March 31, 2007

A Japanese Breakfast

by Shari Steelsmith

Tip—Widen your child’s horizons by exploring different foods that children in other cultures eat around the world.

My daughter, now age 9, has been interested in Japan ever since meeting her Japanese cousins (one of my cousins married a Japanese man and they live in Osaka). Last year she wanted an Asian-themed birthday party and she has been interested in stories about the Far East ever since. She enjoyed the story “Not Much, But Enough: Mariko’s Story” in A Horse’s Tale: Ten Adventures in One Hundred Years. Mariko, a Japanese-American child is interned in a camp during World War II. Mariko talks about the food she is accustomed to and what they have to eat at the camp.

Tools—My daughter and I decided it would be fun to look at the activities and game ideas for this story in the Historical Activity Guide which accompanies the book. It’s fun and instructive to learn about other cultures by eating what they eat, so we decided to try the Japanese breakfast activity. Here’s how to do it.

Purpose: To acquire a sense of the differences between Japanese and American food; to think about how it feels to live where you can no longer eat your accustomed food.

Materials:

Rice, short grain
Rice cooker or heavy pan with tight lid
Green tea or soy sauce
Tea pot
Bowls
Chop sticks
Japanese pickles or dried seaweed (optional—can be found in Asian specialty stores)

Directions:

A typical Japanese breakfast consists of rice with green tea or soy sauce poured over it and Japanese pickles. They use short grain rice, sometimes referred to as “sticky rice” so it clings together and is easy to pick up with chop sticks.

Prepare rice according to package directions either in a rice cooker or in a pot on the stove.
Prepare green tea according to package directions. Bancha is the green tea commonly used in Japan. Pour the tea over rice. (If your child prefers soy sauce to tea, make the switch.)
Serve and eat. Serve rice in a bowl. Have your child hold the bowl in one hand, fingers on the bottom rim and at the top rim (to avoid burning fingers). Eat with chopsticks. If you like, sprinkle Japanese pickles or dried seaweed on the top.

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in A Horse’s Tale: Ten Adventures in One Hundred Years by Nancy Luenn, and the Historical Activity Guide by Elizabeth Crary, M.S.

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