Influenced by: Japan
Fresh wasabi, tiny beer glasses, and Toto washlets
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After every trip, I like to take stock of the little things that we can bring into our day-to-day living. Venice, for example, inspired me to drink all the Select spritzes. Paros got me into roasting chickpeas. And recent Mexico trips turned me onto passionfruit margaritas.
I usually compile a hodgepodge of observations in my Notes app as I go—thought it’d be fun to share them with you here! Below, seven things that influenced me from Japan:
Grating fresh wasabi.
At the ryokan we stayed at in Kyushu, they brought out a fresh wasabi root and a little sharkskin grater with the sashimi course of our kaiseki dinner. How fun would this be to have for a Japanese dinner party? It turns out wasabi root is not cheap or super accessible, but for a special meal, my research tells me we, too, can get our own Oregon-grown wasabi off the internets here. Also, if you’ve never had wagyu with fresh wasabi and soy sauce—it’s tdf. (Has anyone seen wasabi at their local Asian market? Curious to know where, if so!)
Drinking out of tiny beer glasses.
I don’t really drink beer, but the exception is Japanese beer with Japanese food—sometimes, a sip of cold Asahi hits just right in a way that no other bevvie will. At some of the higher end restaurants, beer is served in tiny, delicately thin 5-oz. glasses, presumably so you don’t end up with tepid beer halfway through your pint glass. I feel like it’s the difference between sipping Bordeaux out of a Zalto wine glass vs. that unbreakably thick drinking vessel you get at an airport Chili’s.
Saying “itadakimasu” before your meal.
Sort of like “bon appetit,” “itadakimasu” is said before every meal. You put your hands together, bow slightly, and say “itadakimasu” before picking up your chopsticks. It translates to “I humbly receive” and is a way of giving thanks to everyone involved in preparing your meal—from the chef to the farmer to the pig. Though I’m not religious, I have always appreciated the sentiment of saying grace before a meal. This feels like a secular version of that!
Growing bonsais.
