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Dinner in a Japanese Home

Dinner in a Japanese Home

November 17, 2016 By Jan Robinson 28 Comments

This post may contain compensated links. We may earn a small percentage if you book through a compensated link, but it won’t cost you any more by doing so. You can read our full disclaimer here.


Because Japanese homes are so intimate in size, entertaining traditionally takes place at a restaurant or bar. Therefore we were surprised and pleased to be invited for dinner at the home of our friend’s mother, who lived in a prefecture close to Kyoto.

Our hosts seemed as excited for us to be in their home as we were to be there. Like any good party, we congregated in the kitchen, where food preparation was in full swing. The ingredients were beautifully fresh and the fish looked like it had only just been caught. We noticed food quality was generally excellent in Japan.

Reiko told us she had discussed their choice of meals with her husband – a business man with experience entertaining foreigners.

Reiko and her Mum.

Dinner in a Japanese Home

Inside a Japanese home.

We left our shoes at the door. In a Japanese home you could be given house slippers to wear. If there are other slippers at the toilet door you are meant to swap out of your house slippers and change back when re-entering the living space. Toilets in Japan are so Hi-Tech with many buttons. The one in our Airbnb house had English Instructions taped to the wall, but I had to rely on Reiko for help with this one.

The dining room contained a western dining suite, but we ate sitting on floor cushions at a traditional low table. The room alongside was covered in a selection of traditional tatami matting with a small shrine.

Gift Giving.

Our invitation came when we were already in Kyoto, so we needed to buy a gift for our host locally. It would have been better to bring something from our home town or another place travelled to prior to arriving in Kyoto.

In Australia gift giving is not considered necessary, but it is important in Japan. We decided on flowers. There is no strict “being invited to a home” gift in Japan. Wine is OK – Chocolates also – but don’t bring dessert to be eaten with the meal because this will be prepared by the host.

At the end of the night we left with carrying Japanese mementos and sweets. Initially we decided to take the sweets home with us, but our curiosity got the better of us and we devoured them the next day.  I really wished we had been more prepared in the gift department!

First Course – Temaki sushi

Each person constructs their own sushi from a selection of fillings laid out on the table. Helping with food prep in the kitchen was a fun ice-breaker. Raw salmon, tuna fish and omelette were sliced into sticks while Marty stirred the cooked rice to both cool it and to gain the desired level of stickiness.

Japanese Sushi Making

Fillings were piled on one half of a rectangular piece of Nori then rolled into a cornet shape. Sushi attractiveness is all-important and we became quite competitive on presentation. I’m positive it made them taste better too. The sheets of Nori were deliciously crunchy!

Ingredients: Shiso or Pirelli Leaves, radish sprouts, raw fish, omelette, crab legs, fish roe, freshly grated wasabi, nori sheets.

Second Course – Shabu Shabu Hot Pot

My prep job with this course, was cutting the star pattern in the top of each mushroom and although I thought I did quite well at the time, the photos show I could have been a little neater.

Sometimes hot pot stock base is Bonito (fish) but our flavour base came from squares of strong looking kelp. Vegetables were added to the boiling stock in order of cooking time, the final being the brightly coloured Namafu.

Quite bland tasting by itself, Namafu absorbs all the flavours from the pot and adds a splash of colour. Talking of colour, Namafu mimicks the autumn colours of maple and gingko leaves – like those we’d just been admiring in the nearby temple garden.

Japanese Hot Pot

When the vegetables were cooked we held fine slices of marbled beef between chopsticks and swished them three times (no more and no less) in the stock before placing them on the plate with a selection of vegetables. The beef was meltingly good – the minimal cooking time keeping the beef tender.

Cooking Hot Pot was a relaxed way of getting to know each other while eating delicious food and having fun.

Ingredients: Kelp, Wombok (Chinese) Cabbage, hot mustard leaf, daikon radish, Shitake and Enoki Mushrooms, noodles, tofu, Namafu.

Oh and I nearly forgot the addictive Goma-dare dipping sauce, made from ground Sesame, soy sauce, vinegars plus more.

Third Course – Fresh Fruit

Japanese Pear and Persimmon

 

A fruit platter was the perfect conclusion to such a tasty and healthy dinner. The persimmons were from a neighbour’s tree and Reiko said they were far sweeter than shop purchased ones. I hadn’t eaten persimmons since our Turkey trip and they were delicious. It was a pleasure to feel satisfied yet not over full at the end of three courses.

After Dinner Fun

For after dinner entertainment we tried the traditional Japanese game called Kendama. It involves a hand held timber toy with a spike and two different sized cups. The easiest form of the game involves throwing the attached ball into the air and catching it in the biggest cup/ small cup/spike. I fluked it and was applauded for my talents. It wasn’t as difficult as it looked but I only succeeded once and Marty not at all.

Winning Kendama moves!

Japanese After Dinner Game

Score 1 for me – I’m not usually talented in the games department.

We can’t wait for Reiko and her family to visit us at home in Australia. I wonder what Aussie game I might get them to play!

