Japanese Food

i order the japanese clear noodles (potato noodles) they are with scallions onions and carrots sauteed i think. they usually come with beef and mushrooms but i opt to not get either in it.  i don't know what its called - i forget the name of th dish.  the place i order it from gave me a free side dish and i became hooked - so they know who i am when i call and ask for the clear noodles. anyone know how bad it is for you i never know what to look it up under ....

anyway a few times they now have given me bean sprouts - they have some sliced carrots and maybe a little scallion mixed in.  i do not know what this dish is either i think it was made with maybe a vinegar? it wasn't oil but it was really good.  is this a dish or a side that is served often with japanese - anyone know what it is and or made in?   It was really good as is seaweed salad both of which i wouldnt think i would like but taste good - i suppose i just like japanese food.

when i was young i learned about all the chinese dishes because i worked in a chinese restueraunt.. in fact i think i have tried most everything on the menu at least once.  and of course taking orders i heard what people liked..

so being i do not work at a japanese restaurant/sushi bar i don't know whats really good. 

what does everyone like and what is it?? if you know the cals please list.

  i do not eat the tempura or deep fried foods so (i guess i'd try the tempura in a roll being that limits the fried - it can't be that much in a roll - my sister said she liked one of those -she is pregnant so not eating sushirolls right now bc of the raw eggs)  as for the sushi rolls im looking to hear what people like that is *cooked* i know that limits it alot...

i like the spicy shrimp rolls (with a spicy sauce shrimp and scallions *cooked*225cals for the 6 the rice is on the outside with sesame seeds)

Oh I think I know what you're talking about! I'm not sure what it's called either, but I think it's really delicious! I think the sauce is probably made from shoyu with sugar, vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil, but not too sure. I think it depends on the restaurant on how much oil they put in for the nutritional value, but if the serving size is what I think it is, considering it's a side dish, the entire dish shouldn't exceed 200/250 calories.

Anyway, I LOVE Japanese food! Of them, my favorites would be sushi (with eel, roe, and salmon, though not all together!), sashimi, sukiyaki, soba (in soup or simply with shoyu), and tennpanyaki. And if you ever feel the need for sweets, I would totally recommend mochi ice cream (yes, not just mochi, not just ice cream, but mochi ice cream! ;) )

hey thanks for answering! i did taste the vinegar in the soybean dish.  isn't shoyu soysauce.. it didnt have any dark color?  it was really good though.

maybe there was a similar taste to the dish as the clear noodles- do you know how that is made?

haha i had to look up the mochi icecream - its made with sticky rice ... honestly it doesnt sound good to me.

I want to go to dinner with you for japanese ;) seems you know what it all is. it is all foreign to me. ive only gone out for japanese a couple times in my life but i always have liked the salad and side veggies as well as whatever my friends got that i tried.  i usually ordered teriyaki bc i don't know what anything is. i wish i worked in a japanese resterant rather then chinese as i think i would have prefered the japanse food better.

i do not even know is japanese food bad for you? anything is if you eat too much but generally?  i would think it is better then chinese but often times we are suprised when we find out the actual calories - fat content, so who knows.

I love Japanese food! It's a shame I'm vegetarian now and can't have most of it. But it doesn't bother me so much, or tempt me so much to cave in and eat my favorite salmon sashimi or anything like that.

And sorry, I can't help with identifying what you're talking about. =(

In regards to mochi, it's sticky rice, yeah...but it's smoothed out so much it's not really textured as rice. It's really good, honestly. You would be amazed~

Nothing is bad for you though! Japanese food can be "good" for you. And really, tempura and katsu (tonkatsu, which is deep fried pork, chicken katsu, which is deep fried chicken) aren't that bad either... once in awhile. A lot of Japanese food relies on the quality and freshness of the ingredients (like sashimi!) Japanese bentos are also nice, too. They are like lunch boxes. Usually a bowl of rice, some type of meat, and tons of side dishes! It may sound like a lot, but they are usually decently portioned.

And about Chinese food.... it's really not THAT bad if you're talking about real Chinese food! Americanized Chinese food can be pretty bad though... I'm Chinese, and when my mom cooks Chinese food, it's definitely not General Tso or Crab Rangoon (or whatever it's called). But sometimes Westernized Chinese food just hits the spot. =]

Never be afraid to try new foods! It may be scary, since familiarity is so nice to have... but you may never know if you never tried! YOu may even fall in love with it. And what's the worst that could happen if you don't like something? You'll just not finish something you'll like, maybe regret that you still have to pay for it, and know that you'll never order it again.

