Day 06 – Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).

The thing about me and food and Japan, is that every time I've come here, I've started liking/loving a certain food that I hated before. I'm the type of person who will give food I find disgusting a second chance if I'm told it's been made well. I blame most of my preferences on the fact that I was never given/never ate/never bought the right thing in order to make me like that particular food. I hate octopus and will continue to hate octopus until someone puts some good takoyaki in front of me and it's not like eating a rubber band. :\

Thus far, Japan has turned me on to eating (which I disliked before):

• onions (all because of katsudon)
• mushrooms
• salmon (first cooked and now also raw)
• tuna
• leeks
• squid (never thought I'd eat this...)
• eggplant (Aki eggplants are sweet~)
• tofu (I used to be able to eat it when it was heavily seasoned, but now I crave plain firm tofu and agetofu when I'm hungry)

 On the other hand, I think I hate corn even more because of how many ridiculous places you'll find it (on top of pizza or in pasta with meat-sauce, for example), I don't like jako (those little dried fish with the ever-staring eyes), and I don't like fish that aren't cut into pretty slices for sushi/sashimi (like whole fish heads and bodies...).

GROSS

Don't let the cute flower carrot fool you. GROSS

 And speaking of food in general, I was never a terribly good cook/baker before coming to Japan. My mom and friends used to make fun of me because I'd find ways to mess up refrigerated cut and slice cookies. I'm not sure how that was possible... but now-a-days I bake when I'm bored and cook meals for friends and at parties (people actually say I'm good at cooking, which I never thought I'd hear in my life). Not that I could never cook, per say, but I just never made any effort to make interesting dishes when I lived on my own in collage. It was always easy stuff; stir-fries and sandwiches that just required whatever was lying around the house (except when I decided to splurge and go get bulgulgi beef to make bibimbop).

Curry Omurice

Best karage and miso soup ever

Soup with vegetables and thin-sliced pork

So yeah, I appreciate Japan for how much wider it made my taste-preferences and for taking soo much care in making food at restaurants. I don't think I've ever been dissatisfied upon going to a restaurant or cafe. If the place doesn't make the best whatever, it will still make a really good version of it and be reasonably priced. :)

Speaking of food, I made tempura with my Monday evening dinner buddies yesterday! My house smelled like an oily mess after, but the tempura came out really well (did tofu, mushrooms, green beans, eggplant, onions, and broccoli) and I made this interesting green onion dip with tofu, onions, and garlic~