I. Preparation and the Serving of a Japanese Meal
All the dishes are served to the diner as a set with the exception of dessert. Dessert is not considered an integral part of a Japanese meal (waaah!) although...fresh fruits can and are often provided at the end of the meal, and with green tea (slurp!). Therefore, the Western concept of serving dinner as a series of courses is not applicable to traditional Japanese cooking.
A usual and true Japanese dinner includes the following: rice (gohan), a soup (probably miso soup) and a small dish of Japanese pickles (or pickled vegetables known as tsukemono), along with a main dish of meat or fish plus a small side dish.
For a dinner party, one could add a second side dish and a second main dish as well. A good host will attempt to vary each of the dishes so that the meal will be a combination of different types of preparation, textures, flavors etc.
How in the world can the cook juggle so many dishes at the same time, and serve them all at once? The answer: preparation i.e. Japanese cooks make the most of the dishes in advance, needing only reheating prior to serving, while others are served only warm rather that hot. Exceptions are dishes cooked at the table such as sukiyaki, noodles (such as ramen, udon, and soba) and soups which should always be served piping hot.
いただきます
~ Itadakimasu ~
II. Japanese drinks
The non-alcoholic alternative is the usual Japanese green tea or o-cha. ごちそうさま（でした）
~ Gochisousama (deshita) ~
Notes:
Itadakimasu is normally said before a meal - it means something like "I humbly accept this food/drink/whatever" and is expressing thanks also for the preparation of the meal.
Gochisousama (deshita) is uttered after a meal and means something like "thank you for treating me to this meal etc."
Most sake drank in Japanese restaurants here is served hot. This is usually an inferior type of sake and has to be served hot to mask the real flavor. Premium, or good quality sake should be served chilled, like white wine.
ReplyDeletebut I thought they served it warm or cold depending on the weather..?
ReplyDeleteI think I read before that if its winter in Japan = hot sake to ward off the chill...
summer = cold sake to cool off.....hehehehe...any occasion pala...
I also wonder if plum wine is really any good...
ReplyDeleteHere's an excerpt from wikipedia on serving sake:
ReplyDelete"In Japan sake is served cold, warm or hot, depending on the preference of the drinker, the quality of the sake and the season. Sake is one of the few alcoholic beverages that is regularly consumed hot. Typically, hot sake is consumed in winter and cold sake is consumed in summer. As heating serves to mask the undesirable flavors of lower-quality sake, it is said that the practice became popular during World War II to mask the rough flavor of low-quality sake resulting from scarcity of quality ingredients.
The most common way to serve sake in the United States is to heat it to body temperature (37°C/98.6°F), but professional sake tasters prefer room temperature (20°C/68°F), and chilled sake (10°C/50°F) is growing in popularity."
Haven't tried it yet, but just like any other fruit wine, it should be good and hold its own to sake when it comes to pairing with Japanese dishes.
ReplyDeletewhich would you prefer BNK? yung sake or yung lambanog and other coconut wines natin? which is more potent?
ReplyDeletebtw, may "Sexy" pala sa headshot mo...dapat pala SBNK na...*grin*
Tried lambanog, didn't like it. I haven't tried coconut wines. I think lambanog is more potent than sake.
ReplyDeleteThe plum wine must taste like dikyam. : )
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've tasted dikiam also....hmm...hirap mag imagine ng taste ng di mo pa na taste...
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable! Ikaw lang yata ang Chinese na hindi pa nakakatikim ng dikiam. Maski dito marami niyan sa Chinatown.
ReplyDeletehahaha! mga mysterio ng buhay ko...e dahil siguro sa mga jokes...ito ba rin ang tinatawag nila na kiamoy?
ReplyDelete