Fermented beans and pickled cabbage

A visitor to my blog asked me to do a post about what I eat for dinner since my wife is Japanese and I’ve been living in Japan for most of my life now.

So, I’m writing this post about a unique and healthy dish that I had for dinner yesterday. Rather than explain the side-dishes that I had, as well…I’m just going to focus on the one dish.

This particular Japanese dish is extremely unpopular with most foreigners in Japan.
It’s called 「納豆」 (nattou) and is fermented soybeans.
Nattou is very sticky and stringy and has a very unpleasant odor…but it’s healthy and it actually tastes good.

I’ll admit that the first time that I tried natto I was repulsed by it’s appearance and smell…and I didn’t like it’s taste either. But I gave it a second chance because I noticed that my kids liked it even when they were young—“if kids can eat it, then so can I”, I thought.
So…even if you’ve tried natto before and didn’t like it—give it another shot. Especially the way I had it yesterday.

Japanese natto and Korean kimuchi over rice…better than it looks!

My favorite way to eat 納豆 (natto) is over rice with キムチ (Korean kimuchi) on top.
Kimuchi is a staple of the Korean diet…spicy pickled cabbage. And it goes great with natto and rice!

It’s a delicious and healthy dish!

Give it a try!

Japan is the healthiest country

The online magazine Health Fiend recently published their list of “the World’s Healthiest Countries“ (and their list of “the world’s least healthy countries” too).

Japan was ranked the World’s Healthiest Country based on the magazine’s criteria of:

-the longest healthy life expectancy at birth,
-lowest pollution,
-the percentage of a country’s population with access to improved drinking water and sanitation,
-low infant mortality rates,
-low rate of prevalence of tuberculosis,
-the density of physicians per 1,000 people and
-low undernourishment rates.

Three aspects of Japan were credited in particular with giving Japan the world’s highest life-expectancy:
–the healthy Japanese diet,
–Japan’s health-care system, and
–ラジオ体操 (government-sponsored exercise)

Here are the magazine’s list of the top ten world’s healthiest countries:

10. Australia
9. Austria
8. Denmark
7. Italy
6. France
5. Germany
4. Switzerland
3. Iceland
2. Sweden
1. Japan

Kit-Kat helped Tohoku

In Japan, Kit-Kat offers many unique only-in-Japan flavors.

( I wrote a post about some of the Kit-Kat Japan flavors.)

But one of their recent products was for a special cause…the “Kit-Kat World Variety” went on sale in Japan last March and ¥20 from each package sold went toward the rebuilding of the Sanriku train line (in Tohoku, Japan) which was destroyed in the 2011 March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

“Kit-Kat World Variety”

What makes Kit-Kat “World Variety” unique is that the package contains thirteen Kit-Kat chocolates…three are from Japan, five are from Australia and the other five are from England…this is because chocolate is made slightly differently in every country around the world and therefore tastes differently.

In addition to donating to the reconstruction of the train line, Kit-Kat also asked people from around the world to visit their Facebook page and leave messages of hope to the people of Tohoku  who were affected by the disaster…and many of those messages were displayed on the body of the new trains for the Sanriku line.

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Another new only-in-Japan “junkfood” product will be by Pepsi Japan soon.

Last December, Pepsi Japan offered “Pepsi Pink“.  And, next month, they will begin selling “Pepsi Black“.

This drink will contain 50% less sugar and will have a “lemon flavor”.

Chicken Wasabi

Do you know what わさび (wasabi) is?

Wasabi is a spicy condiment made from a root. It is most commonly eaten with sushi…but, it is eaten with other foods as well–including avacado, noodles, and mayonnaise.
There are also “wasabi snacks”—potato chips and nuts—in Japan.

I like spicy food. So, I eat wasabi on many different things.

Do you like wasabi?

Well, now McDonalds in Japan is offering a new item…
the 「チキンタツタわさびタルタル」 (which is basically “Fried Chicken with Wasabi Tartar-sauce“) sandwich.

Teriyaki at Burger King

As I mentioned in this post, McDonalds Japan (and a few other fast-food chains in Japan) offers a “Teriyaki Burger” as a regular menu item.

Well now Burger King in Japan is offering a 「グリルてりやき」 (“Grilled Teriyaki“) for a limited time only.
It costs ¥390 (or ¥290 for the “junior” version).

Do you like Teriyaki? Would you try this burger?

かっぱ寿司

Last month, I wrote a post about the Japanese Kappa.

But do you know the inexpensive, but delicious, 寿司 (sushi) chain in Japan called 「かっぱ寿司」 (“Kappa Zushi“)?

All of the sushi there cost only ¥105 each for a plate of two sushi.

Do you like sushi?

Have you ever tried 「かっぱ寿司」 (Kappa-Zushi)?

If you want to visit 「かっぱ寿司」 (Kappa-Zushi) you can find the nearest location by using their website (in Japanese only).

Japan meets India meets Mexico

Today is 「七夕」 (“Tanabata“).

(Click here to read my short FAQ about this holiday.)

「七夕」 (“Tanabata“) is on the seventh day of the seventh month (July 7) and the name literally translates to “Seventh evening”, but the English translation of the holiday’s name is “Star Festival“.

On this holiday, people in Japan write a wish for the future on a piece of paper and tie it to a bamboo tree.

Today both Yahoo Japan and Google Japan incorporated a 「七夕」 (“Tanabata“) design into their logos.

