Traditional Meals – Glovers in Spaces

This post is part of a series called Japan

Japan did not disappoint in the food category. It was hard making decisions with so many options outside of noodles and tempura.

Yakinku

Japanese BBQ where you grill meat at the table.

We ordered a sampling of Wagyu beef. Since I was starving for protein, I quickly grabbed a slice, grilled it, waited for a milli-second to cool, and proceeded to shovel it in my mouth. Oh. My. God.

As the meat melted in my mouth, I had visions of cows grazing peacefully in green pastures. They were happy with no care in the world while slowly munching on the grass. I quietly moaned my satisfaction.

As you can see in the picture below, we demolished the meat.

Okonomiyaki

A delectable pancake stuffed with vegetables, meat, and more, cooked on a teppanyaki, then dabbed in a sweet, savory sauce.

While in Hiroshima, Michael wanted to try their specialty food, Okonomiyaki.

As we walked into a cozy dining room, the chef who was standing behind the teppanyaki (aka griddle) greeted us to his restaurant with a “Irasshaimase!”

In front of the griddle are nine seats. Behind the griddle is the cook’s food and equipment. As I kept looking around, I finally realized how this “dining room” is the whole restaurant.

We took our seats ready to watch the making of Okonomiyaki. First on the griddle is a thin layer of batter. Next the noodles as well as the shredded cabbage are stacked on top of the batter. Furthermore, two raw eggs are placed on top. Lastly, he places a final layer of batter.

After cooking for several minutes, he takes two big spatulas, one in each hand, to flip the stack over.

At this point the pancake is still a few inches tall which looks more like a pie. The cook places a heavy circular cast iron on top to compress the layers together.

Once the layers have cooked down more like a pancake, he tops it with savory brown sauce and flakes of seaweed.

Served with pancake is a mini spatula. Part of me wanted to sing the theme song to “Bob the Builder” as I figured out how to put the food in my mouth.

Ramen

Soul food of Japan made with pork bone broth, noodles, vegetables, Ajitama, seasonings, etc.

Here in Austin, we are lucky to have an authentic Japanese ramen restaurant, Ramen Tatsu-ya. The only thing missing is the plethora of spices and toppings found in a typical Japanese ramen. Below is a picture from Makoto. I no longer can recall all the spices.

Tonkatsu

breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet

One restaurant that we enjoyed served Tonkatsu style food where the food is dipped in a tempura batter, dredged through panko breadcrumbs, and deep fried to a golden color.

Omuraisu

omelet that contains rice

The rice takes the color of the azuki bean when they are cooked together. I was shocked to find the eggs to be as light as a feather as if air was beaten directly into it.