Japanese Food Essay

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The daily diet in Japan has traditionally been considered as consisting of a main, or staple, item of food supplemented by subsidiary items. Rice has long been the staple, and vegetables, fish and so forth the subsidiaries. Meat has been eaten in Japan since fairly early times, but the rise of Buddihism the eating of meat became tabooed, and consequently meat disappeared from the table from the middle ages and was only to reappear during the Meiji Era. After the Second World War bread become part of the diet, an effort its inclusion in school meals. With the growrh of the economy there was also a great upsurge in consumptuin of different kind of meat and daily products. Moreover, instant foods become widespread, and the items making up the daily meals become further diversified. The Japanese meal with rice as the staple will include vegetables and boiled, fried or roasted fish or meat as well as MISO (mixture of fermented beans, barley and rice)soup and pickeled vegitables. Many supplementary dishes cooked in Western or Chainese style have now also become part of meal in Japan. In the preparation of food in Japan the idea from ancient times has been to avoid weste. For instance there is an expression concerning the utilization of fish that says, to use meat for SASIMI(sliced raw) or gliled it, to boil the lean parts of the meat, and to use the other parts (except the innards) for soup. Also, preserved foods have been used since long ago to make up for shortages in lean years; preservation methods include picking for vegetables, and salting or drying for fish and meat. This food is generally eaten using chopsticks, which are nearly always made of wood. Breakfast is rather plain and simple, and lunch fairly light, the main emphasis being on evening meal. In recent years, change in the social structure and lifestyles

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