Japan’s food tastes amazing and is much healthier compared to what I was eating in America. I have tried many different dishes here and liked almost all of them. There are only two dishes that I have decided to not have again: natto and raw squid. Natto is fermented soy beans that are very sticky and gooey. I tried it for the first time with my host family and was very surprised by how the strings of natto, similar to melty cheese on pizza, kept going and going! My host family was very understanding when I said it wasn’t my favorite taste, especially since two of them also don’t like it.
I have enjoyed experiencing the new foods available to me by going to a new restaurant or getting something new at the store. I still haven’t figured out how to cook Japanese food myself, but I wasn’t a good cook to start with.
Sushi at conveyor-belt shops is prepared by skilled chefs. To start, rice is cooked and seasoned with vinegar and salt before cooling. Once the rice is cooled, it is brought out for the chefs to start molding into small rectangles to place on a tray. Next, fish will be skillfully cut to make perfect slices to fit on top of each rectangle of rice. Two pieces will be served on each plate. Crab, calamari, fried fish or vegetables, and other meats such as grilled beef and shrimp are also used as toppings.
