Japanese Breakfast at Y93
The Japanese diet is said to be one of the healthiest in the world. The traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, fish, and vegetables is often given as an example of an nutritionally balanced morning meal.
Where to find Japanese diner in Calgary? Try Y93 Japanese Cafe & Kitchen
The traditional Japanese breakfast is similar to the format of a Japanese meal — ichiju sansai (一汁三菜), or “one soup, three dishes.” A “one soup, three dish” meal normally consists of rice and pickled vegetables. In addition, for breakfast, miso soup is the most common soup. Other dishes could include grilled fish, egg dishes, nori (seaweed sheets), natto (fermented soybeans), and vegetable dishes.
Authentic Japanese Breakfast Foods: Fish
As an island country, seafood has long been the most readily available source of protein for Japanese people. While processed meats like bacon or sausage have become more common in the West today, fish is still a strong breakfast staple in Japan.
A common way to prepare fish for breakfast in Japan is to simply grill a smaller fish like mackerel or pike with simple seasonings like salt.
Japanese Breakfast Foods: Salads / Kobachi
Salads are another standard addition to a Japanese breakfast menu that surprises some visitors. A traditional Western breakfast might include some cooked vegetables like fried tomato or spinach with eggs.It’s unlikely you’ll encounter a garden salad before lunch in the West. Therefore, if you order a breakfast set meal or visit a breakfast buffet in Japan, you’ll likely come across some salads as standard. Any type of salad will served for breakfast, but common types include lettuce or cabbage-based mixed salads. Hijiki (a kind of seaweed) salads, or cucumber salads. Japanese people are known worldwide for having a long life. However, if you struggle to get your seven servings of veggies per day, why not take a leaf out of Japan’s book and add a side salad to your breakfast?
Japanese Breakfast Foods: Rice / Onigiri / Chawanmushi / Egg
It goes without saying that rice is the heart of any traditional Japanese meal. While it may seem a little labor-intensive to prepare rice for breakfast, especially for many households in the West that normally cook rice on the stove. Most Japanese households have rice cookers that make cooking up a batch a relatively simple, hands-off process. Some households simply microwave rice left over from the batch cooked night before for breakfast, too.
A bowl of plain rice, with dishes like fish, eggs, or vegetables for breakfast. Tamago-kake gohan, which is a hot bowl of rice with a raw egg on top, is a common breakfast dish. Some western people may concerns of salmonella. However, in Japan their stringent quality standards when it comes to their eggs, so most Japanese people do not fear eating eggs raw. Another popular one-bowl breakfast dish is natto on rice. In Japan, adding some natto makes for a perfectly balanced dish that covers all your nutritional needs.
On busy mornings, many Japanese people also opt for onigiri from the convenience store as a portable and affordable breakfast.
After all, is it time to try one, now you can find authentic Japanese breakfast at Y93 in Calgary. How to get there, click here!
Author: SAVOR JAPAN / Y93 Kitchen (Y93 Sushi Crave Japanese Cafe)
