Anyone Up for Sushi? -- Common Foods of Japan

Okay, this post is about the tasty foods of Japan~! So if I were you, I'd go eat before you picture your computer monitor as a big piece of spicy tuna. First off, before learning about the actual food, I'm going to give you a bit of education on the language. In Japan, it is customary before one eats to say, 'Itadakimasu', pronounced as, 'Ita-da-ki-mas'. It lacks an English meaning, but is just meant as something to say before you eat. Of course, the Japanese also use chopsticks to eat, and I warn you now, if you learn how to use them you will never pick up a fork and spoon again.

Now, onto the food. I'm sure someone reading this must know what Ramen is; that Asian noodle stuff that comes in the orange packet and takes three minutes to cook? Yes. That. It comes from Japan. If you've ever eaten authentic Japanese Ramen, then you'd know that the stuff you buy at Wal-Mart is nowhere near the same. Shown in the picture above, Ramen is a wavy noodle cooked in broth, usually flavored as chicken, beef, Miso, etc. It can come in many different flavors, but is also served with slices of meat, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, and in some cases, Naruto; and I do not mean the Anime, I mean the slice of fish-paste. It sounds gross, but it's very good. Naruto is almost a flower shape, white, and has a red swirl in the center.

Besides Ramen, Japan is also well-known for Sushi; something my older brother entertainingly has a fetish with (well not really, but it's hysterical to watch him eat it). Sushi is usually raw fish wrapped in a layer of seaweed, with a layer of white rice (known simply as, 'sticky rice' in Japan), wrapped in another layer of seaweed, and finally a last layer of sticky rice. It can be served other ways as well, but that is the most common. All different types of fish can be made into Sushi, including squid and eel; and if you want my opinion, the eel is good, but difficult to stomach at first.

Next food is the Rice ball; probably the only food item in this post I haven't eaten, unfortunately. A Rice ball is, obviously, a ball of sticky rice, usually filled with a meat or vegetable in the center.

Our final food to talk about is...-drum roll-...Pocky. Pocky is a desert item in Japan; a sort of cookie-like bread stick coated in chocolate, strawberry, or chocolate and almonds. You can get them in the Asian aisle in Wal-Mart, or the Manga section in Borders if you plan on trying some.

Okay, hope I made you hungry~!
~Jess'ka K.