Like all other thrills and excitement, we feel while travelling to different destinations, exploring a country’s local cuisines is one of the most exciting things to do on your trip, for not many get a chance to do that. However, finding the right eatery that gives you the best of a nation’s local and cultural cuisines might be a hard cookie especially if you’re travelling to a particular destination for the first time.
However, you need not worry because we at travelhouseuk.co.uk do the research for you and pick out the best-selected items from a pool of varied offerings. Likewise, this time we’re taking you on a trip to the most popular cuisines of Tokyo you are most likely to be offered once in this major metropolis of Japan. This time if you’re planning to book cheap flights to tokyo, here are Tokyo’s favorite cuisines that you cannot miss to try.
Generally speaking, rice, sushi, fresh fish, tempura and Tofu form the staple food of Tokyo and Japanese people in general. Even the most elaborate dining marvels served in the most posh areas of Tokyo comprise of one or more of these ingredients wholly or partly. Let us first start with the most popular Donburi dish. In simple words, Donburi is a term generally used for “bowl” and the Donburi dishes are served with rice. Some of the most special Donburi dishes, having different toppings on boiled rice, include Oyakodon, Katsudon, Gyudon and Tendon.
Oyakodon, often known as mother and child Donburi, is named after its interesting ingredients that happen to be chicken and eggs, used as the main ingredients for this dish. However, a few places serve this Donburi with salmon and ikura instead of chicken and egg. Katsudon Donburi is one dish most popularly served in restaurants and is served with breaded beef cutlets deep fried to a golden brownish colour, garnished with eggs and onions on top of the rice. The Gyudon Donburi is another popular dish quite frequently consumed by students or those on a low budget. Prepared from beef and onion served over a bowl of rice, meat and onion are cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake which gives the dish a blend of sweet and salt. Many restaurant chains specialize in gyudon usually listed as an inexpensive dish on the menu.
Sushi is the most celebrated Japanese dish both inside and outside Japan. In Japan in general and Tokyo in particular, Sushi is served on special occasions such as a celebration. Most often in Tokyo, Sushi is cooked in vinegar and served with rice. However, this being the simplest way of presenting this dish, there are other more exotic and popular ways in which it served to become a priced delicacy. When Nigiri Sushi is served, it is in the form small rice balls served with different fish on top including shellfish, tuna, shrimps, squid, octopus etc and a fried egg. Nigiri is considered more as a sophisticated dish in Tokyo.
Gunkan is another Sushi dish comprising of sushi rice and dried seaweed usually dresses with different types of seafood. Gunkanzushi is cooked in various forms in Tokyo with sea urchin and fish eggs being the most popular ingredients for complementing this dish.
Being cultivated in Japan for more than 2000 years, rice perhaps holds the same value as air to breathe for Japanese people. Very interestingly, in early days in Japan rice was used as currency and with the passage of time the crop was soon considered as a meal. Even today, the Japanese word used for rice (Gohan) means ‘meal’. Not only do Japanese people use Rice in their every day dining, but it is used as a main ingredient in preparing other important edible items such as cakes, wines, flour and vinegar.
Mochi, as they are known in Japan are small cakes made of pounding mochi rice. They are prepared by grilling the rice and are served as either floating in soup or wrapped in nori seaweed. Traditionally Mochi was known to be New Year delicacy, served only on this auspicious occasion, however now it is served round the year. Quite explicit to Japanese tradition, Rice wine or sake, as it is known in the local language, is what Japanese people consume and know as ‘alcohol’.
While the above were only a few of what everyone can try out if they get a chance to visit Tokyo or any place in Japan, there are a lot many other important and highly cherished cuisines and dishes popular among Japanese locals, for instance Gomaae is a popular side dish where as Cabbage, Hakusai, Horenso,Mizuna are among the most used vegetables.
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