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The Secret to longevity? The Japanese traditional menu: ICHIJYU-SANSAI (一汁三菜)

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Hi everyone,
I’m sure everyone has tried Japanese food. But did you know  "WASHOKU (Japanese food): Japanese traditional food culture" was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2013? I’m really proud of it. So, this time I would like to introduce ichijyu-sansai, said to be the basic of washoku.

 
 

WHAT IS 一汁三菜(ICHIJYU-SANSAI)?

Ichijyu-sansai is a foundation of washoku, we often think about meals based on it. The history is said that has continued since the Heian period (794 AD – 1185) . It is a menu consisting of rice, soup, three side dishes (one of them a main) and pickles. Ichijyu means one soup, sansai is about three side dishes. It’s said that you can take a good balance of the three nutrients that your body needs: "energy", "building" and "body conditioning" from this meal.

 

ROLE OF EACH DISh

1. Rice

We usually eat rice as a source of carbohydrate and rice is suitable with a lot of side dishes. Rice is easy to harvest in climate of Japan and can be stored for a long time so you can eat it even when the harvest is low.

2. Soup 

Soup plays a role in consuming a lot of water, miso soup is really common in Japan and it has a good nutrition profile as well.

3. Main dishes

A source of proteins and fats such as meat, fish and egg.

4. Two side dishes

It supplements the missing nutrition of the other dishes. For example, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. It doesn't usually have the same volume as the main dishes.

 

THE RIGHT POSITION FOR SERVING DISHES

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1. Rice on the left side and soup is right side on the bottom. Since ancient times, Japan has the idea of ​​the "important upper left" by placing important items on the left side. Rice is the most important item on the menu.
2. Side dish with a large volume is on the upper left side, another side dish with a small volume is in the middle.
3. Main dish is put on the upper right side.
4. Pickled vegetables are not counted as side dishes, so put it in the middle of rice and soup.

 
 

Diet plays a really important part in health. Ichijyu-sansai might be one of reasons Japanese people are often known for long, healthy lives.

We also have take away side dishes at 279, so how about you try adding it into your meal for your own “ichijyu-sansai”?

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Japanese cuisine, Japanese culture, Japanese food, Melbourne Japanese cafeYuki. TIchijyu-sansai, 一汁三菜, Japanese traditional menu, 279 Victoria st