Japanese Food: Some Unusual Facts

Following last week's visit to Asakusa, I read an intersting article that revealed some surprising facts about Japansese food. These include:

• The average Japanese person eats half a pound of fish a day and about the same weight in rice.
  
• Women traditionally eat carp soup for at least four days after child birth. Every bit of fish, except the gall bladder, is used to make the soup.
  
• Although soy beans form the base of the vast majority of Japanese sauces and marinades, almost all soy beans used in Japan are imported.
  
• Nutrition classes recommend Japanese school children to eat 30 different foods a day and 100 different foods a week.
  
• Forget those bulk-up drinks you can buy in Boots, the preferred get-fat quick drink for sumo wrestlers is beer. Cheers!

You can read the whole article here. I also found some fascinating bits about Japanese mustard and sushi.

J is for Japan

Asakusa
265 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1BA
020 7388 8399
Map

My friend Dave Varley has been raving about Asakusa for ages so it seemed sensible to make it the first stop on our alphabetical culinary tour. I've walked past it many times and marvelled at the low prices (few dishes are over a fiver). But Dave promised that Asakusa's real charm lies in its energetic staff and the fact that the restaurant hasn't seen a lick of paint for decades, giving it the air of somewhere you might find down a Tokyo backstreet.

Eight of us ate there on Friday night. Dave's been to Japan a few times and can speak a bit of the language so all menu selections were up to him. He'd phoned the required 24 hours ahead to ensure we'd get come nigiri sushi. This was excellent. Raw fish - salmon, tuna, king prawn - served on seasoned rice. I've always been wary of wasabi, sushi's mustardy accompaniment, but apparently the trick is to mix it with some soya sauce, which works a treat. Next up was a tasty miso soup and some crisp tempura vegetables.

As well as what's on the menu (10 photocopied pages in a plastic binder) there are a number of Japanese-only selections written on the wall. Dave's linguist skills and prior visits meant he was famililar with some of these and recommended the Black Fish. Sadly they'd run out so I'm still not sure what it is. Instead he ordered the brilliantly named Wafu Steak, Tonkatsu (deep fried pork), Chicken Shogayaki (grilled chicken with ginger) and, at my suggestion, Unagi Kabayaki (grilled eel). This was easily my favourite dish. I can't stomach jellied eels, but smoked or cooked well like this, they are always delicious.

I was sat at the other end of the table from Katy, the sole vegetarian, but did hear her say that her Agedashi-Dofu (deep-fried tofu) could have benefited from a longer dunking in the hot oil vat. Her aubergine dish, which I did have a little of, was good.

The verdict? Between us we gave it 7/10 and at £22.50 each, including tip and a few Asahis, there were no grumbles about the price.

From Friday's visit, and what Dave's told me, Japanese people evidently love Asakusa and as a relative Japanese food novice I'd certainly come back for its variety of dishes, friendly staff and appealingly shabby decor.

I've been to very few other Japanese restaurants but another good one I've eaten at recently is Soho Japan near Great Portland Street/Mortimer Street which is definetely worth a visit if you're in town. Other recommendations welcome.

Around the World in 26 Letters

Is there an international restaurant in London to represent every letter of the alphabet? E is well represented. There's English, obviously, but also a fair share of Ethiopeans and Egyptians. But what about H? Or D?

A few years ago a Tube strike meant I had to walk into work. My friend Jo Carr-West, who lives close by, joined me. Near Euston station we spotted a Nepalese restaurant we'd never noticed before. Neither of us had any idea what constituted Nepalese food. This got us thinking. How many other international cuisines were available in London? One for every letter of the alphabet? The remainder of the journey to our respective offices was spent going from A to Z, wondering whether we could eat our way around the world (and the capital) in 26 letters.

Two years later I am going to try to find out. First on the list is J (for Japan).