Days 41 & 42

7-23-08 and 7-24-08

Due to the fact that this blog has been sadly lacking in food-centric goodness, I feel I should return to the old standby of 'Anna Recounts What She Ate.' I was prompted to such a realization when I opened my obento lunch box and came face to face with a slice of apple (barely recognizable in its indecent, peelless state). It was then that I realized I hadn't had an apple in over a month. Maybe I absorbed the whole Washington-apple-growing thing through osmosis or something, but damn, that apple was good.

In a completely unrelated incident, I found this site: weird-food.com, which lists (complete with amusing descriptions) a bunch of foods that can be considered "weird" to outsiders. I snatched the descriptions for all the weird things I've eaten while on this trip (and added a few notes here and there):

Mountain Potato(Japan)
A root that is eaten raw and grated, often with raw tuna and a raw quail egg. When a mountain potato is grated, it secretes a translucent slime that is the exact consistency of mucus, yet is totally without flavor. Luckily, there was no raw meat with mine. But I couldn't get past the fact that it seemed to expand in my mouth.

Natto(Japan)
Fermented beans. Even many Japanese dislike it. The guidebook warned about it. But it was served with breakfast at the Youth Hostel in Tokyo, of all places. A strange honey-like syrup forms on the beans, so faint threads of it dangle from your chopsticks. Vile. Word.

Tofu (Japan)
Soybean curd, sometimes called "bean crud." Bland, innocuous, healthful and politically correct, it still nauseates a lot of suspicious customers. I used to really dislike tofu. Now I think it's pretty tasty when cooked right.

Sashimi (Japan)
Raw fish. There's actually a possiblity that I missed the sashimi completely due to the microscopic nature of the bite I took.

Sushi (Japan)
Variety of exquisite morsels, often including raw fish. Sushi seems like the standard food of Japan, but it was invented only in the 1950s. Hint: If you're afraid of raw meat, you can actually get sushi with well-cooked beef on top of plain white rice, without making any special requests.

Takoyaki(Japan)
Little balls, 1-2in diameter, made primarily of flour/eggs, with a piece of boiled octopus in the center. Uncooked octopus is way too slimy to be eaten. Most people add other ingredients as well; I usually put shreds of raw ginger that are dyed red using sour plums, called beni-shouga. Typically served with generous toppings of Worcestershire sauce and seaweed bits, or aonori. Takoyaki is a traditionally sold by roadside vendors, particularly at festivities.

Unagi (Japan)
Fresh-water eel. Pretty damn tasty, actually, when cooked with tons of seasoning. Roughly the consistancy of fish, if you avoid the skin (which is slimy as all get out). Of course, they'll laugh as you (speaking from experience here) but I think not eating slimy eel skin outranks being laughed at.

Nankotsu (Japan)
Chicken cartilage. It's either eaten fried, or on a shish kabob. It's very chewy and sort of hard. A common dish served in drinking establishments in Japan. It was either this or chicken innards. I don't have the courage to ask.


Horse (Japan)
Horse sashimi is a fairly common item on menus in Kyushu. Okay, so I didn't actually eat this. But I might have.