Soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) are great. They are healthy and have a nice, slightly nutty taste. Soba noodles are usually served in a hot or cold broth made from soy sauce, Japanese sweet sake (mirin), sugar and Japanese fish stock (dashi).
The picture is of soba noodles in a hot broth. The noodles are topped with "kakiage" (thinly sliced vegetables in a tempura batter).
Grilled Fish (Yaki-sakana)(焼き魚)
Yaki-sakana (grilled or broiled fish) is really wonderful. It is the best way to really enjoy the taste of fresh fish.
Yaki-sakana can be made from either a whole fish (if it is small
enough) or from pieces of a larger fish (salmon, cod, tuna, etc.).
The most common type of yaki-sakana is made from fresh fish that are lightly salted and then grilled or broiled. The photo to the right is of a grilled Pacific Saurey.
Other popular types of yaki-sakana are made from fish that has been semi-dried or that have been preserved in miso (soy bean paste), mirin (Japanese sweet sake), etc.
Nabe (なべ or 鍋)
Nabe can refer to the pot itself or the wide variety of soups, stews and other one-pot dishes that are cooked in it.
More information about nabe (なべ or 鍋) ...
Natto (なっとう or 納豆)
Natto is a healthy food made from fermented soybeans.
More information about natto (なっとう or 納豆) ...
Sansai (山菜)
Literally translated, sansai (山菜) means "mountain vegetables". Sansai are
edible wild plants that pop up on mountainsides and fields at the start
of spring. Some of them may seem a little strange, but actually they
are quite a delicacy.
Fukinoto
Young flower stalks of the
butterbur plant. Fukinoto is stir-fried with some miso and a little bit
of sugar. The slight bitterness of the fukinoto goes well with the
miso. Great with a bowl of rice.
Kinome (or Kinomi)
Newly
sprouted leaves of the akebi tree. The sprouts are boiled in water and
then soaked in cold water to remove some of the bitterness. Kinome,
which is a little bitter (in a good way), is good with soy sauce, a
little mayonaise, and some crushed nuts (we used to call the nuts "pig
nuts" but I am not sure of their real name).
Kogomi
Sprouts
of wild ferns. The sprouts are lightly boiled in water and then soaked
in cold water to remove some of the bitterness. Like kinome, kogomi is
also good with soy sauce, a little mayonaise, and some crushed nuts.
Wild asparagus?
Not
really sure what this one is called. It is also lightly boiled in water
and then the sprouts are soaked in cold water to remove some of the
bitterness.
