I don't mean suspicious mincemeat in the cans that are sold at the pet shop.
It's "Neko-mamma". I think Neko-mamma is one of the most delicious meals in the world. This is a Japanese food. "Neko" means the cat. "Mamma" is baby talk that means meals.
You know Miso soup. Miso is fermented soybean paste used as a flavoring in Japanese cuisine. Miso soup is part of the Japanese-style breakfast. And Neko-mamma is a manner of cooking or eating miso soup.
To cook Neko-mamma, first of all you need is well cooked rice. You may not have experienced cooking rice. No problem. You can use electric or gas ring cookers. It's OK to use a pot or a mess kit for rice.
Secondly, you need to cook miso soup. You can get the package of miso easily at the Japanese grocery.
The taste of miso is different depending on where it is produced. Shinshu and Sendai are both famous for their miso. You can choose several tastes from mild to heavily salted. You don't need to worry about taking in too much salt, because vegetables prevent salt for being absorbed. Miso is one of the most healthy foods on earth.
Miso soup is often made with Tofu, seaweed, mushroom, and many seasonal vegetables. I like to use potato, radish, eggplant(It's usual), carrot(irregular), and Japanese pumpkin(unusual). You can cook it with anything you like. If you were a anti-vegetarian, of course you can add several pieces of fish or pork(not beef).
There are several important points to make Neko-mamma.
1 Get rice of Japonica (not Indica).
2 Pay attention to the quantity of water when you cook rice(not too much).
3 Don't forget add broth to the soup.
4 Don't boil each vegetable too much except potato or carrot.
5 Add miso at the end of the process.
6 Don't boil miso soup.
7 Don't add banana or mango to miso soup.
Well now, you are ready to make Neko-mamma. Prepare the biggest bowl you have and dish out the rice in it. Pour miso soup fully on rice. And...and that's all. This is Neko-mamma.
If you don't have a experience of eating miso soup, you may be embarrassed a little with its flavor at first. But I think you will like it eventually.
By the way, you can never order Neko-mamma at a restaurant in Japan. Why?
It is a formal manner that rice and soup are dished out to each bowl. To tell the truth, Neko-mamma is regarded as a vulgar food or a vulgar manner of eating miso soup. Ages ago it was a symbol for the poor people's meal. So people of advanced age especially tend to think that Neko-mamma is vulgar. Maybe memory of poverty passes through their minds. But I know in fact they like it very much. They sometimes eat Neko-mamma out of the public eye.
As for me? I love rationalism rather than formalism. Firstly, It is very delicious. Secondly, Neko-mamma saves me time of washing dishes. And thirdly, I am actually poor.
According to my calculation one third of Jananese eat miso soup every morning and one tenth of one third of Japanese eat Neko-mamma. In short three or four million Japanese eat Neko-mamma every morning. That may sound too many! I must confess that my calculation doesn't based on any reliable statistics.
However you should realise that the Japanese are the most long lived people in the world. If you doubt it, you can be reassured by the reliable statistics of WHO. I think it is certain that miso soup is responsible for this.
"I know some Japanese. But I've never seen them eat miso soup." you may object.
OK. That's quite possible. But I advise you not to trust such Japanese.
Food is the culture. A race of people have their own historical memories of food. That is a common property of the world.
I like hamburger, pizza, pasta, curry, paella, tacos, shish kebabs, couscous and so on. I wish Neko-mamma would be one of those international foods.
"What do you like best of food?" your Japanese friend ask you one day.
"Well, I like Neko-mamma." you answer with pretended nonchalance. Your friend might be shocked as if he were beaten by a hammer. You should tell him immediately.
"Of course I prefer Sendai miso."
In case you are a single male, many beautiful Japanese girls might want to cook miso soup for you every morning.
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This slideshow is a stand-alone movie made by Macromedia Director. You need more than a14 inch monitor and 8 bit color. You can copy this file freely under original conditions, but I retain my copyright. I am the owner of these Cats, so I'd be very glad if you would let me know where you found them wandering about and what they looked like from your point of view.
