A typical Japanese cuisine. Originally, it referred to fish pickled to be preserved from spoiling, but in the Edo Period(1603-1867) vinegar came to be used in the preparation, and they were put together with boiled rice for eating. However, in Edo (present-day Tokyo), sushi was made by laying slices of raw fish, freshly caught in Edo Bay, on rice and rolling it by hand. That "Edomae-zushi"(Edo-style sushi), is what is known throughout the world as Japanese sushi. In fact, throughout Japan there are many different kinds of sushi shaping a region's food culture. In Kansai, so-called "oshi-zushi"(pressed sushi) is not rolled by hand, but instead, rice mixed with vinegar is put into a wooden container, with slices of fish on it, and pressed from the top to shut tightly.
These are plums pickled in salt and exposed to the sun for drying. Since the tartness strongly stimulates the sense of taste and causes saliva to flow, this was popular as a convenient preserved food in those times when there were food shortages. Even just one of these pickled plums made a sufficiently tasty meal with rice. Today, it is still a basic food item, essential for rice balls and lunches, for the Japanese.
These are made by rolling rice in the palms of the hands. They are also called onigiri. Usually, they are made into triangular or round shapes with a pickled plum or fish in the middle and wrapped with laver on the outside. Like sandwiches for the Americans, they are the most popular item for carrying along when on outing or hiking. In urban convenience stores, they have become popular food items for single men and women.
Sekihan literally means red rice. When rice cultivation was originally brought to Japan, it was mainly red rice. Gradually, as white rice was popularized, red rice was stopped being produced, and instead began to be prepared by mixing red beans to glutinous rice. This red rice boiled together with red beans was dedicated and eaten on ceremonial occasions. Even today, for festivals and felicitous occasions with relatives(for example, when babies are born or for weddings), sekihan is eaten and dedicated to the divinities.
Roughly divided, there are two kinds of rice; the regular kind that is boiled to eat and glutinous rice. Glutinous rice becomes mochi after it is steamed and pound into a paste with a wooden pestle. At New Year, mochi is invariably grilled or put into soup with rice cakes and vegetables and eaten. For the Japanese, mochi is, along with rice, the oldest food, and like rice boiled together with red beans, red mochi is eaten together with white mochi on ceremonial occasions and dedicated to the divinities. Thus, red and white make an auspicious color combination for the Japanese.
Tofu is a jelly-like food, made from soybeans. Rich in protein, it can be eaten as it is with soy sauce, while it is also used as an ingredient in various dishes, being a food with abundant applications. At present it is highlighted as healthfood and has even been indicated as a reason for the long life expectancy of the Japanese people. In the United States and other countries, "tofu steak" has appeared as healthfood on restaurant menus.
Natto is made by cooking soybeans and putting them into a pipe made from straw to allow the natto fungus to propagate. The soybeans ferment and rope are sticky. A food peculiar to Japan, it is a popular breakfast item eaten mainly in the eastern part of the Japan Islands; it is not really liked in the western part. However, recently it is popular as healthfood for a balanced diet, and numbers of people who eat it are gradually increasing even in the western part.
This is one kind of cookpot dishes. It is a typical wintertime dish in which various kinds of minced fish are processed and put in the pot, and Japanese radishes, kelp, eggs and the like are added and cooked. It is often prepared in the home, but in cities people are fond of oden at street stalls. In winter, white-collar workers drinking warmed sake while eating oden at street stalls are conspicuous. In recent years, oden can be bought, warmed up, even at convenience stores.
This is Japanese-style barbecue using chicken. It is the most popular dish when drinking sake in bars or street stalls. Typically, pieces of chicken and Welsh onions are alternately stuck on a skewer, grilled and flavored with a soy sauce based sauce or salt. Just as beef is divided into parts like sirloin and tenderloin, chicken too is divided into thigh, wing, breast and so on. To "drink over yakitori" after work is so popular that it can be said to be the office worker's password.
In Japan, marine products are abundantly taken from the sea. Nori is one kind of seaweed, which adheres to rocks in a mossy form. From the Edo Period(1603-1867) on, nori was popularized after a technique was developed to make it paper thin. It is an indispensable ingredient for sushi and rice balls and is used after first drying it over fire. Chopped finely or cut in small pieces, it is used as an ingredient for various dishes. After being dried, it can also be dipped in soy sauce and eaten with rice.