Adventures in Washoku (和食) - Week 2: Challenge Plate and Onigiri

And now it's week 2! Kinda of... Don't worry about it too much. But back to adventures in Japanese cooking! Both a look at dietary guidelines across Harvard, the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and the US government, and a "go-to" meal of mine given a bit of a twist: Onigiri! Oftentimes nowadays, especially as I continue my weight loss and dietary improvements, sandwiches become an easy to make go-to standby for a quick meal or even a between-meal snack to get me through the day. In the past these have included lots of cheese, or peanut butter and jelly, but lately it's just been lean meats on whole grain breads. Regardless, on the Japanese side of things a quick conbini lunch often times includes onigiri, (おにぎり) or rice balls. This balled rice with nori and seasoning is a classic snack and quick meal you can find in every convenience store in Japan. And, as I learned, are much harder to make than I thought. That being said, we begin with a look at the dietary guidelines of the organizations listed above.

Plates and Nutrition

The biggest thing I notice about the MyPlate in comparison to the others is the inclusion of dairy as a major component of a "healthy plate." I find it interesting, and probably telling, about how much sway the dairy industry must have in the US. Lactose intolerance is a common thing, both in the US and especially in other food cultures, so the insistence that dairy be on a "healthy" plate. I much prefer the emphasis the other two plates put on hydration instead. Another thing that surprises me is how much they've moved away from the idea of the "food pyramid" I remember seeing so often as a kid, which placed unhealthy emphasis on carbs, while these plates place vegetables at the real forefront. Most likely for the better. The idea of the ratio of healthy foods you eat rather than your old idea of "five a day" is a much healthier way of looking at things, I think, and can include diets that aren't, say, your typical 2000 calorie diet. Regardless, it's interesting to see the difference in emphasis on these three plates. With that in mind... on to the food!

Week 2: Onigiri

(Recipe: essentially, made up)

Onigiri, or rice balls, are a Japanese snack made with steamed rice and fillings, or simply seasoning, and nori seaweed. Traditionally made with umeboshi, or pickled plums, as a filling, everything from simple seasoning to tuna and mayonnaise, and make a cheap and easy snack across all of Japan. While they look easy to make, I discovered that this was very much not the case... and I need to get better at making steamed Japanese rice. Regardless, for this simple-seeming recipe, all your really need to to is press some rice into a triangle... right? Well...

It might not be quite right... but it was tasty. For fillings, I used umeboshi and okaka, the latter of which is just a bit of soy sauce on bonito flakes, and while they ended up very lopsided and weird looking, they tasted good enough, so, I'm gonna chalk it up as a success.

(so sad looking.....)

Regardless, this definitely seems like the perfect convenience store food, if a bit of a pain to make myself at home. It was a fun experience regardless!