special lunches
I mentioned previously that we get "special lunches" on occasion, at least those of us in the school "social club", which appears to be everybody.
Having talked recently with my parents (hi mom and dad), I know that people back home are interested in what there is for food out here. You know sushi, but that's not very typical fare out here. Well, I suppose, neither is this, but it will give you a good idea of the kinds of things found in school lunches. Just more of it, in this case, with a nicer presentation. I grilled my staff room neighbour for details on just what everything was.
Wednesday we had an unagi (eel) set. It was delicious, but just one single piece of eel!
I recommend following this Flickr set to get details on everything you see here, but there is lily bulb, namafu (gelatinous flour-based cube), Japanese cedar buds, cod in roe, boiled eggplant, sweet potato, kamaboko (sea urchin), ebi (shrimp), roasted sake (salmon), Takuam (pickled daikon, named after a Buddhist priest), shibazuke -- common, purple cucumber pickles, shimeji (a kind of mushroom), the one piece of grilled unagi, and rice.
Thursday, we had another special lunch. It's final exam marking week at Motosushoyo. Not much for me to do now that I'm done marking all of my first years' compositions, but the other teachers are all busy.
This one came in a pretty but disposable box.
Again, you can get details on all of the food in a Flickr set for this meal, here. But the meal included: one piece of ebi tempura, pumpkin salad, chicken, pasta, okra in white soy with tuna (avoided -- I hate the slime), a cube of sweet potato in sesame seeds (delicious), herring roe on cedar buds and fish, a kind of compressed fried lotus root patty, ika and seaweed strips, a mushroom top, a chunk of boiled pumpkin, a tied tofu bag with diced veggies inside, a bamboo chute, and a whole little squid!
One compartment also held a piece of "Bavarian cream" cake, a strawberry, a slice of lemon, and what looked like glass noodles. Well, we've seen these before. There are glass noodles, but they're not alone.
Do you see the eyes? A kind of "whitefish" (though they are pink).
The little squid, I have to say, was adorable. Here he is with the tied tofu bag and bamboo chute, and again from a different angle. Very photogenic.
Here he is making friends with the fish-shaped soy sauce bottle. And here he is wearing a jaunty sea-captain's hat.
Yes, he likes his sea captain's hat.
Sadly, he was beginning to show signs of wear at that point, and had to be eaten before any Shakespeare could ensue.
* * * * *
Well, we leave for South Korea tomorrow, and I need my sleep. It's exciting but rather nerve-wracking. I feel wholly unprepared. We do have lots of things planned, though, and have even booked a USO-sponsored tour of the DMZ. See you in five days.
Having talked recently with my parents (hi mom and dad), I know that people back home are interested in what there is for food out here. You know sushi, but that's not very typical fare out here. Well, I suppose, neither is this, but it will give you a good idea of the kinds of things found in school lunches. Just more of it, in this case, with a nicer presentation. I grilled my staff room neighbour for details on just what everything was.
Wednesday we had an unagi (eel) set. It was delicious, but just one single piece of eel!
I recommend following this Flickr set to get details on everything you see here, but there is lily bulb, namafu (gelatinous flour-based cube), Japanese cedar buds, cod in roe, boiled eggplant, sweet potato, kamaboko (sea urchin), ebi (shrimp), roasted sake (salmon), Takuam (pickled daikon, named after a Buddhist priest), shibazuke -- common, purple cucumber pickles, shimeji (a kind of mushroom), the one piece of grilled unagi, and rice.
Thursday, we had another special lunch. It's final exam marking week at Motosushoyo. Not much for me to do now that I'm done marking all of my first years' compositions, but the other teachers are all busy.
This one came in a pretty but disposable box.
Again, you can get details on all of the food in a Flickr set for this meal, here. But the meal included: one piece of ebi tempura, pumpkin salad, chicken, pasta, okra in white soy with tuna (avoided -- I hate the slime), a cube of sweet potato in sesame seeds (delicious), herring roe on cedar buds and fish, a kind of compressed fried lotus root patty, ika and seaweed strips, a mushroom top, a chunk of boiled pumpkin, a tied tofu bag with diced veggies inside, a bamboo chute, and a whole little squid!
One compartment also held a piece of "Bavarian cream" cake, a strawberry, a slice of lemon, and what looked like glass noodles. Well, we've seen these before. There are glass noodles, but they're not alone.
Do you see the eyes? A kind of "whitefish" (though they are pink).
The little squid, I have to say, was adorable. Here he is with the tied tofu bag and bamboo chute, and again from a different angle. Very photogenic.
Here he is making friends with the fish-shaped soy sauce bottle. And here he is wearing a jaunty sea-captain's hat.
Yes, he likes his sea captain's hat.
Sadly, he was beginning to show signs of wear at that point, and had to be eaten before any Shakespeare could ensue.
* * * * *
Well, we leave for South Korea tomorrow, and I need my sleep. It's exciting but rather nerve-wracking. I feel wholly unprepared. We do have lots of things planned, though, and have even booked a USO-sponsored tour of the DMZ. See you in five days.
posted by Freemount at 7:05 a.m.
2 Comments:
I suppose the old adage about not playing with your food doesn't apply when you get a whole squid with your meal. It's so adorable!
I can't believe you ate Fureddo Jr.'s cousin! After making him a hat and everything...
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