Departments
CHAWAN-MUSHI
茶碗蒸し
“steamed egg custard”
On a cold day, nothing tastes quite as satisfying as a chawan-mushi. This dish consists of a eggs, soup stock, and some combination of meat, fish, and vegetables. The chawan-mushi is served as a light lunch, or as the soup course of a larger meal. Many people have their own home recipes for making chawan-mushi.
CHA-ZUKE
茶漬け
“tea rice”
Cha-zuke is a quick, easy-to-make snack. It consists of hot tea poured over rice. Sometimes pickled vegetables and seaweed are also added. Grocery stores sell packages of readymade garnishes that can be used to enhance homemade cha-zuke.
CHOOCHIN-MOCHI
提灯持ち
lamp bearer
A lamp bearer was once an important element of a funeral procession or a wedding procession. Daimyos and other nobles were sometimes accompanied by lamp bearers when their retinues entered a town or village.
Today a choochin-mochi is a person who tries to score points with his or her boss by constantly “sucking up.” An English equivalent might be “lackey” or “yes-man.”