1. Japanese cuisine, traditionally speaking combines staple food (i.e. rice or
gohan) with one or several main dishes accompanied by soup. Japanese food is an
art form, and care is taken as to how food is prepared, sliced, and presented.
Notice in restaurants how attractive a bento box of a complete Japanese meal is
served to a customer accompanied by a small bowl of miso soup.
As with any Asian cuisine, Japanese cuisine has rice as the staple grain, served
with the main dish. Rice is also fermented to wine called sake or pounded into a
paste for mochi, a snack in Japan. Noodles are also available, such as soba, or
buckwheat noodles. Soups are also present such as the famous miso soup, which
are popular both in fancy restaurants and Japanese fast foods.
Vegetables like radishes, ginger, and turnips are often pickled. Served with
meals, they give the meal instant variety in taste. Tofu, a common ingredient in miso
soup, also appears in the main course or stir-fried with vegetables. As Japan is
surrounded mainly with water, there is an abundance of seafood in their diet.
Popular Japanese foods like sushi and sashimi. Sashimi is fish served raw, and these
are the freshest fish. They are usually served dipped in soy sauce and wasabi, a
Japanese root product that adds a spicy, pungent flavor. Cooked fish and seafood
was also available, such as tempura. Aside from fish and seafood in the ocean,
vegetation from the ocean, such as kelp and seaweed were used. The black
paperlike sheet used to wrap sushi is called nori, which is seaweed. Kelp is used in
soups and some seaweed is used in salads. Meat-eating, at one point in Japanese
history was not allowed, but later on, meats were added to their diet, and popular
meat dishes like sukiyaki emerged. For drinks, popular drinks are sake and tea.
One thing the Japanese was particular about was seasonality. As some
restaurants and cultures have certain dishes available all year round, the food
served depends on the season. Take for example blowfish, which is served only in

2. cold months. Salads make do with vegetables
available in season and the same goes for main
courses. There are also sweets that are available
depending on the season and certain foods only
available and eaten on specific occasions. Sake,
a popular drink in Japan is wine warmed during
the fall and winter months.
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