"Google Japan" Tanabata logo

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The Japanese fast-food chain “MOS Burger” is currently offering a 「ナン・タコス」 (“Indian Nan-bread Taco”) and 「ナン・チョリソカレー」 (“Indian Nan-Bread with Mexican Choziro-sausage and Curry”).

Each for ¥360.

日本の夏

It’s now summertime.

Currently it’s 「梅雨」 (“Rainy season“) in Japan. As usual for this time of year, it’s forecast to rain a lot for the next few days.
But also, the temperature is rising steadily and it’s quite humid. Today it was a muggy 31°C (88°F) in Tokyo.

Summer is hot and humid here…but it’s still very enjoyable. There’s so much to do.
Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer are all very different in Japan. Of course the weather is different…but I mean the food, festivals, and general atmosphere is different and unique to each season.

In a couple of earlier posts I mentioned that fast-food chains in Japan have spicy items on their menus  (Click here to read one of those posts)…but fast-food isn’t a traditional Japanese summer tradition of course, and actually their spicy summer foods aren’t extremely popular in Japan (I haven’t even tried any of them).

There are traditional foods that are very popular in Japan during the summer to help you deal with the summer heat.
Some of them are:

– 冷やし中華 (“Hiyashi Chuuka“). Cold noodles, cucumbers, ham, tomatoes, and cold soy sauce.

– スイカ (watermelon)

– かき氷 (shaved ice)

– ビール (beer)…Popular all year long, of course. But excellent to help you cool down in the summer.

– うな丼 (Freshwater eel on rice). This is said to help keep up your stamina in hot weather.

うな丼 (Freshwater eel on rice). I enjoy this dish a lot!

Some other aspects of summer in Japan include:

– the beaches and pools become crowded. Especially in August.

– the numerous summer festivals including 花火 (summer fireworks shows).

– insects. The “sound of summer” in Japan is the chirping of the セミ (cicadas). There are also カブト虫 (beetles)…and, unfortunately, ゴキブリ (cockroaches) and 蚊 (mosquitoes).

– 蚊取線香 (mosquito repellent incense).

蚊取線香 (mosquito repellent incense) often is shaped like a pig

To stay cool, there’s also ウチワ and 扇子 (types of paper fans), and ジンベイ and ユカタ (traditional Japanese summer clothing).

This isn’t an all-exclusive description of a summer in Japan, of course. It’s difficult to describe…you should come to Japan in each of the seasons and see “four different Japans”.

What’s summer like in your country?

Mister Donuts Japan’s 40th

This post is about Mister Donuts Japan, but first I wanted to mention an email I just received from Michael Doret.

He’s the artist who painted the 1976 KISS album cover “Rock And Roll Over” and he also painted their album cover for last year’s “Sonic Boom“.

He did two interviews with me.
In my post about the second interview, I wrote a comment about an email he sent me last month about prints of the albums covers that are signed by both him and the band (KISS).

Click here to read that comment I wrote.

In the email that I received from Michael Doret yesterday he sent me a photo of KISS holding the prints and he wrote to me:

Just in case you were interested, I thought I’d share with you a photo that was just taken of KISS helping to promote my limited edition prints.

I hope you had a great New Years!

Best,
Michael

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Anyways, 2010 January 27 will be the 40th anniversary of the day the first “Mister Donuts” store opened in Japan.

「ミスタードーナツ」 (“Mister Donuts“) is an American chain that is very popular in Japan.
It seems that this chain wasn’t so popular in America, though…and the U.S. stores were bought out by rival chain “Dunkin’ Donuts”, which has more success in America.

Ironically, it’s the other way around in Japan.
“Dunkin’ Donuts” failed in Japan because Japanese people found their donuts too sweet so they closed up all their stores here years ago.
「ミスタードーナツ」 (“Mister Donuts“), being less sweet and more simpler, appeal to Japanese.
「ミスタードーナツ」 (“Mister Donuts“) in Japan is owned by a Japanese company so the menu is tailored to Japanese taste. They even sell Chinese food in their Japanese stores.

One of their best-selling donuts in Japan is the simple “Old Fashioned” donuts.
There are a few varieties of this one. I like the 「オールドファッションハニー」 (“Honey Old Fashioned“).

So, to celebrate 「ミスタードーナツ」 (“Mister Donuts“)’s forty years in Japan, this month they’re giving away “Lucky Cards” to customers who spend ¥600 or more.

These are scratch cards. When you scratch them, it tells how many “points” you won (either 3, 5, 40 or 150 points).

The points can be collected and redeemed for prizes such as a dish set, coffee cup, stuffed toy, cell-phone strap, donuts, etc.

Click here to see the prizes they offer.

うな丼

今日は「土用の丑の日」 (Today is “The Day of The Ox“)…which is the day in summer that people eat ウナギ (freshwater eel). Usually the eel is prepared as 「うな丼」 (Eel on Rice).

The うな丼 that I ate today.

Eating ウナギ (freshwater eel) in the summertime is said to give you stamina to stand the hot, humid days.

I wrote a post about 「土用の丑の日」 (“The Day of The Ox“) last year. Click here to read it.

We are eating 「うな丼」 (Eel on Rice) for dinner today.

It’s quite delicious!

Have you ever tried eel? ウナギ (Freshwater eel) is different from アナゴ (Saltwater eels).

ウナギ (Freshwater eel) is richer tasting and, in Japan, is usually prepared with a sweet sauce and eaten on rice. アナゴ (Saltwater eel) is the eel that is used on 寿司 (sushi), in Japan.

Both are good…but I think ウナギ (freshwater eel) is better.