Washoku - Japanese Food (Part Two, Eating In)

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Mama's Food Rocks!

Eating at home in Japan is my favourite thing in the country. It still amazes me how Japan on the surface — out on the street, at work, in social spaces — is highly formal, ritualised, and in this sense Japanese culture looks miles away from where we're 'from'. Of course you have the obvious external differences in the construction and visual arts in general, as well as the bowing, and public demeanours...but when you sit at home with family, meals are just raucus, irreverent, and the only real differences are the language and menu. It's a real shame that this is something that is inaccessible unless you do a home stay. the same goes for anywhere, but the contrast between external and internal seems more marked to me in Japan than elsewhere. I only really have experience of (my) one extended family-in-law's meal times, but I'm assuming that they're not completely alien to the rest of the country!

As with the eating out, there are usually dishes galore, and we tend to get through a bit of booze. This is just a sample of what we've eaten over the last fortnight, and thus is partially representative of this season and food that Mitsu and I particularly requested on a visit home- mostly Mama's specialities. Summer has cold noodles; winter sees the nabe coming to the fore: a pot of stock in which you sit round and cook veggies and meat, like a fondue, and then have rice or noodles in the residual soup. You also have different fish and veggies depending on the season; it's bonito season in Japan at the moment, and we've had stacks of it.

Anyway, Mama arigatou. Anatano ryouri UMAI wa!

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