She
Cooks Meatballs in Japan
She
Cooks Meatballs in Japan |
Evelyn Hannon While I was in Kobe, Japan, sailing around the world with
Semester At Sea, I took part
in a homestay program. It was a wonderful experience -- bonding with a
Japanese woman who invited me into her home for a two day stay. I think
this adventure will make you smile. |
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When
I was in Kobe, Japan with 
I
spotted my host immediately. Megumi was tall, slim, young (33)
and beautiful. She was holding a sign that had two flags on it
-- one Canadian and one Japanese. I liked her immediately. From
her I learned that all these host families were part of the Hippo
Family Club, a group devoted to learning languages and extending
hospitality to foreigners (they excelled at both). From what I
could understand the big group was made up of local chapters.
Our chapter was quickly convened for a group photo and then we
broke up into smaller groups for a lunch outing at a sushi restaurant.
I should have written 'SUSHI' restaurant because this place was
huge. Compare it to a large dim sum restaurant except that the
food you ordered came by your booth on a conveyor belt. Each booth
had a 'drive thru' type communication box in order to make contact
with the kitchen. Once you placed the order you began watching
the conveyor belt for your items to appear. It all works on an
orderly, honor system which the Japanese do so well. If you want
more food you don't pick up anything from the belt until you've
ordered it. I imagined this system trying to operate in North
America. There would be absolute chaos.
After
lunch we all went back to our respective family homes and agreed
to meet again that evening for a Japanese Potluck dinner. Megumi
lives in a small apartment in Mino, a rural suburb of Osaka.
On the drive home my host asked me if I would like to cook something
Canadian for that evening. At the best of times I am not an
inventive cook so my mind raced to my old party standby -- Swedish
meatballs -- something that could be made easily. The secret
ingredients in this recipe are chili sauce and grape jelly (for
the sauce). We visited three different supermarkets and there
was no grape jelly to be found. What to do? We finally opted
for a jar of blueberry jam with whole blueberries in it. Oh
well, as they say, 'when in Japan.....use blueberry jam instead
of grape jelly'. To give myself courage I convinced myself I
was involved in a Japanese-Swedish-Canadian fusion cooking experience.
I told Megumi that our meatballs with whole blueberries floating
in the sauce would be 'something different' from the sushi,
edamame and dumplings everybody else would bring. The best part
of all this activity was that Megumi and I dropped all pretenses;
we were just two women trying to get ready for a party. We shopped
together, chopped onions together and patted meatballs together.
We laughed, we joked and I had the best Japanese treat -- actually
being invited into someone's home and preparing food in their
kitchen. For me that was better than visiting twenty shrines.
That
evening the party (complete with loads of little kiddies) was
wonderful. The friendliness and hospitality extended to us by
the members of the Hippo Family Club was overwhelming. Everybody
chatted, practiced their English, asked questions about Canada
and answered queries about Japan. We played games, told stories
and ate all kinds of interesting food (including pizza with
sweet corn on it). Either our meatballs were a real success
or our hosts were incredibly polite but the pot we brought was
very quickly emptied. Meatballs were paired with udon noodles,
fried noodles, rice balls, and, yes, even with edemame. Megumi
told me that everybody was asking for the recipe and she would
put it on the club's listserve. How's that for a cultural exchange?
Right now in Mino, Japanese women are shopping for chili sauce
and blueberry jam (the new secret ingredient). You see? That's
how trends begin!
That
night I slept on a futon on tatami mats. My gracious host thought
I might be cold during the night and really piled the blankets
on. I slept so well and so long that, (in her own words), Megumi
said, 'To tell the truth, my husband and I worried about you seriously'.
Poor woman. She thought that something had happened to me during
the night and now what would she tell the Hippo Family Club? The
lovely pampering continued. A hot bath was drawn for me; I learned
that the Japanese lather up and then shower off the dirt before
getting into their bath to soak. That way their bath can be used
for soaking sessions for the whole family but it always remains
perfectly clean. I loved my soak but I didn't stay in the tub
too long. I didn't want Megumi to worry about me again. I left
the tub water perfectly clean and Megumi transferred that water
to the washing machine to launder her clothes. How's that for
conserving water and energy? Breakfast consisted of a cup of homemade
chicken soup, a piece of cheese bread topped with hickory smoked
cheese and a cup of tea all sprinkled with lovely discussions
on life, families and the universe.
Still
our cultural exchange was far from over; the best was still to
come. By eleven o'clock we were packed and ready to go to our
Japanese cherry blossom sansin party in the park. What? OK. Let
me start at the beginning. Japan's Cherry Blossom Festival was
drawing to a close. This Bar BQ picnic was an 'adieu' to this
year's blossoms.
That
evening Megumi' wrote in an email, 'I feel very happy to spent
time (with you)!!'