Thanks for visiting, I really appreciate it and would love you to add your travel post to the link below for Nancie’s Travel Photo Thursday which I co-host with Ruth from Tanama Tales and  Rachel from Rachel’s Ruminations. This week I am also linking with a new link up called Lovin’ Life Link-up. The Link is in the sidebar. Pop on over if you’re interested. It is not just about travel but loving life in general.

An InLinkz Link-up


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Filed Under: Food to Love, Japan

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Min@WriteoftheMiddle

    November 17, 2016 at 10:42 pm

    What a lovely read Jan! It would have been a fabulous experience to have dinner in a Japanese home. The food looks so fresh and healthy and delicious! The games after would have been fun too! 🙂 #TeamLovinLife

    Reply
  2. Donna

    November 18, 2016 at 12:46 am

    What an interesting experience. The food looks wonderful. I guess there is a lesson here too about packing a few gift items from home when going to Japan if there is any possibility of being invited into someone’s home.

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 18, 2016 at 7:55 am

      For sure Donna. I tried to get that message across. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Jackie

    November 18, 2016 at 2:18 am

    Sitting on the floor is hard for me but I would manage just to enjoy this food!

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 18, 2016 at 7:54 am

      I am sure they would have sat at the dinner table for you Jackie!

      Reply
  4. Rachel Heller

    November 18, 2016 at 5:36 am

    Wow, that food looks wonderful! You were so fortunate to get that glimpse into a Japanese home!

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 18, 2016 at 7:53 am

      I agree Rachel. At first I was nervous, but they were very lovely and we enjoyed it so much.

      Reply
  5. Kathy Marris

    November 18, 2016 at 7:15 am

    Having been to Japan for the first time this year I found this post very interesting. I could even recognise some of the food. There was a lot of Japanese food that I couldn’t stomach but I must admit it is prepared and presented beautifully. What a lovely thing to do in Japan. They are very big on giving gifts.

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 18, 2016 at 7:54 am

      You would have been presented with more adventurous offerings on your trip Kathy. I only ordered what I thought I would like and it was all excellent.

      Reply
  6. Kathy Marris

    November 18, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    Oh I forgot to suggest a game that you could play with your Japanese visitors. A game of two-up with a good old Aussie penny.

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 21, 2016 at 12:19 pm

      Great idea Kathy – they would love that!!

      Reply
  7. Ruth

    November 18, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Jan, this is so fascinating. The ingredient’s colors are so vibrant and beautiful. Things were even glistening. I think this was an unique opportunity you are going to cherish on the future. In Latino communities, a gift is not expected when you are not invited to a house. But, we always bought something (it can be something simple to share). In addition, helping to clear the table or wash the dishes is seen in a good light.

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 21, 2016 at 12:18 pm

      Good tips there Ruth. I must admit we did not offer to clean up. Oops!

      Reply
  8. Deborah

    November 18, 2016 at 4:44 pm

    It all looks like great fun, although I’m coeliac and worry about having to explain my food issues when I get invited to people’s places… particularly if I don’t know them very well. I’m never worried that I’ll starve, just that they’ll feel bad when I can’t eat stuff! #teamlovinlife

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 21, 2016 at 12:17 pm

      Maybe you could ask what they are having first and then research it on-line. You could find out whether soy sauce is generally gluten free in Japan – that would be a good start. They don’t eat bread as a rule and don’t thicken the shabu shabu with anything.

      Reply
  9. Janet Camilleri aka Middle Aged Mama

    November 18, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    It truly is one of the best ways to experience another culture or country – by having a meal in somebody’s home. My son is mad for sushi, he would have loved that part of the meal!

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 21, 2016 at 12:15 pm

      God, I love sushi too, although I didn’t eat a lot of it in Japan, we tended to eat the cheapest things we could find and sushi was not necessarily a budget option.

      Reply
  10. Frank

    November 20, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    We are in Kyoto now (we’re here a month, in Japan 7 weeks) and the Japanese are just fantastic hosts. Looks like you had just a fantastic local experience.
    Beautiful food, incredible presentation.

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 21, 2016 at 12:10 pm

      I agree Japanese people are wonderful hosts. Our friends were exceptional.

      Reply
  11. Michele {Malaysian Meanders}

    November 21, 2016 at 8:52 am

    This looks like such a fun way to spend an evening in Kyoto — even better than being at a restaurant. I enjoy both sushi and shabu shabu, and I think it’s a great treat that you guests had a hand in preparing it. I didn’t know the etiquette/technique about shabu shabu, though, so I’m glad you explained it. I bought my nephews that Kendama toy for Christmas last year, and it was a hit with them. (I am not so talented in that department.)

    Reply
  12. Victoria @The British Berliner

    November 23, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    This is so great! What a lovely Japanese dinner experience!
    p.s. I found you via Rachel!

    Reply
    • Jan

      November 24, 2016 at 4:00 pm

      Thank you Victoria, it is always nice to know how people find my page.

      Reply

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