Monday's Lunch: Fish

Every day our school lunch is made up of three basic components: a main dish (usually fish or meat), a side dish (usually vegetables) and a soup. This is not set in stone, but 99% of the time that's what we get. In addition to that we get a carton of milk and then either rice (Mon., Wed., Fri.) or bread (Tues., Thurs.). That basic pattern will probably be what you see all week, and today is no exception.

Main Dish: Maguro no Goma-Miso Kake (Tuna with a Sesame-Miso Sauce)

This was pretty tasty actually. The sauce on top was applied lightly, which is a rarity here. For some reason Japanese people tend to slather whatever topping they're using all over their food. Something that will probably come up time and again this week is that they are all about simple flavors being brought out strongly. It's not uncommon for food here to be salty or bitter or sweet, and that's all there is to it with little or no depth. Today, however, the fish was quite tasty, although a bit saltier than it needed to be. The flavor of the tuna was lost a bit but not bad for a school lunch.

Side Dish: Hijiki no Nimono (Boiled Seaweed)

According to my dictionary, "hijiki" is "a kind of edible seaweed that grows in clusters in rocky areas along the coastlines". It tastes better than it sounds. Still, this falls into this large category of foods I have tried since coming to Japan that are neither good nor bad, just edible. I can eat it no problem when it's part of a meal put in front of me, but I'm never going to choose to eat it. There are some carrots and beans thrown in for good measure, to make it a little more interesting. Emphasis on "little".

Soup: Tonjiru (Pork Soup)

The name sounds funny in English, I know. It's basically just some boiled pork, carrots, potatoes, tofu and daikon (a large Japanese radish). Pretty tasty, but again saltier than it needed to be. I've had tonjiru several times and I genuinely like it, despite not being a big fan of daikon. When the daikon is boiled or cooked into something it's fine. But sometimes you'll just have cold, shredded daikon (occasionally as a topping) and that's not something I enjoy. This soup, on the other hand, was quite tasty.

Bonus: Grapefruit

Just a slice of grapefruit, although there was extra so I got two slices. Nothing really worth mentioning. I thought this was some of the best grapefruit I've had here, but coming from Florida I've found citrus to be generally lacking here in Japan.

Extra Bonus: Yogurt

This wasn't part of the school lunch officially, but something the school nurse whipped up. A little over two weeks ago she apparently decided that too much milk was going to waste from students not drinking it, so she began saving it and making yogurt. I don't remember ever having plain yogurt before this. It was only about five years ago that I even realized there was such a thing. Before that I kind of assumed that vanilla yogurt was plain yogurt. This stuff is good, but we've been having it every day for nearly three weeks now, so it's getting a little old.

Total Calories: 822

Overall, today was a good lunch. Part of me is hoping we get something nasty this week to make this more interesting, but mostly I'd rather everyday be something good like today. As interesting as an overcooked, pregnant, whole fish might be for you to see, I'd be just fine if I didn't have to eat it.