Japanese Food

Roasted Daikon and Eggplant

Soft Tofu with Green Onion and Ginger

Even though there are many dishes, this is a meal prepared for two people!

Typically, each food item is placed in its own separate bowl, and then the group eating the food take from the bowl with their chopsticks and serve themselves as they go. Rice and tofu are typically served per each guest eating, and you use these bowls to eat from as you select different foods from the rest of the table.

Here is prepared, from top left and clockwise:
- Nori paper (for mochi)
- Roasted daikon and eggplant
- Green tea
- Adzuki beans
- Brown rice
- Tofu with green onion and ginger
- Butter (for mochi!)
- Mochi
- Sauteed kabocha with shoyu
- .. more tofu, beans, tea and rice

This is probably one of my favourite things to make and eat. It’s fun, whole food, and more socially interesting than just chowing down a huge plate of food and then stretching back uncomfortably from a heavy over feeding. With Japanese food, because you are constantly selecting little portions at a time into your bowl, the eating process is a lot longer, more mindful, with more variety.

You can do this with any food. Prepare lunch items, or Mediterranean food in many small dishes, and spend hours picking at the variety of foods.

Something that made this especially Asian – we sat on the floor!