I looked it up for you and I think it's called harusame salad. I put it in the recipe analyzer for you, replacing egg and cucumber with carrot, and with the serving size suggested, it clocks to around 80 calories a serving.  Or, if you eat closer to the serving size of the harusame salad of Southern Tsunami Bar, it's more like 150 calories.

I'd love to go to dinner with you too, just to show you the wonders of Japanese food! XD I think teriyaki is a bit overrated though - so many Japanese American restaurants have it, and even Jack in the Box has a teriyaki bowl now -_- If you like teriyaki, though, I think you'd probably enjoy going to a steakhouse - you should try it sometime!

And I'm Chinese, so I'd rightly defend Chinese cuisine in saying that it is not unhealthy at all! So many (even authentic) Chinese restaurants put so much oil in their dishes it's not even funny. All my homecooked meals are really healthy with bountiful amounts of veggies and minimal amounts of oil, and reasonable servings of rice. And it's the same as Japanese cuisine. It's generally really healthy, and I wouldn't say that it's bad for you at all, except maybe the MSG that they use in some of their speedier dishes, but that can always be avoided.

thanks for responding and explaining those dishes! =)

yeah in the chinese food place what the owners ate was different then what was on the menu.  the also ate less then a quart size!!   they tended to eat a lot of rice every night.  and they said what *we eat was fattening.  but that is what they served on the menu... 

now the place i worked at changed to kosher chinese food. and doubled the price of the food.  also opened a japanese place. (i just no longer work there). they made really well in the summers as a lot of people come down to this shore town from new york and eat ony kosher.  a place i wouldn't want to try things i didn't like due the jacked up prices.  actually i wouldn't pay 33$ for general tsos  take out chicken if i liked it.

thanks.  that harusame salad is the bean sprouts right?  i only ask bc it said there where noodles in it what i had was just bean sprouts and the carrots.  anyway thats for the calorie count i doubt it could have be more then 150 calories it didn't seem oily.

is that restaurant good or is it like the olive garden for italian being it is a chain?  ive never been to one they seem to be an hour away from me. i didn't see the clear noodles i get in the specialty menu.. being i do not see the menu around here i should ask about them next time i get the menu so i know what they are actually called.

i do think terriaki is a generic type japanese dish as is the california roll.  ive never been to jack in the box i dont even know if they have them in NJ or by me anyways.

yes  like the chinese food the owners of the restaurant i worked at ate (it was healthy).  what they ate what they served though seemed very different which was very oil drenched.

and i suppose it is like in some peoples homes the food is healthy and others it seems more fried and heavier sauces ect unhealthy.  i was suprised to find out some people have deep fryers at home - i thought that was just fast food - ive never had a deep fryer at home.

i eat heart healthy at home and i suspect many types foods can be made that way.

Oh the salad I pointed out has the noodles in it too.  If you just ate the vegetables, it'll be probably 50 calories max.

YES those restaurants are delicious!  Most of the steakhouses I've visited were not chains, and I don't think there are any, unless someone wants to correct me.

Haha, I was surprised to find out people have deep friers at home too.  Being Asian, the most fried I ever got something was maybe a tablespoon of oil for a huge wok of vegetables.  I love pan-frying B)

People have told me to buy a deep frier. Excuse me?! That is just a disaster waiting to happen.

I love, love, LOVE the authentic Japanese restaurant near my apartment. (I know it's authentic because there are almost no "Americans" in there and they play a Japanese TV station, lol. Plus there is a Japanese grocery and bookstore in the same outlet.)

My favorite dish is Gyu Don, though it's likely 1000 calories. I also love pork ramen, but I bet it's pretty high in salt.

I really just like cucumber rolls, on the sushi side. Also, baked california rolls... but those are probably horrendous! So I rarely eat them.

thank you for the response.  your place does sound authentic.

but wait why would a baked california roll..isnt it the same as the regular california roll?  with the crab avocado and cucumber?  i thought i remember the calorie count being no more then 250 for the 6? 

Original Post by sfredbull:

thank you for the response.  your place does sound authentic.

but wait why would a baked california roll..isnt it the same as the regular california roll?  with the crab avocado and cucumber?  i thought i remember the calorie count being no more then 250 for the 6? 

Well, the baked one is fried in tempura and covered with a spicy cream sauce. This isn't at the authentic place, but a more trendy, "techno" one. I just can't imagine a totally tempura'd roll being low cal, lol!!

I don't think the authentic one serves this.

Original Post by tincognito:

I don't think the authentic one serves this.

