Being a foodie...

Remember that food-spotting on Bleach 97 I wanted to post? Well here u go!;)

And for some more true-to-life pics...

I caught sight of a delicious-looking meal prepared by Ran'Tao while Ichigo, Ishida and Ririn were over. And ooh~~~ Looks like nabemono to me! I spot veggie assortments, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, tofu and kamaboko among others, bubbling away in an iron pot. With the help of the wonderful wikipedia (i love wikipediaXD), I checked out nabemono to see what I could learn about it. The brief run-down...

Nabe (cooking pot) + mono (things you put in) = nabemono!=D

Nabe belongs to a class of Japanese hotpots known as one pot dishes and are traditionally made out of clay (donabe) or cast iron (tetsunabe), having different properties. The pots are usually at the centre of the table and it is common to eat from a shared pot, so as to foster warm relations among the diners. Hence, the Japanese saying "Nabe (w)o kakomu" or "sitting around the pot". Pretty neat eh. Diners can choose their ingredients and when the ingredients are cooked, they pick it up from the pot and dip it into some sauce ("tare") or beaten egg as per sukiyaki.

Mostly nabemono consists of stews and soups served during the cooler climates. In modern Japan, though, with the aid of portable stovetops, nabemono can be kept warm right on the table=D (i want one for my future home;D) The 2 main types of nabemono are the lightly flavoured ones and the more richly-flavoured ones. Among some of the most popular nabe are yosenabe, chankonabe (traditionally meant for sumo wrestlers) and hitori-nabe (a single-person nabe, popular among those who live alone). And of course, there are the regional variations of nabemono.

Back home, I guess our equivalent or our label for the dish is a steamboat. Whether this is a Chinese or Japanese equivalent, I don't really know. My main concern is that it tastes divine! (Filling too.)

Lol way to start a craving...