Japanese food suggestions

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gatorflyer
gatorflyer Posts: 536 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, I've never really had Japanese food and a friend who I've been trying to get together with for over a year chose a Japanese restaurant. It's supposed to be healthy, but I have no idea what to expect. I'm a meat eater, NOT at all into Sushi, but she assures me I will be able to find something good to eat. Can someone give me some ideas of healthy foods that I might take a look at that isn't too high in calories, salt, etc?

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  • cassiejoyy
    cassiejoyy Posts: 82
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    I would like to know too! I'm going to Japan in September (:
  • mcqlove87
    mcqlove87 Posts: 59
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    Not entirely sure how to answer your question...but I love Japanese food, especially sushi :) I would check out some Japanses restuarant websites and see if you can find any nutritional info, that way you at least have a better idea before you go
  • Frappuzzino
    Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
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    There are a ton of options besides sushi at a Japanese restraunt. Most have shrimp + steak or shrimp + chicken etc. Sushi is just an option. :)
  • mcqlove87
    mcqlove87 Posts: 59
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    I would like to know too! I'm going to Japan in September (:

    You'll love it! I was there for two weeks and it was amazing!
  • erxkeel
    erxkeel Posts: 553 Member
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    So many chicken choices!
  • RNewton4269
    RNewton4269 Posts: 663 Member
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    Seaweed salad is one of my favorite dishes and I am a sushi eater. I would say if you pick anything with a lot of vegetables..not too heavy on the sauces and one good lean meat or seafood you will be good. Also if they have brown rice that is a plus.

    good luck!
  • Ahzuri
    Ahzuri Posts: 272 Member
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    Is it a hibachi restaurant where they cook the food in front of you? Those usually come with your choice of meat, veggies, usually white or fried rice and miso soup or salad. Beyond that my knowledge of Japanese food sucks because I always wanna sit at the hibachi lol
  • cyndihlp
    cyndihlp Posts: 2
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    They have all sorts of seafood combinations, such as shrimp, salmon, scallops. If seafood is not your thing, you can just get a vegetable stir fry. Of course, I love the sushi.... but didn't always. In fact when first tried it, hated it. Sometimes you need to be open about it and it becomes an acquired taste.
  • Stawberry_Fields_Forever
    Stawberry_Fields_Forever Posts: 20
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    Eat lots of edamame (green soy bean). They are high in protein, low in fat and carbs. I am a hostess at a Japanese restaurant and I eat loads of edamame. Since I only eat sushi and edamame..not sure what else would be good. Just read the menu carefully...stay away from the tempura. If you can find the menu online...you can see if the foods are on the MFP database and go from there. Oh, watch out for the miso soup...tons of sodium.
  • Nomomush
    Nomomush Posts: 582 Member
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    There's plenty of Japanese food that isn't sushi or sashimi (raw fish).

    Yakizakana--grilled fish
    Domburi--rice dish with protein on top (chicken, fish, pork, beef)
    noodles- soba, udon, yakisoba
    Yakitori-grilled chicken on skewers
    tonkatsu--deep fried pork cutlets
    tempura--deep fried veggies or shrimp
    gyoza
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
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    Japanese is wonderful (albeit usually loaded with sodium for the most part) , and if you have never tried sushi from an actual Japanese restaurant (or never tried sushi at all) then you should because it is really good and you will probably like it. There are so many different types of sushi rolls (and not all sushi is uncooked) with all different types of fillings from veggies, crab, shrimp, eel, tuna... anything at all. So if you like seafood and rice you will probably like sushi.

    You can also order "hibachi-style" which is basically just a fully cooked plate of meat and veggies (although watch out how they cook it because they will smother it in soy sauce and oil). You could just order a small plate of chicken, steak, or shrimp. And that is good and you would probably love it. But be specific with them on how you want it cooked. And if the restaurant does not have the big, huge hibachi tables don't be discouraged. There are a few jap houses near me that don't appear as if they serve hibachi-style food, but they actually do. They will just cook it in the back for you like they would the sushi.

    I love going to the jap house, but do it infrequently now because of the high sodium in most of the stuff, but check out the below links to get some good ideas on how to stay in check at the jap house. Have fun!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/550
    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1001
  • gatorflyer
    gatorflyer Posts: 536 Member
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    Thanks everyone. Very helpful! Have a great weekend!
  • skshep
    skshep Posts: 30
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    If you get Teriyaki Chicken it is grilled and you can request no sauce and/or butter be used on yours. It should be pretty low in sodium & calories then.

    Also, you usually have a choice of steamed white or fried rice. I can never resist the fried (diet be damned LOL) but if you eat a small portion of steamed it shouldn't be too bad.

    They usually give you a small salad and miso soup as well which are low cal. and grilled veggies (usually onion, mushroom, zucchini)

    Go & have fun! All in all it will probably be the sodium that you will have the hardest time with but if your portion sizes are under control Japanese food usually isn't too terrible (compared to 'American' anyway!)
  • CraigIW
    CraigIW Posts: 176
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    Is there any particular type of noodles that are the best to go for when eating japanese?
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Stuff your face with sashimi. Om non non.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    I want yaki-niku now.

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