Japanese School Lunch: Week 04

May 24 2008 • Japanese School Lunch

Please note that the American menu provided is from my middle school in the US. It is meant to serve as a comparison.

Kashiwa mochi is a treat served on Children’s Day (originally Boy’s Day). It’s like a little mochi raviolli with sweet bean paste in the middle (sometimes mixed with miso). All of this is wrapped up in an oak leaf and steamed. For a recipe, check out the kashiwa mochi recipe on About.com. Please note that the oak leaf is not to be eaten.

One thing that surprises me this week comes from the American menu at my middle school back home: branded food items. The Domino’s pizza Mondays were started when I was there but I always packed my lunch. But now, there’s also Doritos? Not corn chips with fake orange cheese seasoning but branded Doritos. This kind of targeting bothers me, particularly as the US becomes increasingly concerned with obesity and unhealthy food, and I think a lot of schools still do this (possibly receiving sponsorship from the companies who create these products).

Does (or did) your school system use branded foods in the lunch menu? How do you feel about this type of food?

May 12, 2008
Japanese Menu	American Menu
Barley rice Japanese pork curry Green salad with dressing Pickled daikon Milk	Domino’s Pizza Peas Apple Cookie Milk
Other Notes
There were 3 teachers or students absent today so the portions are a bit larger than usual.

May 13, 2008
Japanese Menu	American Menu
Bread roll Vegetable udon Tempura vegetable mix Spinach and sesame salad Strawberry jam Milk	Taco salad w/meat, cheese, lettuce, salsa Corn Orange Rice Milk
Other Notes
There were 2 teachers absent and 1 sick so we all got extra tempura vegetables. Normally, you just get 1.

May 14, 2008
Japanese Menu	American Menu
Rice with mushrooms and carrots Tofu and seaweed miso soup Katsuo Plum marinated salad Kashiwa mochi Milk	Hot dog on bun Baked beans Macaroni and cheese Peaches Milk
Other Notes
Katsuo is also known as skipjack tuna. It’s a meaty fish and my guess is that you could pobably grill the sucker if you wanted to. Kashiwa mochi is a type of mochi eaten for boy’s day, which was today.

May 15, 2008
Japanese Menu	American Menu
Sesame bread Mushroom soup Pork and beans Fruit and yogurt mix Milk	Ham and cheese on sub roll Carrot sticks Bananas Doritos Milk
Other Notes
The fruit and yogurt mix is really good because they throw in a lot of tropical fruit but it’s really hard to eat with chopsticks.

May 16, 2008
Japanese Menu	American Menu
Onigiri Oden Burdock root croquette Mixed pickled salad Milk	Fish treasures Sweet potatoes Pineapple Roll Milk
Other Notes
I forgot it was onigiri day and had to make a rush to the nearest grocery, which didn’t have any onigiri. So, I had to eat anpan. Not that I’m complaining…I love anpan but being the foreigner and also eating bread on a rice day is…noticible.

Related Posts

• Japanese School Lunch: Week 25
• Japanese School Lunch: Week 24
• Japanese School Lunch: Week 23
• Japanese School Lunch: Week 22
• Japanese School Lunch: Week 21

Comments

Shin

Added on May 24 2008 at 23:43

For an experienced curry eater like myself, I was disappointed when I tried the Japanese version, because when comparing in terms of spiciness, it tasted like thick peppered sauce DX

Caitlin

Added on May 25 2008 at 10:31

@Shin: Japanese curry…I don’t know why they call it curry. It reminds me more of a sweet beef stew than anything else. Curse the mild palette!

IcyStorm

Added on May 26 2008 at 00:44

>_> I like Japanese curry.

lol @ “Fish treasures”

In middle school, the lunches were never that “healthy.” Vegetables and fruits were always optional. In the a la carte area, fruits and vegetables weren’t even an optional. More or less the same in high school.

There are branded foods everywhere: Domino’s Pizza, Vitamin Water, Quaker granola bars, etc. etc.

double

Added on May 29 2008 at 09:01

Japanese curry is awesome. I make it a point to eat curry rice at least once whenever I’m in Japan.

Caitlin

Added on May 29 2008 at 20:05

@IcyStorm: Wow, sounds like your school had more branded items than mine (did?). I hate how fruits and vegetables are optional…for me, they’d be my primary choice over a greasy cheeseburger!

@double: Are you a sweet and mild, mild, or spicy curry lover? ^_^

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