Side Dishes

Appears in
An American Taste of Japan
An American Taste of Japan

By Elizabeth Andoh

Published 1985

  • About
Rice and noodles, vegetables and salads, condiments and pickles—those small accompaniments that support the leading role, including an autumnal mélange of wild, woodsy mushrooms and rice, homemade citron noodles, Orchard and Field Salad, Tumble-About Potatoes, Glazed Zucchini with Sesame, Lemon-Pickled Cabbage, and a green salad with ginger vinaigrette

Traditionally the Japanese plan their daily meals around rice. In fact, the Japanese word for cooked rice, gohan, can also mean a meal. Noodles are eaten as a snack in Japan, where they’re served chilled in the warm weather and steaming in bowls of broth in the winter. In Japan, potatoes are thought of as just another vegetable and often appear at the same meal with rice.