Yeah, I think California rolls are Americanized sushi xD

that baked one sounds interesting to try as a treat and i wonder what the calories would actually be i might try and look it up.   the spicy sauce different from that of a spicy shrimp roll.. bc then its just the small fried inner part- i see it as limed fried amount...  but then again i'd fall in love with it and want it as the sushi rool i usually get.

hey the spicy rolls aren't the ones with mayo are they those i would like to aviod.  in the spicy shrimp roll i do not taste mayo well i think im e that was under 250 for 6.. not that bad.

california rolls are sold everywhere such as supermarkets foodtown and wegmans.

the southern tsunami bar place i only asked if it was a chain bc i saw it listed in just about every state when i looked up location?  i didn't think there where japanese food chains either - is sawa hibachi steak house & sushi bar a japanese food chain. we have a few of those in my area - which i have heard only good reviews.  i do not know that they do take out and i am a fan of take out.

hey does the sesame oil have a different taste from olive oil? i know i did not taste a difference in corn oil and olive.  and now i only use olive oil at home for cooking and/or salads

I'm not sure if the Southern Tsunami Bar is an actual place, someone can correct me on that. :D I do know that my local grocery store's (Kroger) sushi bar puts out a lot of sushi varities... and that the sticker on the boxes say the are "Southern Tsunami". So it may just be that it's the most common sushi bar company in grocery stores??? I'm not sure.

I think sesame oil has a very different taste from olive oil. It is very nutty... and so good. I think it may have slightly more calories (like... 10 more?) per tablespoon, but it's a very strong tasting oil, so too much may overdo it anyway.

I think spicy rolls do have mayo in them. =[  I've never actually been to the Sawa Hibachi place either, because all I've been going to are the local places around where I live, but all of them have been good so far.  =]  But I would suggest eating tennpanyaki fresh - tastes better that way! =]

And I totally agree with that comment on sesame oil - it has a really strong flavor - I can taste it if I add it in my baking ingredients a lot!  For me, it's one of those oils that you add AFTER you cook something, though, since I think it has more flavor then, like cold noodles.

the noodle dish i was speaking of is called:  chap chae (stir fried vermicelli noodles with shredded beef  & vegetables) - i finally got another menu.  do you know anything about this dish, it is so good.  i can't help but to have it about once a week, but i eat well all week so even if it is not so great - i eat well all week and do not overeat.  i honestly can not even describe the flavor - it just tastes light.  i do not get the beef in it - i do not care for the taste of beef.  the dish is so delicious!

and they threw in the small side of harusame salad again, it is so delightful. ;) yet i do not see it listed under their salad dishes on the menu, weird

.

Haha I love chap chae!  My mom made it a lot, even though we are Chinese - I guess because Asian cuisine overlaps so much.  Anyway, it's not that unhealthy unless the oil they stir fry it in is hydrogenated or something.

Haha maybe it's because you're special, and they make it especially for you! ^^

I LOVE SASHIMI!!!!! 

- Salmon (sake): 29.4 calories per slice 

- Mackerel (saba): 28.7 calories per slice 

- Eel (unagi): 47.5 calories per slice 

- Tuna (maguro): 39.8 calories per slice 

- Yellowtail Tuna (hamachi): 28.3 calories per slice 

- Whiting (kisu): 10.2 calories per slice 

- Octopus (tako): 4.4 calories per slice 

- Sea Bass (suzuki): 4 calories per slice 

- Sardine (iwashi): 32.6 calories per slice 

wow thats awesome the calorie list-- i will copy and paste that list, its good to have! thanks.

i found the chap chae under korean food, the recipe is under google.

The potato starch noodles are called "shirataki" in Japanese.  The characters are "white waterfall," which reflects how they are made.  If they are thin, they can be called "harusame" which is "spring rain."

Visit: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/products/p/s hiratakinoodle.htm

I often fix shirataki with ponzu sauce or fresh squeezed orange, some rice vinegar, and a few drops of sesame oil (TASTY!), and mix in thin sliced green onion and grated carrot for color.  Also good with some boiled shrimps, if you want to make a bigger dish out of it.

I have lived in Japan (I teach Japanese in the U.S) and I can effortlessly lose weight there.

3 interesting Japanese "rules of thumb":

1.  eat 30 different ingredients each day.  (Talk about delighting the taste buds!  And, you get a variety of good food in!)

2. "hara hachi bu" = 'stomach 8 portions', meaning "eat until you feel 80% full."  So, don't stuff yourself, and give your body time to register feeling satisfied.

3.  Eat what is in season.  In Japan, food seasons seem to change every 2 weeks!  So, enjoy fresh food at its peak, and have something new to look forward to eating all the time.