ethnic grubbage

as a graduate of the only college of ethnic studies in the world, i think i have a certain amount of clout when i stress the importance of embracing ethnic traditions in all aspects of life. perhaps the one single aspect that everyone can relate to--since everyone does it--is eating.

if you know me at all, you know how much i appreciate a good meal, regardless of what style cuisine. versailles, pho tau bay, you's dim sum, nak won, mona lisa, la victoria's...my personal list of ethnic grub goes on and on. but the one constant about all of those restaurants is the fact that their menus remain bounded by the laws of the land.

i've definitely had some surprising meals here in japan. turtle soup (suppon), live sweetfish (ayu), raw horse (basashi), and recently, seared--as in raw in the middle--chicken (sasami tataki). but my meal last night really took a whopper of a turn.

first of all, we were cooking the meal at the table, so there was this humongous gob of raw meat right in front of my face. i was slightly shocked that this meat was lamb...not exactly one of my personal favorites. suffice to say, i ended up using a lot of sauce and even more spice, and went through plenty of rice to work my way through the distinct lamb taste.

another dish that i used to mask the lamb was this bacon that my uncle offered. i thought it was some funny shaped bacon, but it tasted alright, especially when mixed with soy sauce and mustard. i wish i had an actual picture of it, but here's one i found on the internet that illustrates what it looks like:

now it's important to note that by my aunt's and uncle's standards, i eat at the pace of takeru kobayashi. so i made my way thru my share of lamb meat and more than my share of bacon long before the two of them finished their meals. near the end of the meal, my uncle offered my aunt the last couple pieces of bacon, which is when i realized that she hadn't even touched the dish. i asked why, and she said it has always made her kinda queasy since she was in elementary school. i know it's not that healthy and all, but honestly, who doesn't like bacon!?

then my uncle turns to me and says, "oh, did you know this is whale bacon?"

at that instant, my stomach was definitely ready to free willy. so much for embracing culture.