cooking around the world: Japan

Learning about Japanese food was a fascinating study.  School children are encouraged to try and eat 30 different foods a day and include 100 different foods a week.  The health benefits of a Japanese diet--which is low in calories, rich in fish and has a very different balance of food types than the typical American diet--are fairly well known.  The more we read, the more intrigued we became with trying this food, even though it is so different from what we are accustomed to eating.  There is a wonderful restaurant in town with a reasonably priced lunch buffet, but even though they said they do not add MSG to their food, this Asian cuisine is chock full of naturally-occuring MSG in seaweed along with soy products.  There is an interesting thought that perhaps the Japanese are naturally protected from MSG reactions due to the large amounts of taurine in a diet that relies so heavily on fish.  Still, not knowing how Micah's body will respond, I finally decided that we'll put the restaurant idea on hold for now and try something homemade.  Scouring my two cookbooks, I eventually came up with this recipe to try.

Moon Noodle Soup

1 bouillon cube
2 c. water
I substituted one carton Organic Pacific Chicken Broth, because I have yet to find bouillon without MSG or other additives.
4 oz. cooked Japanese noodles (almost made my own, but found a package at Meijer.  They were delicious!)
2 eggs
bunch of scallions, chopped

Cook Japanese noodles and set aside.  Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan.  Put noodles in frying pan and break eggs over them, taking care to not break the yolks.  Pour boiling broth over mixture and bring to a boil again if necessary to fully cook eggs.  Sprinkle scallions on top and serve immediately.

I wasn't sure what we would think of egg in our soup, but it was a hit!  This recipe gets five thumbs up, one from each member of the Rhodes family.

My pickiest eater didn't even flinch when he found an egg in his soup.  He loved slurping the noodles!

The only thing missing was the chopsticks, which we don't know how to use yet anyway.  It was not easy to eat with a fork or a spoon, but we managed!