More than sushi...

Since moving to Japan my food vocabulary has expanded remarkably. So many Japanese dishes have become my favourites, so I'm listing some of them for your vicarious pleasure:

• Takoyaki - Little balls of octopussy goodness smothered in a rich tare sauce, mayo, katsuobushi flakes (shaved, dried bonito) and a light sprinkling of nori.
• Sushi & Sashimi - sashimi is the raw fish, sushi is the lightly vinegared rice served with raw fish. I particularly love salmon, tuna, squid, octopus and shrimp.
• Onigiri - the Japanese sandwich. A ball of rice with a small amount of filling inside ranging from ume - boshi, tuna, salmon etc., wrapped in crispy seaweed. Portable, nutritious and delicious - what more could you want?
• Edamame - Boiled, salted soybeans cooked in their pod. You suck the beans out through the pod. Excellent with beer!
• Imagawayaki (I'll have kuriimu please!) - A Japanese sweet made with a slightly salty dough filled with cream (a kind of custard) and shaped into a circle and cooked on a hot plate.
• Okonomiyaki - Savoury Japanese pancake (most translations say pizza but in my opinion pancake is a more accurate description!) Fillings range from meat, fish, veges, to the limit of your imagination. Always contains flour, water, egg and cabbage. Cooked on a hot plate and served with a rich tare sauce, mayo and nori...often with katsuobushi too!
• Miso shiru (Miso soup) - simple but perfection in itself. I prefer it with negi, wakame and fresh tofu.
• Warabimochi - Looks like eyeballs but tastes like heaven...gelatinous bracken starch balls served with kinako powder and a rich black sugar sauce...they are divine when refrigerated!
• Gobo salad - Julienned gobo (burdock root) with carrots, sesame dressing and usually sprinkled with sesame seeds. Slightly nutty flavour.
• Daikon - the giant white radish. Delicious grated on top of meat or served in salads, soups or casseroles.

Itadakimasu!