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| Fast food in Japan is not limited to McDonald's hamburgers. A variety of Japanese fast foods fulfill the demand to be "fast, cheap, and good tasting." In this issue we introduce those centering around rice. |
gyudon (beef bowl) |
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Among the leading
Japanese fast foods are dishes with names including the character don
( ).
They are made in a large bowl, called a donburi ( ).
A helping of rice is placed in the bowl and topped with a flavored mixture
of ingredients that complement the rice. Donburi bowl dishes
are easy to make and simple to eat. Serving in a donburi
presents a meal in an informal, popular style. A gyudon,
or beef bowl, consists of rice topped with sauteed sliced beef and onions
boiled in a sweet and tangy mixture of soy sauce and sugar. Originating,
it seems, from the practice of eating beef stewed with other ingredients,
which became popular in the early part of the Meiji era (1868-1912), the
beef bowl today is a familiar dish served at gyudon shops, which
can now be found in almost every town. |
 The
gyudon chain Yoshinoya currently operates 884 stores throughout
Japan. In addition to 82 shops in the U.S., it has also opened outlets
in such overseas locations as Taiwan, China, Singapore, and the Philippines.
A medium-size beef bowl at Yoshinoya costs 280 yen. Many people eat it
with miso soup (50 yen) and/or salad (90 yen/120 yen), and may order a
raw egg (50 yen) to beat and pour over their gyudon, or pickled
vegetables (90 yen) as condiments.Yoshinoya website (English): http://www.yoshinoyausa.com/ Photo: Yoshinoya D&C |
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Tempura is seafood or vegetables
deep-fried after being coated in a batter of flour, egg, and water. When
doused with a sweet and tangy sauce and served in a donburi over
a helping of rice, tempura is called tendon. Although a common
meal served at suppertime in homes all over Japan, tempura is also a delicacy
of specialty restaurants, at 5,000 to 10,000 yen per serving. Recently,
however, shops offering inexpensive and high-quality tendon and
tempura have been doing well; it seems even tempura is joining the ranks
of fast food.  |
At Tenya, a tendon
chain with about 110 shops in the Kanto region centering on Tokyo, a bowl
of tendon with a side serving of miso soup costs 490 yen. Freshly
deep-fried shrimp, squid, kisu fish, pumpkin, and green chili
peppers are deliciously succulent. From September through November, Tenya's
autumn tendon, one of the limited-time specials on the menu throughout
the year, made with seasonal ingredients like salmon and callops, is available
for 690 yen. Tenya's website (Japanese): http://www.tenya.co.jp/ Photo: Ten Corporation |
tempura
and tendon onigiri
and omusubi (rice balls) |
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Today's onigiri (also
called omusubi)--a ball of packed white rice either mixed with
or stuffed with savory condiments and wrapped in a sheet of nori
(laver seaweed)--did not become common until after World War II. The name
onigiri ( )
comes from the Japanese verb nigiru ( ),
which means "to pack something together with the hands," in
this case, white rice.Onigiri can
be made quickly and easily at home to take on outings, picnics, or in
a daily lunch box, or even as emergency rations. These days, however,
with the spread of convenience stores, the image of onigiri has
begun to change from a food prepared by hand at home to a type of fast
food purchased in a store. One onigiri, featuring a variety of
ingredients, such as umeboshi (pickled plum), salmon flakes,
dried bonito flakes, sweet-sour boiled kombu (kelp), and salted
cod roe, among others, sells for 100 to 130 yen at a convenience store.
Many ingredients, like tuna with mayonnaise or barbequed meat, only became
common as onigiri stuffings after being offered at convenience stores.
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 With foods becoming
more health-oriented and onigiri shops opening in train stations
and on street corners, the value of onigiri as a healthy, nutritious
food has made them even more popular. Oda Musubi, an onigiri
shop located at the entrance to Shinjuku station, sells about 4,500 onigiri
a day at 160 to 180 yen apiece. The price is higher than at a convenience
store, but they are very popular for their home-made taste and use of
top-quality ingredients with no artificial additives.Three F's "The Secret to Onigiri" website (Japanese): http://www.three-f.co.jp/special/onigiri/index.html Photo: Hongo Jin |
 kare
raisu (curry rice) |
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Children and adults alike in Japan love kare raisu. Introduced
to Japan in the Meiji era (1868-1912) after passing through Great Britain
from India, today's kare raisu has since undergone a variety
of innovations. The curry, made by sauteing vegetables and meat, boiling
them until soft, and adding a curry roux (a paste made of curry powder
and flour, used to thicken the soup), is poured over a plate of white
rice. Easy to prepare, it is a frequent item on the household dinner table.According to a survey
conducted by House Foods Corp. in 2000, Japanese eat an average of four
servings of curry per month. The usual ingredients of curry and rice are
meat, onions, potatoes, and carrots. Each region of Japan, however, has
its own idiosyncratic flavors. Osaka curry, for example, tends to use
beef rather than pork. Recipes for curry are many and diverse, with each
family and individual having their own favorite ingredients. |
The
curry house chain CoCo Ichibanya, which operates about 800 stores throughout
Japan, sells 170,000 servings of curry and rice daily. A plate of pork
curry costs 400 yen and beef curry 580 yen. Over thirty ingredients can
be added for an additional charge, including croquettes, hamburger patties,
breaded pork cutlet, cheese, and raw egg. CoCo Ichibanya website (Japanese): http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/ Photo: Ichibanya, Hongo Jin |
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Original text : The Japan Forum Newsletter no 27 "Japanese Culture Now" December 2002.
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