This is a typical Japanese breakfast. Well, I’ve been told it is! A traditional Japanese breakfast must contain miso soup, rice, one main dish and two or three side dishes.

Grilled fish is a common main dish, and the sides can be anything. Spinach, natto, pickles, tofu, and more.  This is similar to the breakfast I had at a hotel in Kyoto, when I stayed with a school for 3 days of Summer camp. The tofu there wasn’t with ponzu sauce, but was simmered on a little burner on our tray in some dashi, and then eaten with shoyu (soy sauce). I’ve also gone with brown rice instead of the usual white. I really love Japanese white rice, but brown is really nice for a change – especially in the morning.

Nowadays, according to my students when I lived in Japan, people will eat this type of breakfast only a couple of times during the week. Bread has taken over…..

There are no recipes for this post, but over time I’ll come back to this post and put links into other pages with each dish’s recipe.