Stamina Ryouri (Stamina Dishes)

[Hiroyuki]

In Japan, there are dishes called stamina ryouri (ryouri = dish(es)). When you get tired for some reason or get weary from the summer heat, you may want to have one of those stamina ryouri. (There seems to be a slight difference in the perception of the word stamina between English and Japanese. In Japanese, the word more often means energy or vigor than endurance or staying power.)

I myself don't feel the necessity for any stamina ryouri, but one of my favorite dishes usually considered stamina ryouri is broiled eels (unagi no kabayaki).

Do you need to have stamina ryouri sometimes? What are your favorites?

[torakris]

I would have to say unagi is probably my favorite as well, we are actually having it for dinner tonight!

I also found a recipe a couple years back called something like buta no stamina-yaki (stamina grilled pork), it is just like a shouga-yaki but you use garlic instead of ginger.

[torakris]

what about suppon (snapping turtle)?

I have never tried this though...

[Hiroyuki]

what about suppon (snapping turtle)?

I have never tried this though...

←

Me either. Besides, I personally consider suppon to be a getemono (weird thing to eat).

***

I have a feeling that it is because of relatively low intake of garlic, meat, and other nutrient-rich foods that Japanese often talk about, and feel the need for, stamina dishes.

There are a great number of Japanese, including me, who say, "If I have gohan (cooked rice) and xx, then I don't need anything else." For me, xx is sometimes natto and sometimes the furikake that I make. For my wife, it's nasu miso (eggplants fried with miso). For my father, it's fuki miso (butterbur fried with miso).

[Kuma]

For me, nothing gives me a burst of energy more than Natto on steamed rice. (My flatmate won't even look at it - says the stickiness puts him off).

My other favourite for lunch to avoid the afternoon slump (especially while running all over Kyoto) was Omelette over rice. Yum !

[_john]

I have seen various stamina dishes but never tried them. What is stamina udon for example? They have this at my local station noodle stand.

What ingredients are usually considered stamina ingredients?

[Hiroyuki]

What ingredients are usually considered stamina ingredients?

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Note: This is my personal opinion. Maybe you could ask colleagues and friends the same question, and possibly get different answers.

1. Garlic. Any dish containing garlic makes me think it's a stamina ryouri.

2. Innards. Have you ever tried horumon (hormone?) yaki? I hate most types of innards...

3. Eels. They contain a lot of vitamin A. I like them! You are going to experience natsu bate (getting weary from the summer's heat) for the first time this summer. I think the summer in Osaka is more unbearable than that in Tokyo. You may feel the need to have eels then.

4. Meat. "Meat ?," you may ask. Yes, meat! Thirty to forty years ago, when I was small, Japanese consumed less meat than they do today. I still have a tendency to regard any dish containing a lot of meat as a stamina ryouri.

[NickLam]

Not really stamina, but rather a pick me up, coz a normal visit to Japan involves meetings all day, walking around everywhere at night, hard drinking till the wee hours and up again early to start it over again....

Anything Umeboshi always perks me up. At night...umeboshi onigiri from Family Mart, in the morning.....when hungover (Which is often ahaha like say....last year's beer festival in Tokyo!).....umeboshi by itself or in hot water.

Even Umesho gives a slight boost. Dunno why, but it seems to smoothen out the tiredness and refreshes the body.

Also......whenever I start to feel sick, yup, its umeboshi again, but one of those small expensive little balls of concentrated extract. My ex uses green tea extract as a perk her up, one of those small vials that comes with a dropper.

[_john]

What ingredients are usually considered stamina ingredients?

←

Note: This is my personal opinion. Maybe you could ask colleagues and friends the same question, and possibly get different answers.

1. Garlic. Any dish containing garlic makes me think it's a stamina ryouri.

2. Innards. Have you ever tried horumon (hormone?) yaki? I hate most types of innards...

3. Eels. They contain a lot of vitamin A. I like them! You are going to experience natsu bate (getting weary from the summer's heat) for the first time this summer. I think the summer in Osaka is more unbearable than that in Tokyo. You may feel the need to have eels then.

4. Meat. "Meat ?," you may ask. Yes, meat! Thirty to forty years ago, when I was small, Japanese consumed less meat than they do today. I still have a tendency to regard any dish containing a lot of meat as a stamina ryouri.

←

This is very interesting. For me things like meat, garlic, and eel (which has a good amount of fat) seem like "heavy" foods. I think the way stamina is used in Japanese (sutamina) has a slightly different meaning than the way it is used in English.

For me raw meat, raw fish, and "fresh" things like fruit and cold salads give me instant energy. I am not sure which foods give me stamina, or enduring energy. I guess I will find out when the weather warms up.