What’s up with all this Natto hatred among the ex-pats? Did you guys never have okra? BTW eating okra like natto is very good too… Everyone that doesn’t like it state it’s the texture… frankly, I never understand that comment… “So it’s slimy”… it’s good slimy especially on hot rice…
I love natto, especially combined with tarako (Alaskan Pollock roe, 鱈子) and shiozake (salted salmon, 塩鮭)… YUM-O if you haven’t given it a go. Of course you’ll have to like the said ingredients to enjoy it completely…
:D
Anyway, I do have a point to this. I know a lot of Japanese people have problems with Natto too.
The thing is that Natto might be an acquired taste, but I think America people in particular have problems with a lot of food.
(If you already didn’t know Japanese people are obsessed about food. Odd since most Japanese women look like anorexics. Or maybe because they are anorexic they get more obsessed about food. God knows I get more food obsessed when I’m on a diet, which I’m on right now and hence the whole food talk… But I digress, because of this obsession with food, Japanese people like to eat all kinds of things. Sure they Japanize (oppose to Americanize) their imported food like we all do. Although, I have yet to try this crab/corn/mayo pizza, this will be on my list to try when I go to Japan because it sounds so funky, could you imagine me ordering this in the states? Also, I tend to have a more Japanese tongue so maybe I just might like this pizza combo… Kewpie Mayo is good, on a pizza it might be genius… Anyway… )
This relates to the Lunchbox entry… but what’s up with American kids/adults nowadays and the lack of variety in there diet?
I like trying different foods. When I hear someone is a “Meat and Potatoes” type, I literally feel bad for that person. All I’m thinking is how limited his food life is. Actually, I feel this way for vegetarians and vegans too… Japan’s obsession with food is probably the main reason why Japanese people do not have any sympathy or compassion with the whole vegetarian concept. My mother who grew up in rural Japan had a really hard time eating growing up because she didn’t like meat. (Although she didn’t consider fish meat and most Japanese people don’t) She basically ate cold tofu everyday. Her thoughts on this vegetarian thing changed when she had no money and starved for a month. On the other hand, I eat meat all the time. I really don’t like vegetables all that much, unless it’s cooked with some oil or cooked in a Japanese way, cooked in some food containing meat or covered in ranch dressing. For ex-pats in Japan who are vegetarian… there is no way anyone would be sympathetic to there dietary choice… They wouldn’t comprehend it, frankly, I don’t comprehend it… Meat is good… and I like eating it.
Actually, I have no sympathy for vegans or vegetarians wanting to live in Japan… they should know that they have no compassion for you… they’ll just look at you as if you were some prissy picky person… you’re going to be looked at as weird and if you can’t handle that, don’t go! Or give up being vegetarian while in Japan. Trust me, Japanese people will never understand… they like food way too much. This is the country that invented Iron Chef and countless of other food related shows!
Talk about food obsession… I’ve been avoiding this journal because of the whole food issue. I wanted to write about how it was going to be difficult when I go to Japan because of my weight. First of all I’m not the typical anorexic Asian. Actually, I’m very far from that. I’m on the chunky side I suppose. I have large breasts, and some hips, this girl has major curves. This is what’s killing me. I’m totally going crazy regarding going to Japan because I’m a nervous wreak about my weight in general. Where a girl is pretty average in the states, they are considered morbidly obese in Japan. This dilemma is enough to make me not want to see my relatives. They’ll probably put me on a diet the moment I set foot in Japan. Ugh… I’ll probably write more about this when I come back from Japan… But for now know that I’m about to go crazy with this whole diet and Japanese obsession with thinness.
O.o
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6 comments:
The issue of what children eat and what adults eat are separate ones. Children have more sensitive palates than adults and cannot tolerate strong flavors very well. It's one of the reasons why kids are, on the whole, more finicky eaters than adults. I'm pretty sure this is a genetic thing. Children prefer sweet and starchy food. That gives them enough energy to grow and therefore survive. The genetic code for children who would eat lower calorie, high fiber, pungent, strong-tasting food was likely lost as such offspring were less likely to survive throughout generations of early man.
Japanese children are generally more obedient than western children. They are far more likely to do what their parents tell them to do including eating the food they may not care for greatly. Parents are also more likely to custom-prepare a variety of food items their children enjoy in Japan. These two factors contribute to Japanese kids getting more variety.
Western cultures don't have the same level of enthusiasm for cooking and food preparation as Japan does so they tend to slap together what is easy and desirable. Food is just not as high on the priority list in western culture as it is in Japan. This isn't a deficiency in the West. It's simply a difference.
It may be a difference which leads to less physically healthy people but so it goes. In Japan, there are other differences in priorities which lead to different societal problems (such as "sodai gomi" husbands or "kyoiku mamas" because pursuing hobbies or personal interests is such a low priority).
As for natto, I don't like the smell of the fermentation as it reminds me of beer and I hate the smell of beer and all forms of alcohol. I'm not going to enjoy eating anything which I dislike the smell of though I did try natto before didn't find it repulsive or anything. It's more a shoulder-shrugging taste experience.
I think the Japanese tend to make far too much of the foreign reaction to certain foods while ignoring the fact that they find some western foods equally repulsive. It's as if western reactions are quaint and humorous whereas their responses are reasonable reactions to "vile" tastes (e.g., root beer). It's rather ethnocentric to see the western response to Japanese food as quirky or a reflection of a limited palate and the Japanese one as more reasonable.
You're rather fortunate because you grew up experiencing all types of food and probably have a more flexible palate than people raised in one culture alone.
Hi shari!
My mother is the first one who introduced me to root beer, she actually loves root beer especially as a float. :D Do they even sell root beer in Japan? I know it's pretty rare outside of the US. My husband doesn't like root beer odd enough. Go figure. I guess people aren't just exposed to things like I was... but then... even as a child I tried everything at least once. I guess, I just wanted to try everything. My mother actually hates okonomiyaki but I love the stuff, I tried it at my mother's friend's house. lol... I guess I was a foodie since I was born...
:D
I think nato preference really doesnt have anything to do with being Japanese or non Japanese. My husband loves it but I can't get past the smell. I have an American friend that loves it and JP friends who hate it.
As a vegetarian in Japan I found the Japanese to be very accomodating where ever I go and there is shōjin ryōri(精進料理) restaurants that have
only vegetarian fare.
Oh and you can't really find Root Beer unless you try Costco or Foreign Buyers club. ^^
I would be suspect of meals even if it is advertised shōjin ryōri... as in they might still use non vegetarian elements... Trust me they really don't get that fish is a meat... using a little bit of fish isn't considered a big deal... Japanese Buddhist eat meat they really don't adhere to Other Buddhist sects. So even if you're eating shōjin ryōri make sure they aren't including non-vegetarian things... because they won't even know at times that fish isn't included...
Yes, being vegetarian has been a trial here, but it's okay if you eat in. And I've been to a number of places where the cook has offered to make something totally veggy for me, which has been much appreciated because I know how unusual it is here. I would recommend that gaijin vegetarians be extremely patient though. But there's never been any question of me ditching being veggy over here.
It just smells really really bad. And okra is slimy also.
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