80 to 90% of my family's meals are traditional, rice-centered ones, and the remaining 10 to 20% are noodle- or bread-based meals. In Japan, the concept of staple food is so strong that meals without a staple food are almost unthinkable.
我が家の食事の80～90%は伝統的な、ご飯中心の食事で、残りの10～20%は麺類またはパンの食事です。日本では、主食という概念がとても強いので、主食のない食事は殆ど考えられません。
For supper tonight, I made hiyashi chuka (lit. chilled Chinese). The toppings were fake crabmeat (commonly known as surimi in the United States?), kinshi tamago (strings of fried eggs), and shredded cucumber. We also had tomatoes and spinatch ohitashi (boiled spinach, often eaten with dried bonito shavings and ponzu or other sauces). Simmered kiriboshi daikon, too.
今日の夕食には冷やし中華を作りました。上に載せたのは、かにカマ、錦糸玉子、細かく切ったキュウリです。トマトとほうれん草のおひたしも食べました。切干大根の煮物も。
Wow, talk about simple, appetizing and healthy at the same time. For those unfamiliar with hiyashi chuka such as myself, are the ramen noodles served seasoned or unseasoned? Also, are western style dining tables common in Japanese homes?
ReplyDeleteSeasoned with a special sauce, usually either a soy sauce-and-vinegar-based sauce (shoyu dare) or a sesame seed-and-vinegar-based sauce (goma dare). You can see four packets of premade sauce, one syouyu dare and three goma dare, above the pile of small plates at the lower right corner of the table.
ReplyDeleteTall tables are very popular. They are probably more popular than low tables because of increases in the popularity of flooring.
I eat on a low table on the floor...because I can't afford a big table! :) Your hiyashi chuka is more beautifully presented than mine...which sauce do you prefer, sesame or soy?
ReplyDeleteI like both, but I think I prefer goma. My wife much prefers shoyu.
ReplyDeleteOne complaint about making hiyashi chuka is that making kinshi tamago is time-consuming! I used four L eggs and made three sheets of fried eggs. My wife keeps telling me that I can always replace it with iri tamago (Japanese scrambled eggs), but I don't want to do that!