They enter the hall, wearing their traditional Japanese dress. One of them is carrying a teapot, another woman a plate of sweets and the third bowls that she then distributes to some of the attendees. "Please enjoy the sweet first. When your tea is served, place the bowl in front of your knees and bow saying: "Otemaechoudai itashimas [I'll partake of your tea]," one of them says in Japanese, while her ‘How to drink the tea' tips are translated into English. "Then place the bowl on your left palm and steady it with your right hand. Hold the bowl up slightly to express your thanks. "Turn the bowl clockwise on your left palm to avoid drinking tea from the front part, until you can see the picture on the front part of the bowl on the opposite side from you," she adds, while the audience of different ages listen carefully, some of them recording everything with their videocameras. "Enjoy every last sip of the tea and, when you have finished drinking, wipe the edge of the bowl where your lips were touching it with the fingers of your right hand. Clean your fingers with the paper on which the sweets have been served. "Finally, turn the bowl counter-clockwise on your left palm in order to return it to its original position," she adds. The above is a demonstration of how to enjoy the Japanese green tea ceremony, a vital part of Japan's traditional culture. It happened during a seminar entitled ‘Japanese Food as Culture', a part of the JEN Open Salon, held every month with a different theme at the Japanese Embassy in Maadi. The JEN or JapanEgypt Network is a user-friendly network for exchanging information and facilitating communication between people interested in Japan and Egypt. Egyptians believe that Japanese cuisine is healthy. Japanese sushi restaurants here are thriving. Because they eat healthily, the life expectancy of the people in Japan is the highest in the world. Japanese men have an average life span of 78 years and women 85 years. "We in Japan have three meals a day: breakfast at 7am, lunch at noon and dinner at 7pm. Our cousins should also eat balanced food," Makoto Hida, the Japanese Ambassador's chef, told The Egyptian Gazette, after a demonstration of Japanese cooking. Japanese cuisine relies heavily on the surrounding ocean ��" seafood including fish, octopus, squid, crabs, clams, shrimps, lobsters and seaweed is a staple part of many meals. Even more standard than seafood, though, is steamed white rice, which is eaten with just about every meal. Beef, noodles and spices like ginger, soy sauce, wasabi (Japanese horseradish), rice wine and rice vinegar are other essential ingredients. The secret of Japanese cookery, according to Hida, is that it is based on half-raw sea fish, rice, miso (paste from fermented soybeans used as seasoning in soups), tofu and specially cultivated seaweed. The portions are small and the cooking is light and gentle. The desserts are very small. Hida, who arrived in Egypt two months ago, has tried Egyptian cuisine. "I tried eating bread every morning, as well as molokhiya the Egyptian way [they have molokhiya but not cooked the same way], kofta and mahshi. Most of Egyptian cuisine is fried with oil, despite the weather being hot here. It's better to use olive oil, as it's healthier, while a bigger variety of vegetables on the Egyptian table would be healthier too." Here is the recipe for a Japanese dish called ‘Chicken Teriyaki', whose ingredients, according to Hida, are all easily found in the Egyptian market. Ingredients Two pieces of chicken Soy sauce, 3 spoonfuls Black honey, 3 spoonfuls Water, 3 spoonfuls A little oil Preparation 1- Mix the soy sauce, black honey and water in a pot. 2- Remove the bones from the chicken. 3- Heat the pan and then add a little oil. Fry the chicken well, starting with the side with the skin on. 4- While frying the chicken, use a tissue to remove the fats that start oozing out. 5- After the skin side has been well grilled, turn the chicken over and grill the other side on medium heat. 6- When you've finished frying the chicken, rub it with the sauce created in step no. 1, once the sauce has become viscous. Serves two.
