Hiyashiame is a sweet ginger drink that is popular mainly in the Kansai (western) area in Japan. The spicy taste from ginger helps overcome brutal summer heat fatigue. A common sight during summer is a cold drink machine in the front of a tea shop or candy shop with Hiyashiame. It is also well known as a summer festival drink sold by street vendors. For many Japanese, Hiyashiame is a special flavor that is part of summer. If you are tired of sodas and lemonade, try this authentic Japanese summer drink.
Amashoku is old-fashioned Japanese sweet bread. It is not yeast bread but more like a simple baked pastry between a cake and a cookie. Amashoku is very easy to make with easy-to-find ingredients. It is a perfect everyday snack.
Kakiage is a kind of Tempura dish with a variety of chopped vegetables and seafood. This deep-fried round food has a much more casual feeling than Tempura you may know, but it is as delicious as Tempura.
Tempura is one of the most famous Japanese foods outside Japan. It is battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables. Tempura can be as formal as you want it to be at very expensive Tempura specialty restaurants in Japan. Kakiage, on the other hand, is made from thinly-cut or chopped vegetables and small pieces of seafood mixed with Tempura batter and deep-fried. It is a great dish to use up left over vegetables hiding in the corner of the fridge.
Umeshu, or plum wine, is a popular sweet drink inside and outside Japan. This tasty drink is a great aperitif and also wonderful as a dessert wine after dinner. It’s often served chilled, over ice, or mixed with soda water.
Nikuman are Japanese steamed hot buns with ground pork filling. The white bread part is made from both yeast and baking powder, and it is soft and tender. The filling is pork with chopped vegetables seasoned with soy sauce and other flavorings such as oyster sauce and ginger. The name Nikuman comes from the meat (Niku) and the cake (Man from Manjyu). Even though Manjyu are Japanese sweet cakes, this is a savory Manjyu Japanese people love eating for a snack and light meal.
Okayu is Japanese rice porridge. It is often eaten when people are not feeling well. It has a very mild taste and it’s easy to digest, making it a perfect food when you don’t have much of an appetite. Okayu is also eaten for breakfast sometimes. For example, some hotel restaurants there serve Okayu in a breakfast buffet.
Kitsune Udon (きつねうどん) is Udon noodles in hot Dashi soup topped with Aburaage that has been cooked in a sweet and salty sauce. Although you don’t often see Kitsune Udon in Japanese restaurants in the US, it is one of the most popular dishes and a staple menu item at Udon restaurants in Japan.
Kitsune is “fox” in Japanese, but don’t worry, we don’t use fox meat in the dish. Some people think the dish may have been named because of a folk tale that Aburaage is a fox’s favorite food. Others think it is called Kitsune because of the brown color that is similar to a fox. In fact, we often use “Kitsune Iro” (fox color) to describe a brown color in cooking.
As you can see from previous entries in our Bento Lunch series, Bento is a portable packed meal, usually eaten for lunch in Japan. You can buy bento at bento shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, train station shops – pretty much anywhere there. However, as we always say, the home-made kind is the best! And it’s not hard to make at all.
If you know you need to bring lunch the next day, just think ahead. Leave some food from dinner aside, and even prepare vegetables before you go to bed. It is busy in the morning for everyone, so keep the Bento making to a minimum in the morning.
We have Steamed Rice, Beef Roll Up with Vegetables, Tamagoyaki and Kabocha Salad in our Bento box this time. You could get Beef Roll Up prepared the night before, and it’s best to pan-fry the meat in the morning. Tamagoyaki doesn’t take long to make in the morning. Kabocha Salad should be made in advance. Add some lettuce for splash of color, and it also works as a divider between dishes. If you like, you can sprinkle black sesame seeds and salt on your Steamed Rice.
One thing you have to be careful about is the temperature: the wrong temperature may induce bacteria growth – yuck! You need to cool the Bento completely before you wrap it up. Also, raw fish or undercooked meat are not suitable for Bento. Try not to let it get too warm. You might want to use an ice pack during the summer. Treat your Bento like your ham sandwich.
For a container, you can use your old tupperware, of course, but there are tons of cute and cool Bento boxes you can get to show off your style out there. Some people also get really artistic and creative with how they cut and arrange food in the box. Faces, animals, nature scenes. Whatever makes you smile and hungry, pack it up – and don’t forget your chopsticks!
Beef Roll Up with Vegetables is pan-fried beef that is rolled up with vegetables inside. It is a great beef dish for dinner and also stays tasty cold in the lunch box.
Tenmusu are Onigiri rice balls with shrimp Tempura as a filling. Onigiri is rice shaped by pressing firmly in your hands and forming into a ball or triangle, or some other kind of shape. Typical fillings are pickled plum (Umeboshi), dried bonito flakes with soy sauce (Okaka), or salted salmon. Tenmusu is something special, with Tempura shrimp and all. It’s kind of like the “go-to” Onigiri for important Onigiri.
