Saturday, April 25, 2009

The basics of Japanese eating: Fugu restaurants and more


Fugu restaurant
Originally uploaded by tiptoe
Fugu, the poisonous delicacy beloved by the Japanese, is prepared only by licensed chefs.

Bento - specially boxed lunch.

Sushi - rice boiled in vinegar. We watched a video on how to make a California roll, a non-sashimi type.
Nori - paper-thin seaweed used in salads and as a wrapper for sushi.
Wasabi - Japanese horse radish; mixed with soy sauce as an accompaniment for sushi.
Pickled ginger - usually served with sushi as a between-bites palate cleanser.

Sashimi - chilled, thin slices of raw fish (tuna is the great delicacy) or meat (beef or horse).

Benihana of Tokyo is the successful restaurant chain founded in NYC by Rocky Aoki. A model for such restaurants as Shogun, Kobe and Tokyo, it featured cooking at a communal table by a joke-telling, shrimp-flipping chef.

Tempura is a classic Japanese dish of deep fried battered vegetables or seafood.

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