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No soy sauce on white rice? 2006/1/8 14:55
I'm going to Japan in April...I was reading about "How to eat" and it says: "Do not pour soy sauce over white rice", well, that is what I do here in the states and that's the way I like it, so what can I do?
by Surfbeat  

... 2006/1/8 15:06
Many people and restaurant owners in Japan will not care how a foreigner eats his rice, especially in tourist spots where they are used to tourists who do not know local manners. But many people will be shocked to see somebody pour soya sauce over white, cooked rice. If you do it in a good restaurant with a proud owner or chef, it can even be regarded offensive. It is like putting sugar into your wine or beer. It may taste good if you got used to it, but it is not usually done.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Thank you! 2006/1/8 15:10
Uji, thank you for your response... I'll try not to offend.
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

The truth is that... 2006/1/8 19:23
The truth is that lots of locals like to pour soy sauce on white rice.

But we don't do that in public, because it just shows how unsophisticated you are :)

Instead, we pour soy sauce on other things like pickles, or dip things like sashimi in soy sauce, eat them, and then immediately eat white rice so that we can enjoy a slight mixture of the soy sauce flavor that has clinged on our tongues for a while.

As for pouring soy sauce directly on the rice, we do it secretly in our kitchen when no one's watching :)

Also, you may notice that rice in Japan can be quite different from rice in other countries. Enjoy it as is.
by Uco rate this post as useful

Thanks 2006/1/8 19:27
Will try!
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

soy sauce 2006/1/10 02:09
that's not just a japanese thing, but a chinese thing too. normally you just don't pour soy sauce on white rice. it's seen as something only the poor do. it's actually kind of a joke to suggest that someone has to eat soy sauce on rice, because they can't afford the "real food".
by nancy rate this post as useful

I've been to China... 2006/1/10 04:49
Each time I went to China, one thing I noticed, at restaurants it was difficult to get them to bring me soy sauce, and when they did, it was very little.
"it's actually kind of a joke to suggest that someone has to eat soy sauce on rice, because they can't afford the real food".
Perhaps, but I was also told in CHina that only poor peaple build homes out of wood. Most homes in the U.S. are build out of wood. So it's a culture thing.
Well. I think it's amusing that you can be judged by what and how you eat, I like what I like and I do not like plain boring white rice.
I live in Kauai and I ride a bike for excercise, but on Kauai, when you ride a bike, the locals think you had a DUI and got your drivers license suspended, I don't care!
I talked with my J-girlfriend last night and told her I like soy sauce on my white rice, she said that is "ugly", I said, 'No, it is delicious!"
But hey, I also like jalapenos on my pizza.
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

.. 2006/1/10 05:01
I do not like plain boring white rice.
Thats why usually people are eating other items with the rice.

I think it's amusing that you can be judged by what and how you eat

I don't think its amusing, take it from this point of view, and I think Uji pointed it out, you eating in a resturant and someone comes in and pours tabasco sause into his Pepsi, it might taste good to him, looks strange to everyone else, but its somthing not usually done, if you like it in private thats fine, but in a public place I think its better to follow proper ettiqete

You really sould not pour soy sauce onto white rice.
As mentioned usually if you're eating the rice with something else, you can dip the other item into the soy sauce eat it, then eat rice with it for the flavors.
by .. rate this post as useful

Ok, how about this... 2006/1/10 05:17
Would it also offencive if I just don't eat the rice? I mean, if I'm paying for it, I should eat it or not eat it the way I like.
Again, if I just do not eat the rice...
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

.. 2006/1/10 06:21

Honestly I don't see any problems with you pouring soya sauce onto white rice to eat, if you like it! You're a foreigner and you're exempted. Unless you go to high class Japanese restaurants its a bit impolite.


Look you might be looked at as 'weird' or 'uneducated' in Japanese food and etiquette - but then again Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto's neo-Japanese style of cooking doesn't get the endorsement of many Japanese traditionalists either.... :)


The fact is soya sauce goes well with Rice, but other Japanese food (that might also happen to be soy based cooked, like teriyaki beef/chick) goes even better on rice! And if you eat like this, you wouldn't be thought of as weird.



To give you the confidence booster - I have seen Japanese guys putting Kinako (yellow bean powder) on rice to eat... Kinako is usually only put over dessert!



And I have also seen people pour Soya sauce onto their Chinese Dim Sim Dessert to eat, to the amusement of everyone else...


