Special Report: Breakfast in Japan

I believe that it’s something of an FAQ in the U.S.: What do people in Asian countries have for breakfast? Once we learn that they eat seemingly strange things like raw fish and seaweed, breakfast foods seem particularly mysterious. Based on the breakfasts I’ve had today and yesterday, both of which were described as Japanese, the short version of the answer is fish, rice, and pickled things. Here’s a photo of what I had for breakfast today, delivered via room service at the Hotel Granvia:

I could identify some of it. That’s a chunk of fish at the bottom center–I’m not sure what kind, but it was mild and smoked and/or salted. To its right are two chunks of hard tofu, two cubes of scrambled egg, and some finely chopped white something. Above the tofu is a black bowl for miso soup, containing finely chopped Japanese scallion and strips of, um… I think it was fried egg, maybe. The miso soup itself came in an insulated pitcher. (Fortunately I figured out which pitcher contained soup and which contained hot water before I brewed my green tea.) To the left of the soup bowl are a number of dark pieces of pickled seaweed (I think) and a pile of teeny little fish. I figured out that they were fish after I’d eaten about half of them and then noticed their beady little eyes. (They actually didn’t have much flavor.) At the top center are several flat mushroom caps, segments of green bean, and some sprouts that might be watercress of some sort. At the top left is a pickled plum (I think), some finely chopped sort of onion-like thing, and some pickled chunks of what I’m guessing are radish. They had a distinct grain and were both crunchy and rubbery. Below that is a dish of pickled bamboo and carrot with sesame seeds. Just visible at the far left is a packet of nori, or dried seaweed, which the Japanese eat with rice sort of like we use salt. I’ve decided that I’m not wild about nori; its faintly marine flavor just doesn’t grab me. You should be able to recognize the items at the upper right: melon, orange, and strawberries. Not visible in this photo were a container of white rice and a pot of green tea, both of which are found at almost all Japanese meals (in my limited observation).

Yes, it was quite tasty, although I’ll confess that I didn’t eat the plum. I had a pickled cherry at breakfast day before yesterday and it was… well, kind of nasty, in short. On the other hand I don’t like cherries before they’ve been made salty and rubbery. Tracie said it looked like a piece of Play-Doh. The plum seemed to have much the same consistency. I made an experimental nibble and decided that it’s a taste that I don’t feel necessary to acquire.

As strange as this menu may seem to Western palates, consider this: this meal has virtually no fat and no sugar aside from what’s present in the fruit. From a dietary standpoint, you could do a lot worse–and most Americans do, judging from our collectively expanding waistline.