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crestedibis (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 1
Join Date: Jan 2012
01-18-2012, 07:56 AM

I find that I am getting fussier about food as I get older.

I like natto and shiokara. The former has a nutty flavor and you feel like you are eating something nutritious. Natto on rice is my favorite breakfast. Shiokara is not meant to be eaten in large quantities. In moderation, it is a great accompaniment to a dry sake. A small dab will also help the rice go down.

On the other hand, I do not generally like other salty foods. I can't really see the point of tsukudani.

What I REALLY hate, though, is ham. It shows up even in breakfasts. Pink, cold, salty, sliced ham. Ham and bacon pollute otherwise vegetarian dishes like stir fry and pasta dishes. It is as if the Japanese feel that including ham or bacon makes a dish somehow more luxurious. Hate the pink, hate the salt.

I also dislike most fried foods. How do the Japanese stay slim and healthy while eating so much karaage and kurokke? I easpecially hate their cold versions seved with cold rice in a bento. Cold, greasy, flavorless, colorless--yuck.

Then there are the non-foods. Tokyo style raamen, served with a single slice of pork, some nori, menma, and maybe half a boiled egg, has almost no nutrition. Instead, it is full of sodium and fat--the soup is surprisingly high in calories. So is curry roux. Both raamen soup and curry roux often contain lard. Yum.

Convenience store food is getting more and more varied, but tends to be very salty and full of additives. The sandwiches sicken me, literally. Spongy white bread filled with more than one filling. Hey, everybody likes ham, egg salad, vegetable, cheese, and potato salad. So, why not put them all in one sandwich? These sandwiches look like train wrecks and make me bilious.

White rice. I avoid meaningless starches whenever possible. I would rather spend my daily caloric allowance on something that is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and/or fiber. Again, how do the Japanese stay healthy filling up their stomachs with white rice?
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