和食わしょくと健康けんこう

Washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, is considered a food culture that is good for health. The basic form combines rice at the centre with a soup and side dishes, so you can take in a wide variety of ingredients in a single meal.

Compared with meat, dishes that use fish are more common, and this is another characteristic. Cooking methods are rich - grilling, simmering, or eating the fish raw - and fish suited to the season appear on the table.

Dishes made with vegetables, seaweed and beans are indispensable too. Tofu, natto and miso are all foods made from soybeans, and they have played an important role in everyday meals.

The habit of serving small amounts on small dishes is also thought to help prevent overeating. Valuing how the food looks can likewise be called part of what makes washoku what it is.

However, in recent years meals have become more Western in style and the chance to cook Japanese food at home is gradually decreasing. Care is needed not to take in too much salt, but a movement to rediscover the merits of washoku is also spreading.