How did you come to like unique Japanese flavors?

4 comments

1. /r/JapaneseFood is a good place to start.

   Yuzu is just a citrus, so I don’t really agree that it belongs on that list with the others.

   Chicken breast/tenderloin stuffed (rolled) with shiso and umeboshi is an easy and safe recipe. Just use a little less of both if you are worried you might not like the taste.

   Mentaiko pairs quite well with cream and cheese. [Mentaiko pasta](https://www.justonecookbook.com/classic-mentaiko-pasta/) is safe and easy, and again, you can use less mentaiko on your first try. Or, which I like, is mentaiko mac & cheese. Use basically any mac & cheese recipe you like and add mentaiko into the cream/cheese sauce when making it. You could probably even add it to Kraft Dinner, if that’s your mac & cheese of choice.

2. Do you really need to force yourself to like things you don’t really like? Perhaps someday you will eventually get to like them by experiencing enough times of tasting them in your daily life, if only you won’t overly hate them.

3. Umeboshi is great in rice balls or with rice in general as a palate cleanser

   Shiso is good in sushi rolls

   Yuzu is great in salads, in soy sauce for dipping tempura

   Mentaiko is great in rice bowls or in pasta with crème sauce

4. It’s funny how this works. I didn’t have to struggle in the us with American food because all flavors and scenets were familiar, something I’ve already had or knew in Japan but for Americans, you need to expand their palate, thinking that the American food flavor profiles and textures are narrower than what Japanese foods offer.

   I wonder if there is any study conducted in this regard?