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 |
Domino’s Pizza |
| 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 |
Taco salad w/meat, cheese, lettuce, salsa |
| 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 |
Hot dog on bun |
| 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 |
Ham and cheese on sub roll |
| 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 |
Fish treasures |
| 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. | |
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Comments
@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!
>_> 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.
Japanese curry is awesome. I make it a point to eat curry rice at least once whenever I’m in Japan.
@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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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