficulty in preparing and separating Japanese foods makes thousands of Japanese resort to restaurants that are cheap and there are thousands of options. Many Japanese families don't want to go to all that trouble and turn to faster and cheaper options.
It's sad to imagine that if you google Japanese cuisine, you'll find loads of sushi pictures. I like to end by making it clear that Japanese cuisine is much more than sushi. The Japanese eat sushi just like the Brazilians eat pizza and hamburgers.
