Japan Photo Guide

Chashu is “Chinese” style pork that is usually boiled or grilled, and served sliced or sometimes in chunks. I used quotes because I have only had it Japan, so for all I know it could be different in Japan, you know like how in America, Chinese food isn’t really Chinese food and Japanese food usually is not really Japanese food (in my 3+ years I have never eaten or even seen teriyaki chicken). Anyway, chashu is usually served atop ramen, but sometimes you can order it as a side dish, or as my favorite, Chashuman. Chashuman comes in a couple different variations, but the one that is the best is this one that you can get from Family Mart. Don’t be fooled by impressions, notice the unique shape of this one (hint: it is not round)!

Like pizzaman and chocoraman, gyozaman combines two things that I love, gyoza (which is the Japanese version of Chinese dumplings. In the USA often they are called “pot stickers”) and the fluffy, warm, doughy goodness of nikuman. So you might think that I am all about the gyozaman…

I know this is Japan Photo Guide but since I will be leaving Japan around September I have started to think about what I will miss most. Besides the friends I have made and photographing Japan, the one thing I will miss the most is by far certain kinds of food that I will not be able to readily get (decent tasting anyway) back in the states. So I will be sharing with you some of my favorite foods that I will absolutely crave after leaving Japan.

The first one I am going to share with you is nikuman (肉まん). Nikuman is a hot flour dough bun filled with chopped pork. This is the basic kind and there are many different variations that I will be sharing with you later (such as pizzaman and chocoman)! These little delights are served mainly at convenient stores all over Japan usually only during the fall and winter seasons (sometimes you can find them in the summer randomly). These are great snacks that I will truly miss when I go back home.

So in conclusion…
Regular nikuman gets a 4 out of 5.