Japan’s Dietary Culture

Food preparation and culinary art are frequently seen as a direct example of a civilization’s level of culture. As such, partaking of meals becomes more of a cultural act than a survival instinct. Ceremony at mealtime is highly advanced in Japanese society and has a tradition — and meaning — perhaps unequaled anywhere else.

I lived in Japan for five years, many decades ago. I cut my culinary teeth in Tokyo and became a “tsu” or gourmand. Of course, at that tender time in my 20s, I had no idea I would become that, but everyone reminded me each time I tasted and liked a peculiar dish that I was indeed a “tsu.”

It first happened when I tasted natto, that slimy, gooey dish made simply of fermented soybeans that turn sticky as they undergo a chemical transformation. Once gummy, a type of Chinese yellow mustard and soy sauce is added to the beans that adorn rice or add to a bowl of soup. The pungent smell and consistency appealed to my tastebuds.

Gooey Foods

Speaking of slimy, gooey substances, another favorite that Japanese people gawked at me for slurping down is mountain potatoes or ‘yamaimo.’ You can find these stalks of hairy root vegetables with light brown potato-ish skin and what looks like hairs sprouting from them at 99 Ranch and other Asian markets. To eat them, you carefully remove the skin with a peeling instrument or knife and then chop them into slices, or my preferred method is to mince them until they are watery. The best way to mince yamaimo is to purchase a Japanese-made bowl…