foodha for thought – menuism blog

When it comes to traditional Japanese breakfast, it definitely strays from the Western tradition of bacon and eggs, pancakes and waffles. In fact, it’s more like a meal you’d have for lunch or even dinner. So what’s on the menu for the AM? Simply, the types of dishes could include most of or all of the following: a bowl of rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, dried seaweed, tamagoyaki (sweetened rolled omelet), natto and sometimes grilled or broiled fish.

There’s no real wrong or right away to enjoy this kind of meal, but there is a traditional way and that’s what I’m going to touch on. First, let me mention something about Japanese etiquette. Apparently, it’s custom to have the bowl of miso your right and the rice to your left. I don’ t know why, so if any of you know the reason, please leave a comment.

When it comes to the dried seaweed, the key is to either swirl it in your miso soup or dip it in soy sauce. Once it’s softened, wrap it around a little bit of rice and enjoy. If you’ve never had natto before, once you’ve had it, you’ll never forget it. Natto is fermented soy beans and for many, its slimy texture is difficult to take. When you get a bowl of natto, you season it with soy sauce and karashi mustard, mix, place some on your steamed rice and eat everything together.

One thing that may seem really out of place is the raw egg. What the heck do you do with that? Here’s the scenario. Break the egg into a bowl, add soy sauce, mix and than pour over your rice. Be sure your rice is really hot because it’s the heat that will help cook that egg so that it’s not completely raw before you taking a bite.

As for the fish, it can be eaten on its own or it can be cut in pieces and added to your rice bowl or even mixed in the rice before you wrap it with the seaweed wrapper. Last, the tamagoyaki can be eaten with or without soy sauce or grated daikon. Of course, these are all just suggestions, but if you’re going to eat a meal traditional to a certain country, you might as well go all out.

If you’re ready to check out breakfast the Japanese way, look below for some restaurant suggestions!

Fukagawa
1630 Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 324-4306

O Izakaya Lounge
Hotel Kabuki
1625 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 614-5431

Tenhachi
1125 W.12th Ave.
Vancouver, BC
(604) 742-0234