Miso-Suppe
Miso (Soy bean paste)
Like soy sauce, miso is made from soy beans. It is a paste-like condiment mostly in a brown color. Many Japanese have miso soup for breakfast. The hot soup is made by adding several ingredients to broth, for example, tofu, seaweeds, or vegetables, then stirring in the soy bean paste. In addition to soup, it is used as seasoning for ramen(a Chinese brand of noodle), rice balls, and all kinds of cookpot dishes. Fish or meat pickled in this miso keep for a long time and, yet with enhanced taste. Soy bean paste is also an important condiment that is indispensable to the Japanese people. Recently, miso soup in particular has been valued as a health food that contributes to a balanced diet.
Kome (Rice) My link Rice
The Japanese are a rice-cultivating people who have lived for more than 2,000 years with rice as their staple food. Accordingly, rice is Japan's most important agricultural product, and many aspects basic to Japanese culture are related to rice. Sake, rice cakes, rice crackers, and dumplings are all made from rice. On auspicious occasions, Japanese eat rice boiled together with red beans, which they also serve as an offering to divinities. Japanese bring rice balls along on picnics, and mix the rice with vinegar so that it won't spoil and make various kinds of sushi. The Japanese also used the stems from the harvested rice plants as straw to make straw sandals and straw raincoats and even as material to make thatched roofs.
