Japanese Culture - Report 2 (Strange Food In Japan)

Tety Maryenti

14998003

Kake Gohan

Tamago kake gohan is a dish in which a raw egg is put on top of or mixed with rice. When it is served, beaten eggs are sometimes used, as are non-beaten, but sometimes people only use the yolk of the egg. The dish is known in Japan as "tamago kake gohan" (gohan means rice or food and kake means "splashed" or "dashed”. When i knew the name of the dish, I was really amazed with its unique name. Raw splashed/dashed egg used on the top of rice? It is really uncommon way for serving dish, yet people in Japan are considered this raw egg as a delicious meal. I knew that Japanese love eating raw fish, but i have never wondered before, they also like eating  raw egg.

Well, Kake Gohan before it is known as a favorite dish in Japan, it had interesting history, since ancient times the main meat consumed by the Japanese people has been fish, because of the Buddhist commandment against killing animals. In Shintoism, the egg is regarded as an offering to the Gods, and people believed that they would be punished if they ate eggs. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), people began keeping chickens as pets.  Shortly after, eggs began to become a regular part of some diets because people quickly came to realize that unfertilized eggs didn’t hatch. One result of this new knowledge was that they could stop considering an egg as a creature under heaven. Eventually people lost the belief of eating an egg was a sin. Ginko Kishida was the one who invented this unique food during Meiji Era (1868-1912). He was amazed at how tasty it was and recommended it to everyone he knew. Then, Tamago Kake Gohan became very popular.

After reading the story of Kake Gohan, I intended to make this simple meal, so i tried to find the recipe. First, I need to dig a hollow in the center of the cooked rice in the rice bowl using chopsticks and then pour the egg/soy sauce mixture into the hollow, stir the mixture into the rice, and finally the rice becomes a golden color. It is the easiest way i think for making a healthy food without cooking. When i wanted to try the taste, i was really doubtful. I have never imagined that i am gonna eat raw egg. Surprisingly, the taste wasn’t bad as i thought before. It was just like a fried rice, but since people in my country usually cook everything before eating, so my tongue was rejecting to finish it all, somehow I felt disgusted to swallow it. However I was very happy, that i could make and try it once in my life.