Wake up with a Japanese Breakfast......yummy yummy!

Breakfast in japan contrasts sharply form the cliche English breakfast of bread,eggs,black tea and bacon.A traditional Japanese-style breakfast would easily pass for lunch or dinner in other cultures. Some of the foreign breakfast meals have infiltrated into Japan though they are not always served as breakfast. Read on to know more about the Japanese breakfast..

Traditional Japanese Breakfast Items:

·  Steamed Rice - Plain steamed rice is an essential dish.Rice is the staple food of Japan so it is difficult for the dish to miss.Some prefer to take  Okayu (rice porridge) is easy to digest and is also good for breakfast Okayu is often served with toppings such as onions, fish eggs, and "Umeboshi"  a pickled plum.

 Miso Soup - Common ingrediednts are tofu, chopped green onion, wakame seaweed, aburaage (deep-fried tofu), and lots more. Nowadays there also exists ready made miso soup,that is bought in supermarkets that only requires boiling of the contents so as to get the soup. It is however not as as tasty as the one made from scratch.

·  Natto (fermented soy beans) - Natto is a foul-smelling sticky web of fermented soybeans typically served with a Japanese breakfast. The smell will make you crazy, and the food will make you strong. That's that some Japanese folks believe.The flavor is strong like the smell. At first one may need lots of soy sauce, spicy mustard, rice and miso soup to get it down.But slowly one will wean off them. It really is healthy with loads of vitamins and minerals, good for the bloodstream and the bones. When eating natto, place it in a bowl and season with some soy sauce. Add various toppings if you would like and stir well. Place the natto on top of steamed rice and eat with rice.

·  Nori (dried seaweed) - Dip a strip of nori in soy sauce and roll some rice with it. Seasoned nori called ajitsukenori can be purchased in Asian grocery stores.

 

·  Tamagoyaki  - literally 'grilled egg', (also called tamago or dashimaki) is a type of Japanese omelette, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg. These usually are prepared in a rectangular omelette pan called a makiyakinabe.Tamago is made by combining eggs, rice vinegar, and sometimes sugar or soy sauce. Additionally, sake is used in some recipes.Tamago is served around the world in the form of nigiri, and also appears in many types of sushi rolls. In Japan, it is served as a breakfast dish. There are several types of tamago.Grated daikon radish is often served on the side. 

·  Broiled Fish - Broiled salted salmon or dried horse mackerel (aji) are popular items for breakfast.

·  Tsukemono  -     In Japan, tsukemono or pickles are used as hashi-yasume, literally “chopstick resters”, side dishes that have a totally different texture and flavor. So for instance if you had some grilled meat with a sweet-savory sauce as the main course, you might have some simple, crunchy pickled cucumber slices to go with it.Quick pickles, called sokusekizuke (instant pickles) or ichiya-zuke (overnight pickles) depending on how long they take to come to full flavor, are very easy to make as their names suggest. They are a great way to prepare vegetables without having to add any additional fat, though a few recipes do call for some oil. The most popular pickling vegetables are  nappa cabbage, regular cabbage, cucumbers, turnips and daikon radish, but many other vegetables can be used - carrots, celery, various greens, etc. Salt is used to extract the moisture from the vegetables as well as for flavor.Other flavoring ingredients include: shiso leaves, fresh or dried; various citrus zests, flavored oils, citrus juices, vinegar, and aromatic vegetables like ginger and green onions.