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If you are familiar with the Japanese cuisine, you are probably aware already that we place more emphasis on the natural flavor of the food instead of adding spices or seasonings. Japanese Grilled Aubergine (#Yaki Nasu #焼きなす) is one of the signature sides that we enjoy the full flavor of the ingredient with the simplist seasoning, spend only 15 minutes for such a delightful cuisine.

Sliced Pork Belly with Garlic Sauce (#蒜泥白肉) is one of the classic Sichuan dishes. This popular and delicious appetizer is surprisingly easy to make, cook a piece of  nice pork belly, slice it into thin slices. Mix spicy and garlic sauce, drizzle on top of the meat. You may now find  this is in Shanghai/ Chinese restaurant easily, which this appetizer has been widely spread and permeated into the Chinese food culture.

Filled with creamy avocado, sweet crab meat (I've replaced with Salmon under quarantine) and crunchy cucumber. California Roll (#カリフォルニアロール) is one of the most popular sushi roll (makizushi in Japanese) in US. Similar to the Dragon Roll, California roll can be sprinkled with toasted white sesame seeds for nice crunchy texture, but sometimes they are garnished with tobiko or masago fish roes for a more elegant presentation.

Miso (#味噌) is rich in essential minerals and a good source of various B vitamins, vitamins E, K and folic acid. Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. In addition, there are many optional ingredients that may be added depending on regional and seasonal recipes, as well as personal preference.

One of the most popular (and healthiest) otsumami (おつまみ), and one that can be found in any izakaya (居酒屋), is edamame (枝豆). Edamame is a preparation of immature soybeans in the pod, found in cuisines with origins in East Asia. There are a variety of different ways you can prepare edamame, but the simplest method is often the most delicious. 

Dragon Roll (#ドラゴンロール) is my favorite sushi roll, it contains a crunchy texture of shrimp tempura and avocado. You can also named this as 天ぷら海老巻き寿司 in Japan by specifying the ingredients. There are mainly two versions of roll in Japan, makizushi(巻き寿司╱まきずし) and uramaki (裏巻き寿司/うらまき), which uramaki  is an inside-out sushi roll, which means sushi rice is on the outside while nori wraps around the ingredients inside.