Archive
Jun 30, 2010

The Asia Trip: Seasonal Curry Soup at Studio Ghibli

Since I'm out of fast food posts from the Asia Trip, I hope you guys won't mind making due with "regular" food, as some readers exhibited some interest and it would be a shame to let all the pictures I took go to waste. First up, a warm, curry soup with autumn vegetables that I ate at the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

Studio Ghibli is probably better known in the States than it used to be due to its movies being exclusively distributed outside Japan by Disney. The most popular one is probably Spirited Away which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
But on to the curry. This particular curry was more of a soup, which is curious since traditional Japanese curry is usually as thick as gravy. I would say it was a curried vegetable soup. It had a unique taste that I've never tasted elsewhere.  It's not a typical Japanese dish as far as I know; I didn't see it anywhere else in my travels.

What really set off the soup was the panko-crusted giant rice ball they put in. It provided a nice contrast of textures, especially the breading crust, and the rice really carried the soup well. I think they used a wild rice.
The vegetables were mostly familiar with onions, carrots, and the like but there was also a lotus root in there if I remember correctly.  The wooden spoon they served the soup with was a nice touch.

I also got a barley tea to drink, since it was a bit overcast and brisk that day.

This was one of the most memorable and best things I ate while in Japan.

3 comments:

  1. Looks interesting, how much was it?

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  2. I think it was $4 or $5 dollars since it was: A) in Japan and B) in a museum.

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  3. Intriquing; I've had curry, but never in soup form? (I think.) Especially with breaded rice balls!

    The international food looks have been fun. Hope there is more.

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