He is one of the few people in Japan who grew up without trying one of the country’s most popular festival foods..
Our Japanese reporter Seiji Nakazawa i love japanese festival. Always. Growing up in the countryside of Osaka Prefecture, he felt that atmosphere from an early age. festivalas it is called traditional festival in Japanese, is a fresh and exciting change from the boring rhythm of everyday life.
So, Sanja Festivalone of Tokyo’s oldest and largest festivals, took place last weekend for the first time since the pandemic began, and since it wasn’t too far from Seiji’s apartment, Seiji was eager to attend in person.
However, as he was overwhelmed by the sight and sound of the team parading around town, Seiji’s stomach began to rumble, and then he realized something. He has never eaten yakisoba from a festival stall in his life..
▼Yakisoba
This is unusual for several reasons. First, even a festival of modest size will usually find at least a few stalls, one of which he is almost certain to sell yakisoba. Because yakisoba is he one of the most widely popular and easy to make types of food. Japanese street food.It will probably be difficult to find a festival over there. it’s not Yakisoba stand.
So why has Seiji never eaten festival yakisoba? First of all, he was a shy child. To be honest, he’s a bit of a shy adult, but Seiji, especially as a kid, was really nervous talking to strangers, and many street food stalls are somewhat surly, or at least sassy middle-aged. Being a man, young Seiji was always intimidated.
It’s not uncommon for children to hold, but they often overcome their fears by working up the courage to go up to the stall together in a large group. However, this was not possible as Seiji at a young age did not have many friends. (again, a shy guy). So what about when Seiji went to a festival with her parents? I thought it was a waste of money to buy yakisoba from a street stall because it would be cheaper to make it at home..
So what about when he gets older and moves to Tokyo and lives on his own? When Seiji lived in the city, he was trying to make a living as a guitarist. plan that didn’t work And he was in such dire financial straits that a pack of street food chow mein might have been the same as a goblet of caviar. Because they were both luxuries beyond his budget. Basically, all Seiji could do was window shop at the festival stalls, enjoying the sights and smells, but he didn’t buy anything for himself. That spirit was ingrained in him for years to come.
But now that Seiji is financially well off, he can treat himself with peace of mind with the 500 yen noodles.. Hungry, he slipped out of his memories, went to a nearby yakisoba restaurant, dropped a 500-yen coin, and ate his first festive yakisoba.
and it was great.
As you can see, yakisoba is not gourmet. The noodles Seiji ate, Pork belly, Kinshi tamago, a little bit, Red pickled ginger. But seasoned with a sweet and savory sauce and sprinkled with powdered seaweed, they were all he wanted in that moment, especially after cooking on the stall’s large flat-top grill, with a slight amount of rice on the tip of the noodles. There was a crunchy feeling. But above all, the atmosphere of al fresco dining, surrounded by young and old, locals and tourists who came to enjoy the local traditions, made Seiji an unforgettable dining experience..
The portions were generous, and I noticed that other stalls were selling yakisoba for 100 or 200 yen more than my price, but it wasn’t cheap either. The yakisoba was so delicious that I almost wanted to go back for a moment…
…but instead, he goes to another stall to get another popular Japanese street food that Seiji hadn’t eaten at a festival stall to this day: potato butter. , decided to fix a new gap in the dining experience.. Potato “Jagabutter” means “potatoes”, and Jagabutter is basically mashed potatoes with butter and other creamy toppings, like the mentaiko mayonnaise served at Seiji’s stall. It is like
Like yakisoba, eating potato butter from a food stall was a revelation for Seiji. It was so delicious and he was filled with both potatoes and joy. He wishes he could go back in time, grab his shirt collar and say to his younger self, “Hurry up and eat festival yakisoba and potato butter!” Unfortunately, SoraNews24’s time machine is still in stores, so that’s not an option, but with summer being the height of festivals in Japan, Seiji intends to make up for lost time in the coming months. there is no doubt.
Photo ©SoraNews24
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