"working on my faults and cracks..."

4.29.2008

Golden brown (200th post)

Stereotype: Japanese people stay so thin because everything they put in their mouths is healthy. And fishy. And sometimes raw.

Truth: Compared to the percentage of their fellow countrymen who are not, a greater percentage of Japanese people manage to stay thin because their lifestyles simply call for it. More commuting via bike, more walking than driving and parking, more pimp-slapping giant crustaceans from outer space, etc. Unfortunately though, even this is slowly being offset by 'heavy' influences from the west--most noticeable in Japanese food, which isn't nearly as healthy and wholesome as everybody wants to believe it is.

How about a new stereotype then? All Japanese food is actually fried. Crisp and flaky on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside; fish or fowl, entrails, appendages of every sort, or just good old breast meat, Japan knows how to fry with golden brown impunity. Forget about the raw fish/chicken/horse Asian cuisine that has everybody talking, if it's fried, it's in Japan. And probably delicious.

Anecdotal proof? After spending a week with my brother in Hawaii (a group of islands that may very well be deep-fried themselves), and basking in the respective glories of half-pound hamburgers, wet burritos, deep-dish pizza, onion rings, ranch dressing, bottled root beer, and other such "kamehameha" sucker punches that surprised my unsuspecting colon, I thought it would be nice to meet with some friends and load up on greens upon arriving back in Okayama. So, we hit up a quiet cafe/izakaiya type place above street level and set about ordering.
What was the first item to arrive at our table?

Fried chicken cartilage.

I rest my flimsy case.

10 contributions to this piece:

Kimbrolynn said...

Mmmm.... I love fried chicken cartilage... on a stick--so much better that way.

Dagbert said...

Are you sure that was cartilage that you had? I thought it was just grilled skin.
Cartilage doesn't spear very well. Fries just fine though.

Kimbrolynn said...

Maybe you should ask Marc, because he ordered it, as I spent my time chewing slowly in question.

Remember--
Me: "This doesn't seem right. Is there something wrong with it? What animal did this come from??"

You and Marc: *unsympathetic laughter*

You: "Give it to me!! You can't waste this precious chicken cartilage!"

*trash compactor noises to my left*

Marc: "Kampai to the Chicken Cartilage Gods!!" *gulps biiru*

Yeah... true story.

Unknown said...

As much as I love fried chicken cartilage (and Mario has grown to like it as well), I prefer my fatty Japanese food in the form of a chanko nabe.


Mmmm....sumo wrestler food....

Dagbert said...

Totally agree.
Chanko nabe, and then the obligatory food-induced coma.

Eat like a sumo, sleep like a sumo.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

For the win!

Anonymous said...

oh. boy. do i miss the chicken cartilage and the laughter that ensued when I asked my companions, with a scrunched up face, "what is this?"

Dagbert said...

Never would have expected a thread about fried chicken to turn into some kind of confessional.

Got kind of a midnight tater tots "diner" feel to it.

Anonymous said...

That's what happens when you're the great and terrible DI

Even posts about chicken can shake the world.


 
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