Japanese Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is the Japanese equivalent of the Hot Pot which so many Chinese people have come to enjoy. The main difference is in the ingredients of the soup base. In Chinese Hotpot, this is commonly a mixture of chilli oil, tomato, mushroom or seafood broth. Chinese people tend to put anything into the hot pot, from noodles, vermicelli, fish balls, prawns, fish, to all kinds of red meat be it Lamb, Beef or Pork.

Japanese Sukiyaki is quite different because the broth uses a mixture of sake, soy sauce and sugar. The pot itself is also quite different in that it is usually a cast iron pot, whilst other hot pots tend to use clay pots. Like the Chinese variant of meats, the Japanese Sukiyaki uses thinly sliced meats which are seared before adding other ingredients like vegetables etc.

Supplementary ingredients include leafy vegetables, tofu, shiitake mushrooms and so on.

Unlike the Chinese style of hot pot, the Japanese do not solely focus on the hot pot and will order many other dishes to compliment the hot pot food. For instance, various seafoods and sushi would serve as an excellent supplement. In this case, a sea urchin helps with reducing the "internal" heat from the continuous boil and is served on a bed of ice for a cool and fresh taste.

Raw oysters are also a common dish in Japan, although not quite the same as the westernised style served with shallots. Lime is usually dripped on top and then eaten directly. I'm not an Oyster expert so I think it's difficult to differentiate between the various kinds in terms of taste, but I will say that I like the size and texture of the Oysters here. It's always disappointing to try oysters with very little meat, for some I find them less succulent.

Unagi sushi rolls use fresh water eels and so you will never find these raw.

This is a special kind of california roll with fish eggs on top of a half cooked slice of salmon. The rice roll consists of avocado and even more salmon. This is a salmon lovers delight.

Tickling the taste buds some more, the final dish served was a platter of various kinds of sushi. In Japanese sushi, there are many varieties of Tuna fish used, even which part of the Tuna used is very important, for example, the Skipjack Tuna, Bluefin Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna and Yellow tale. Sometimes they are served on a bed of rice, other times not. In this case, they are all Nigiri, but what is interesting is the sushi at the back, the ruffled sides and dark yellow colour doesn't resemble any fish, and that's because it's actually a sea snail with the name "Abalone".

The contrast between Chinese hot pot and Japanese hot pot is well documented, and to frequent eaters of each, the distinction is vast. On the journey of searching out the greatest delectable food on the planet, we've encountered several different kinds of hot pot, and each have their own emphasis. Personally, I'm happy to try something different for a change, there's only so much chilli I can endure before my tongue loses it's sense of taste.