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Few modern urban Japanese know their traditional cuisine.
Traditional Japanese cuisine is dominated by white rice (hakumai, 白米), and few meals would be complete without it. Anything else served during a meal-- fish, meat, vegetables, tsukemono ( pickles)--is considered a side dish. Side dishes are served to enhance the taste of the rice. Traditional Japanese meals are named by the number of side dishes that accompany the rice and soup that are nearly always served. The simplest Japanese meal, for example, consists of ichiju-issai (一汁一菜; "one soup, one side" or "one dish meal"). This means soup, rice, and one accompanying side dish--usually a pickled vegetable like daikon. A traditional Japanese breakfast, for example, usually consists of miso soupJapanese cuisine Miso soup (, misoshiru in Japanese) is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called " dashi" into which is dissolved softened miso. Various solid ingredients like wakame seaweed, tofu, and mushrooms are then added to make the, rice, and a pickled vegetable. The most common meal, however, is called ichiju-sansai (一汁三菜; "one soup, three sides"), or soup, rice, and three side dishes, each employing a different cooking technique. The three side dishes are usually raw fish ( sashimiSashimi ( Japanese: / Korean: hoe is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of the freshest seafoods thinly sliced served with only a dipping sauce (like soy sauce with wasabi, or ponzu sauce) and a simple garnish like shredded daikon radish. Some sashi), a grilledGrilling means broiling food with direct heat. In the United States, grilled food is usually cooked on a grill, gridiron or a metal plate with flame applied from below, fueled by wood, charcoal or gas. Outside USA, the term refers to cooking directly unde dish, and a simmeredSimmering is a cooking technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just barely below the boiling point of water (at average sea level air pressure, 100 °C (212 °F). To keep a pot simmering, one brings it to a boil and then adjusts the he (sometimes called boiledBoiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to a temperature such that its vapor pressure is above that of the surroundings. Boiling, however, occurs in three characteristic forms, which are nucleate, transition and in translations from Japanese) dish -- although steamedSteaming is cooking by steam. Steaming is a preferred cooking method of health conscious individuals because no cooking oil is needed, resulting in a lower fat content. Steaming also results in a more nutritious food than boiling because fewer nutrients a, deep friedDeep frying is cooking food by submerging the whole food item in hot oil or fat, originating in Africa. See also frying and deep fat fryer. Some deep fried food: Black Pudding (AKA Blood Pudding) is delicacy popular in the North of England and Scotland., vinegared, or dressedDressing can be a noun or a verb. The word comes from dress, which originally meant speech or talk but later came to mean covering or clothing. A dressing is a medical covering for a wound, usually made of cloth. Covering the wound protects it from furthe dishes may replace the grilled or simmered dishes. Ichiju-sansai often finishes with pickled vegetables and green tea. One type of pickled food that is popular is ume.
This uniquely Japanese view of a meal is reflected in the organization of traditional Japanese cookbooks. Chapters are organized according to cooking techniques: fried foods, steamed foods, and grilled foods, for example, and not according to particular ingredients (e.g., chicken or beef) as are western cookbooks. There are also usually chapters devoted to soups, sushi, rice, noodles, and sweets.
Being an island nation, its people consume much seafood including fish, shellfish, octopus/squid, crabs/lobsters/shrimp and seaweed. Although not known as a meat eating country, very few Japanese consider themselves vegetarians by any sense of the word. Beef and chicken are commonly eaten and have become part of everyday cuisine.
Noodles, although originating in China, have become an essential part of Japanese cuisine. There are two traditional types of noodle, soba and udon. Made from buckwheat flour, soba (蕎麦) is a thin, brown noodle. Made from wheat flour, udon (うどん) is a thick, white noodle. Both are generally served in a soy-flavored fish broth with various vegetables. A more recent import from China, dating to the early 19th century, is ramen (ラーメン; Chinese wheat noodles), which has become extremely popular. Ramen is served in a variety of soup stocks ranging from soy sauce/fish stock to butter/pork stock.
Although the Japanese generally eschew eating insects there are a couple of exceptions. In some regions, grasshoppers (inago) and bee larvae (hachinoko) are not uncommon dishes. Salamander is also eaten as well. However the majority of Japanese probably have not even tried these dishes.