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Even a circumspect view of Japanese cuisine will verify that it is marked by a repertoire of food that fairly render it as one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. As an island country, it is little wonder that fresh seafood and fish constitute the main ingredients in many Japanese recipes. The most popular of these, are sushi and sashimi, both of which consist of raw fish or seafood.
Whereas sushi is served with rice that is rolled into bite-sized pieces, sashimi is eaten alone and dipped in soy sauce. In addition, vegetables, such as seaweed, the ocean’s equivalent to land-loving spinach, so rich in nutrients, along with rice, complete the primary food stables consistently incorporated in Japanese cuisine.
Nonetheless, the one underlying food in the Japanese diet is rice, or gohan, that is served as either a main or a side dish at all meals. Indeed, the world itself translates in Japanese as meal. The Japanese have a variety of names for this treasured dietary staple, depending on how it is prepared and served. The most commonplace way to eat rice is simply referred to as a rice bowl, which consists of a bowl of white rice either served with a variety of toppings or mixed with different ingredients. Domburi, for example, is a bowl of rice that is topped with another food. Likewise, domburi tendon is rice topped with tempura, or battered-fried vegetable, whereas domburi gyudon is rice topped with beef.
Japanese cuisine celebrates the manner in which food is prepared, cooked, and served. Eating an authentic Japanese meal is not just about eating and feeding the body. It involves the more subtle art of synthesizing aesthetics, tradition, and spiritual values, all of which are as important as the nourishing of the body. The arrangement of the food on the plate is as integral a component to Japanese cuisine as is the dishes upon which the food is served. Indeed, there are even traditional rules that dictate the proper way to use chopsticks, a violation of which is considered bad manners.
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