The cuisine of the Rising Sun is full of unusual flavors, combinations and ingredients, as well as recipes that have creative and really extravagant names. We have chosen for you five of the traditional Japanese dishes that have the most bizarre names
In Italy when it comes to Japanese food above all we think of sushi and sashimi, preparations that have made it famous all over the world. In reality, the Rising Sun has a very wide and diverse variety of traditional specialties, fascinating, but lesser known. Many Japanese dishes are characterized by unusual ingredients and complex combinations of flavors for us strange and sometimes even unpleasant, because far from our western eating habits and from the tastes to which our palate is accustomed. Examples are the raw horse meat carpaccio, noodles and soups served cold and all the delicacies based on entrails, insects, live fish or fermented foods with a strong and pungent smell and flavor.
To be curious, however, are not only many of the recipes and foods of Japanese gastronomic culture, but also their names. If many of these are translatable as didactic descriptions of all that is contained in the dish, others are instead unusual names, sometimes extravagant and sometimes fascinating.
We have therefore selected for you five traditional Japanese dishes with a really bizarre name, almost stranger than the dishes themselves.
1) Shirako
Let's start with a food that, although commonly eaten by the Japanese, is often welcomed by the Japanese with many prejudices and a certain disgust. Let's talk about the shirako, which can literally be translated as "white children", or the spermatic sac of some fish. If in Italy this dish is known as lattume and widespread mostly in Sicily, in Japan it is very popular and is used in many preparations, served cold or hot and eaten fried, boiled or seasoned.
2) Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki literally means "whatever you like grilled", and is nothing but one rich omelette Japanese based on eggs, savoy cabbage and batter, cooked precisely on a plate, and filled with popular local ingredients, such as pork belly or shrimp, all usually dressed with a sweet and sour sauce and with the Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise.
3) Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a soup rich in flavor and ingredients, an ancient preparation and much appreciated in the winter period, often consumed on holidays.
The name can be translated as "cooking what you love" and is precisely to highlight the social aspect of the dish. This traditional single dish has as its basic ingredients broth, rice noodles, beef and various vegetables, but there are many variations.
4) Kitsune Udon
This Japanese dish is one of the many recipes based on udon, that is the traditional fresh pasta prepared with soft wheat flour and generally served in broth. This version, a favorite of the Japanese, consists of a broth with udon noodle, abura-age fried tofu and various condiments including powdered chilli and fresh onions. The name means "Udon of the fox" and although it may suggest fox meat, it actually derives from a popular belief that foxes are greedy for fried tofu, just as the color of tofu is said to resemble that of foxes.
5) Oyakodon
The name of this dish, easy and quick to prepare and very popular and loved in Japan, can be literally translated as "parents and children", name that refers to the two main ingredients, that is chicken and eggs. In fact, the oyakodon consists of a bowl of rice to which dashi broth, pieces of chicken, scrambled eggs and various typical condiments are added, which include soy sauce, mirin and fresh sliced spring onion.
Photo: Japanese dish strange name Oyakodon_Stin Shen Flickr.jpg (cover)
Photo: Japanese dish strange name-Oyakodon_wikipedia.jpg
Photo: Japanese dish strange name お 好 み 焼 き okonomiyaki_Minato Kaidou_Flickr.jpg
Photo: Japanese dish strange name_Kitsune_udon_by_chou_i_ci_in_Kyoto.jpg
Photo: Japanese dish strange name Sukiyaki_WordRidden Flickr.jpg
Photo: Japanese dish strange name_Shirako_Wikipedia.JPG
This recipe has already been read 143 times!