Cuisine

What is umami??(fifth sense of tastes)  

Do you know the five senses of tastes? Sweet, salty, sour, bitter and ... umami. The last one is Japanese, and this was discovered by a Japanese scientist, Kikunae Ikeda, in 1908. This umami is familiar with Japanese because Japanese cuisine includes stock soup called dashi. Japanese cuisine uses less salt to taste umami, so it is healthy and tasty.

How Japanese people eat noodles?

How do you eat ramen? You might not slurp noodles. However, in Japan, Japanese people do slurp their noodles, for example, udon, soba, ramen and so on. There are several common theories, but the most common one is that if you slurp noodles, more soup will come with the noodle. Recently, young people started to stop slurping because it might make other people uncomfortable. But I predict this tradition will continue.

Did you know that sushi in foreign countries is not the same as the original sushi...!?

Since I moved from Japan, I have eaten a lot of sushi from other countries. However, I feel that it is different from what I used to eat when I was in Japan.

I think this is because Japan is surrounded by the sea and fresh fish is available, so Japanese people are not hesitant to eat raw fish. However, in foreign countries, this practice is not common. People in those countries, sushi rolls made from cooked or canned fish, which are more popular than nigiri made from raw fish.

If a foreigner comes to Japan, they will be surprised with the number of nigiri on the menu, and they will not find similar kinds of sushi rolls as that of other countries.

If you are okay with raw fish, you should eat real sushi when you come to Japan.