Japanese meal

The meal in Japan begins with a light snack and a little cup of warm sake; this stimulates the appetite before the main meal. The sticks for the food are placed right in front of the guest; the ceramic cup with rice is placed on the left, and to the right ? a lid-covered cup of light algae and fish soup. The size of the soup and rice cups is strictly specified: their diameter is about 12 sm., the circle of this size is formed of big and middle fingers of a grown Japanese man. A set of dishes is put on the low table without any special order. In Japan there is no such conception as ?first?, ?second? or ?third? dish. As usual a home dinner party includes cooked, fried, stewed dishes, and, as it was said above, rise and soup. On solemn occasions people prepare the meal with the full set of dishes these are: rise, two soups and about 10 sorts of snacks. When the guest is given a green Japanese tea, this means that the meal is over.

Vise Japanese eat with the help of wooden settings not in vein. Live, natural material doesn?t harm the energy of the product and doesn?t even influence it. It is not a surprise that Japanese cuisine has many admirers ? this food is healthy, digestible, rich in microelements, it?s fats, carbohydrates, proteins are balanced. No matter how much have you eaten, you will feel yourself lightly but full. The main philosophy of Japanese meal is junction with the nature and co-existence with it in harmony.

The main elegance and variety of the Japanese table is not in the number of dishes, but in the combination of smell, taste, color and the disposition of the constituents. All the culinary customs are directly related with Japanese culture, rituals and mode of life. This is because the traditions of the food serving and eating were developing within the philosophy. For example, the main colors of the Buddhism are yellow, black, white, green and red; and the tastes ? honied, astringent, pungent, bitter, sour. And all dishes and drinks correspond to this.

Before the meal starts the tradition demands from one to wash his hands to remove the negative energy, that?s why the guests are given oshybory (wet tissue papers).