To me, eating something is at least better than those who never ever try to eat anything new..
by Kensuke rate this post as useful

Ok, what about... 2006/1/10 06:39
Thanks Kensuke..
When I was in China, I ate at some Chinese friends home and they would scoop some rice in a bowl the go to other dishes and put food on top of the rice. I did the same and the juices of the different meats and vegetables would get soaked up by the rice, I like it that way.
Is that acceptable in Japan, putting other food on top of the rice?
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

Skipping rice and topping 2006/1/10 09:58
Actually, when you're drinking alcohol, the restaurant will _not_ bring you rice and soup until you finish your alcoholic beverage. You can use alcohol as an excuse to skip your rice, and say at the end that you're already full and wish to skip the rice.

But I think skipping rice when you're having a proper dinner, is like skipping potatoes when you're having a full course American dinner. The chef has designed the menu so that it would go well with a bowl of rice, so that's the way it should be properly eaten.

But requesting your rice to be served in small portions is very common.

About topping food on rice, I know that it's more commonly done in countries like China, but here, it's not good manners although a lot of people do it. It's also impolite to hold your rice bowl while eating something else, although a lot of people do it.

I think that the real reason that soy sauce on rice is not appreciated is becaues it tends to spoil the quality of the good rice cooked to perfection. And white rice to the Japanese is like potatoes to the Irish. They're precious and something worth saying, "What did you do to MY rice?"
by Uco rate this post as useful

.. 2006/1/10 12:11
You're a foreigner and you're exempted.

Its my personal opinion, ok fine you don't know you don't know, but the poster is asking if its proper or not, and giving someone a blank check "oh you're foreign its ok" is just wrong information in my opinion.
Don't take off your shoes when entering a house, its OK you're from another country. Usually its kind to correct someone, "You're supposed to take off your shoes when you enter someone's house, and I would follow the custom", i've made misakes myself but have been corrected. This case seems different because
I'm more or less confused by the poster he's saying "oh i'm paying for it I should eat it whatever what I like"

I'm not sure if you're trying to "justify" or "reason" something. I like to burp loud when drinking, or eat without a shirt, why shouldn't I?

And I'm not even Japanese.
by .. rate this post as useful

When in Rome... 2006/1/10 14:16
If you're at a cheap resturant or bar with some friends, probably no one will care, but if you're at someone's house, I wouldn't do it.

But there's an additional reason you may find once you get there. Japanese rice tastes a bit better, and you'll learn how to eat it correctly. Like someone mentioned before, when eating rice, you should alternate bites of rice with other things. If you're eating something that is bigger than a bite size, put the whole thing in your bowl, and break off a chunk scoop it up with some rice. You'll get some other flavors in with your rice, and you may even find it more enjoyable than simple shoyu.
by noexit rate this post as useful

All this over Rice and Soy Sauce 2006/1/10 17:51
Well, thanks for all the input everyone. I'll only be in Japan a week, so I think I can deal with it a short time, besides, I may end up liking white rice all by itself!
by Surfbeat rate this post as useful

. 2006/1/10 17:58
I also keep some secrets about how to eat the Japonica rice. When I was a student living alone, I used to pour soy source ramen soup into a bowl of fresh white rice and sometimes even added a lot of mayo mixed with mustard. Please forgive me. Do not punish me, the god of rice. I have never done that in public, even if I enjoyed those ugly but inevitably attractive tastes! No, honestly, I could not afford to buy the other foods at that time!

When I was a little boy, my mom did not allow me to leave a table until I finished the last grain of white rice. She said I should respect the precious efforts of farmers and thankfully clean my bowl without a single grain of rice.

In the past, some people in a generation of my mother starved to death in and out of Japan. So did many rice farmers before that.
In that process, the pure white rice might have been regarded as a top sacred item in some Asian cuisines.

Anyway, enjoy Japan!
by . rate this post as useful

in Ramen 2006/1/11 05:46
I have friends who do the oppisite at Ramen shops. They order a bowl or rice and dump it in the broth after they've finished the noodles.
by noexit rate this post as useful

Japanese Mindset 2006/1/11 06:30
Pouring Soy sauce over white rice is not a good idea, you can in some instances end up insulting your host or casuing an uncomfortable situation. I think the whole reason behind this is that the Japanese believe for no reason that has ever been explained to me, that japanese white rice is superior to all other white rice and that pouring Soy sauce over a bowl of it, would be like ordering Tomato Catsup with your escargot in a French Restaurant.
by GeorgeT rate this post as useful

.. 2006/1/11 06:37
Japanese believe for no reason that has ever been explained to me, that japanese white rice is superior to all other white rice

Can you point me to where you recieved this information from?
by .. rate this post as useful

Wasn't my original post, but... 2006/1/11 09:03
Japanese believe for no reason that has ever been explained to me, that japanese white rice is superior to all other white rice

Can you point me to where you recieved this information from?


Wasn't my original post, but as a foreigner living in Japan, I hear this very often. Not trying to start anything, but yes, many Japanese with no basis for comparison do believe this.

Sean
by Seanolan rate this post as useful

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