Traditional Japanese Breakfast

In most manga and anime that I have seen I usually see characters eating a western style breakfast or a traditional Japanese breakfast.  A traditional breakfast usually has a grilled fish, soup, rice, pickles, and natto.  Here are some various breakfasts from different anime of a traditional Japanese breakfast.

The breakfast I made today had miso soup, grilled mackerel,  takuan, natto, and rice.  Most of these items can be bought in an Asian market.

Grilled mackeral

• Ingredients
• 1 whole cleaned Indian mackerel
• sea salt
• Directions
1. Put 3 angled slits on each side of the mackerel.
2. Salt the fish on outside and inside of the fish.
• Make sure not to put to much salt.
3.  Set a non stick pan on medium and put a little olive oil to coat the bottom.
4. Once the oil gets hot add the fish.
5. Brown each side until the meat is cooked.

Miso Soup

• Ingredients
• 16 oz dashi stock
• Miso paste
• 1/2 cup small chunk tofu
• some wakame seaweed or nori pieces
• Directions
• Heat up the dashi stock to a boil and turn off heat.
• Add 1 tbsp miso paste
•  Dissolve the miso and add more to taste.
• You do not have to add salt to this dish because the miso paste already has a slightly salty taste.
• Add a tofu and small amount of wakame seaweed
• Wakame seaweed is usually found in stores in a dried state.  When you add it to any liquid it tends to expand.  So make sure you do not add to much to the miso soup or you will just have only seaweed to eat. 
• Serve when ready.

The breakfast was very tasty, except the natto.  This is the third time I have had natto and I still can not get over the texture and taste.  The fermented soybeans is completely different than tofu or tempeh.  The texture is very slimy.  I think it is an acquired taste.  Supposedly, eating natto helps people lose weight. Also, takuan has pungent smell.  Some people might be put off because of it. Here is what my meal looked like.