Konnichiwa, Irasshaimase
When my family immigrated to the United States in the late 1980’s we didn’t know much about American dining, let alone all of the various cultures that have become popular in American cuisine over time. So to say that we knew nothing of Japanese cuisine would be an understatement. However, as adventurous as we are, we were open to new experiences.
I was ten years old the first time I tried sushi. My older brother took me and my parents to a restaurant in the West Village Manhattan for our first experience. And the idea of eating raw fish sounded gross, unsanitary, and bizarre. But we were there to try it. So we looked around the tables near us and pointed to things - “what is that?” and “what is that?” and “is that fish?” and “wow it looks pretty, is that raw too?” And we looked strangely at the names of fish over rice on the laminate menu. My brother took the lead and ordered us some basic things like a spicy tuna roll, and some sushi. And while we waited we warmed up to it with some hot sake.
I was too young to drink, but I later learned to appreciate sake and more so the different types of sake there are. Needless to say we fell in love with the food, the delicate flavors of warm slightly sweet rice and fresh fish. This has led to a lifetime love affair with Japan, Japanese food and Japanese culture. Eating sushi at a young age, also opened a lifelong curiosity within me, and the willingness to try things even if at first they don’t sound “good.”
As I grew, so did my palette and knowledge of different Japanese foods. Japanese food is indeed so much more than just sushi. But their contribution of sushi to other cultures and cuisines is probably by far the greatest known the world over. In my early 20’s, when I couldn’t afford dining out frequently especially at quality restaurants, I even picked up a few sushi making books and started making it at home for guests - it was a big hit. It never looked as good as it does when it’s made by professional chefs, but lucky for me Los Angeles has some of the best sushi quality fish sold in markets across town.
In my 30’s I started exploring different sake flavors and attended several different sake tastings to learn about the various levels and types of sake. And I tend to lean toward the more robust flavors and crispness of the ginjo or dai-ginjo sake variety. And with the different varieties and flavors, I’ve finally landed on the one that I think is both approachable from a flavor and cost perspective - Kikusui - which can be found in many Japanese specialty stores and at a good number of restaurants around Los Angeles.
For years I wanted to go visit Japan, but there were a few things that I thought were prohibitive. One, Japan is known to be less budget friendly (when compared to other countries in Asia) and I thought I wouldn’t be able to experience much of what I wanted. Secondly, the language is complicated, and years ago it was true, most street signs and names were exclusively in Japanese. However, when I finally traveled to Japan a few years ago, I was pleased to find out that signs in English are fairly frequent - even the train station announcements are now translated into English. And as for the budget, Japan is not as expensive as I once thought. And if you’re budget conscious, I recommend going in the shoulder seasons that are slightly less popular and it will save a good 20%-30% on air travel, accommodation and other high ticket value products creating more room in your budget for exploring the country.
While in Japan, I learned many more things about the culture and food. For one, one day we spent walking for hours through various neighborhoods we stumbled upon Monja street. Monja we learned is a hibachi grill prepared concoction. It’s a mix of finely chopped vegetables like cabbage, carrots and sprouts. It includes a protein like seafood or pork or sausage. And it is all mixed together in an eggy broth that is then cooked through while constantly stirring on a hot grill cooktop. While in Sapporo we stopped to eat at one of the widely popular Genghis Khan restaurants. These restaurants are similar to Korean BBQ or any other cook-yourself places with hot coal grills. Here we selected the protein and a few sides were served while we grilled our meat table side. And our food adventure didn’t stop there. While in Kyoto, we ventured to a restaurant that served sashimi style (raw) horse meat. So we had to try it, and it was delicious!
What is more delicious than the impossibly delicious flavors of all of the foods in Japan is the presentation and the style with which it is served. Japanese art of presentation makes every meal food theater. The chefs, the servers, the hosts, everyone is part of your experience. Between giant friendly smiles, artful knife sills, and masterpiece plates by the time the yummy morsels hit your tastebuds, you’ve already experienced it with your mind and your stomach.
Other popular dishes we ate throughout the trip and never got tired of include yakitori, ramen, red and black curry, takoyaki, sukiyaki, okonomiyaki, katsu, udon and shabu shabu. If there’s anything I missed please comment because I’m definitely hoping to go back soon and will try more!
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