Japan Interactive

		Rice Dishes
		Most people eat rice as a important food. Entire cuisine is based on rice dishes. They usually eat it with other meals or make rice dishes like Sekihan, Takikomi Gohan, Porridge, Domburimono and Onigiri. Some of the Japanese like to place pickled plum,"Noritama" and "Tsukudani" on the top of rice. Tsukudani is a kind of preserved food, made of kelp, shellfish, or other ingredients boiled down in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and other flavorings. (Click the picture to enlarge)
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		Sekihan A rice dish made by steaming glutinous rice and boiled red beans called "azuki" beans. Azuki beans turn the rice red. People eat sekihan at happy occasions.
		Takikomi Gohan A rice dish cooked with seafood, meat, vegetables edible wild plants. There are many kinds of "takikomi gohan" like Kurumi Gohan, Shiso Gohan, Hijiki Gohan, Shirasu Gohan, Gomoku Gohan, Takenoko Gohan, Awabi Gohan, Shimeji Gohan, Wakame Gohan, Kaki Gohan, Sakura Gohan , Matsutake Gohan,
		Porridge Rice cooked with a large amount of water and small amount of salt until the rice becomes sticky. Place sake flakes, sliced Japanese leek on its top. It is easy to digest porridge so some of the Japanese like to eat it for breakfast. You can buy a cup porridge at supermarket. Just pour hot water and wait couple of minutes like this. Or buy retort -pouched porridge, place to a bowl and heat it with microwave oven like these (Plain porridge, ume porridge)
		Domburimono Donburimono is served in a large bowl. Rice is placed on its bottom layer and its top layer is covered with tempura, pork cutlet, grilled beef, grilled chicken and egg, broiled eel, etc. Each of them are called Ten-don, Katsu-don, Gyu-don, Oyako-don, Una-don. Other Japanese favorite "Domburimono" are Negitoro-don, Ikura-don, Sanshoku-don, Anago-don, Gyu-karubi-don
		Onigiri It has been quite popular as a take-out meal for a long time.It is cooked rice formed into a ball or triangle. First of all, make a rice ball with lightly salted rice. Put umebosih (pickled plum),ajikobu (soy-marinated kelp), tarako (roasted cod roe), sujiko (salt salmon roe), grilled salmon etc into the center of the ball. Spread salt slightly on your palm and take the rice ball into the palm and squeeze it into the shape of ball or triangle. Wrap it in a sheet of nori seaweed.