It’s hard to imagine Japan without street food. ‘Cause it feels like it is everywhere. In big countries that’s hunting you. It’s really hard to get past the stalls with tempting food which are on every street corner.
The odor of food envelops the entire Japan. Even those incomprehensible names written in Chinese characters cannot stop tourists. Because all that that street vendors offer look great. And delicious! It’s just so hard to pass by even you recently had big lunch.
Especially it’s interesting to see the process of cooking because it happens in front of your eyes. For the lovers of Japanese food it’s…it’s kind of meditation. Okay, that virtuosity of Japanese cooking definitely captures. It is superfast and technical at the same time. Let’s look into the secrets of eastern cuisine.
Gyoza
Gyoza originated in China where they are called Jiaozi. It was perfected by roasting to become national Japanese dish and beloved by local people. But there’s a difference. Jiaozi consist of ground filling wrapped into a thick rolled piece of dough, which is then can be boiled. Gyoza on the contrary is wrapped in a thin rolled piece of dough and then is pan-fried. Pouring water helps to steam the gyoza and make it soft and juicy. Besides, Jiaozi served as a main course whereas Gyoza is rather a topping for rice. And finally the Gyoza have strong taste of garlic and ginger. Jiaozi consist of ground pork, green onion, garlic, cabbage, ginger filling and seasoned with special soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar dressing.
Yakitori
Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. But to honest, it is all that one can skew and grill over a fire.
Original yakitori is to be skewered chicken but Japanese like to cook pork and beef yakitori as well. Furthermore, you can taste even octopus, scallops, Kalmar and vegetable yakitori.
For many Japans it is good food for dinner as well as a delicious beer snack. By no doubt it is one of the popular street food in the country.
Taiyaki
Japans are experts in serving dishes. A good example is Taiyaki. This is a small fish-shaped cake. The filling is custard, chocolate or salted cheese. Looks so delicious and just begging to be eaten. Literally it means “grilled sea bream”. In fact it is Japanese-shaped cake with sweat filling. But the main appeal of it is in its cooking. They are cooked in a special pan called mold, which is shaped in the form of a fish.
Compared with other countries of Eastern Asia, you will not see street food vendors on every street corner of Japan. It is rather part of local festival or fair. But the good is that there are a lot of local holidays there. So there is a chance, especially if you set a goal. (remember, we had been calling to it from the very beginning). Festive atmosphere is half of the street food beauty. Thanks to it you will enjoy festivals not only through vision and hearing but through other senses as well. The aftertaste of it will stay with you forever.
