Jin Travels Japan: japanese food

Have you been in this situation in Japan?

1. You had food allergy/ dietary practice that you can't eat something.
2. But you didn't know the country's language.
3. Then, you ordered something that looks okay to consume.
4. The food item contained something you can't eat.

Does that sound familiar to you?

No worries, I was on the same boat as yours.
I also have Muslim friends that can't eat a lot of things;
I also have friends that are allergic to seafood;
I have a brother that can legit die after consuming certain type of beans;
My family doesn't consume beef due to religion practice as well.

And that's why I created this post, so that everyone can learn a bit of Japanese to avoid food allergies or consuming the wrong food :D

Here we go!

Japanese lesson!

Aの理由により、B由来の食べ物が食べれません。
(A) no riyuu ni yori, (B) yurai no tabemono ga taberemasen.
Because of (A), I cannot eat (B).

If the sentence is too long for you, just show them this image and let them know the item you can't eat ^^

So, what is A and B? Let's read on!

A is the reason of why you cannot consume a certain type of item.

I have listed three of them in the above image (click here if you cannot see the image), but of course there are more.

If you are vegan/ vegetarian, you can say this:
Biigan/ Bejiterian desu.
ビーガン・ベジタリアンです
Which means "I'm vegan/ vegetarian"

B would be, obviously, the type of food you cannot consume.

Read on for the list of food items in Japanese!

1. Alcohol

I know a guy that cannot drink alcohol at all. He's actually allergic and once he drank some due to social pressure, he had to be rushed to the hospital.

*Although in Chemistry (and English), we define anything with an -OH under alcohol, but there are those that are used for sterilization.

I have also recently learnt from my Muslim friends that there are some arguments about the alcohol usage. It was mentioned that if the alcohol was not produced with the means to make you drunk, such as for sterilization or medicinal purposes, it is not haram. But some people consider either type of alcohol as haram.

So I think I will leave this part for you to figure out yourself if you are a Muslim.

2. Pork

Butaniku is actually pork, but when we are Asians we have lots of varieties of food (lol).

Tonkotsu is pig bone. Usually we use it to make soup. In Japan, it is widely used for ramen broth.

Chaashu is actually the Chinese Char Siew that you have heard of. But the Japanese versions are in large slices, very different from the Malaysian/ Chinese style that we usually see in our hometown.

3. Beef

Like how we usually say 'daging' and assume it is beef, Japanese does the same too. When you say 'niku', it is assumed as beef.

Suteeki is actually just your steak.

Bonus: Hambaagu = Hamburg. They are also made of beef unless specified.

4. Mutton

People with high blood pressure would want to avoid mutton because YEET HAY (lol if you don't know what this means, ask your Chinese, Cantonese-speaking friend)

ramu = lamb

youniku = lamb meat

maton is basically just mutton

5. Chicken

Some people told me Chicken meat is the cause of their eczema and since I have them on my hand so why not sharing this as well

Anyways in Japan if you enter KFC you'll see them just saying chikin which actually just means Chicken lel

there's also yakitori (chicken satay, Japanese style), karaage (fried chicken, Japanese style), which are also chicken.

6. Ham

Ham are generally pork unless stated

hamu = ham

pretty much self-explanatory

7. Bacon

Bacon is also pork unless stated otherwise.

Beekon = bacon

You read it as 'Bay-kon'

also pretty self-explanatory.

8. Lard

Lard = pig oil

if you fry your Chinese noodles with this oh lord the fragrance lol but it's harammmmm

anyways laado = lard

they also use 'abura' that means 'oil' in Japanese but abura has many types

9. Gelatin

This is more for my Muslim friends.

Apparently gelatin, by default, is not plant-based.

It can contain pig ingredient (I am very surprised when I first hear it).

So if you want to know if your haram item is plant-based, usually they will have this word 大豆由来 (daizu yurai) = made of soy.

Without daizu, just assume that it's haram.

10. Mirin

This is more for my Muslim friends.

Mirin is a kind of liquid that makes your food taste good like you can find them in teriyaki sauce (and much more) but it has rice wine so that means there's alcohol

11. Eggs

Fun fact: Eggs = Chicken periods because it hasn't contained any offsprings yet

12. Milk

Dedicating this to all lactose intolerant people.

13. Seafood

If you are seafood allergic, avoid kaisen don at all costs!

海鮮（かいせん） Kaisen = seafood in general.

14. Beans

I dislike Natto. I always tell this to my friend so they can stop telling me to try natto.

納豆は苦手です。 Natto wa nigate desu. I'm not good with Natto.

15. Shortening

This is more for my Muslim friends.

Shortenings are used for baking stuff such as cookies (thank you Shichiku Garden's staff)

Apparently shortening, by default, is not plant-based.

It can contain pig ingredient (I am very surprised when I first hear it).

So if you want to know if your haram item is plant-based, usually they will have this word 大豆由来 (daizu yurai) = made of soy.

Without daizu, just assume that it's haram.

16. Emulsifier

This is more for my Muslim friends.

Emulsifier are used for baking stuff. Dough strengtheners, ice cream... Like we actually also use egg as a form of emulsifier.

Apparently this too, by default, can be not plant-based.

It can contain pig ingredient (I am very surprised when I first hear it).

So if you want to know if your haram item is plant-based, usually they will have this word 大豆由来 (daizu yurai) = made of soy.

Without daizu, just assume that it's haram.

Example

So, knowing so much of food in Japanese, let's start with an example on how to say it!

1. Because of my religion, I cannot consume pork.

宗教（しゅうきょう）の理由（りゆう）で、豚肉（ぶたにく）を食（た）べれません。

Shuukyou no riyuu de, butaniku o taberemasen.

2. I have allergy. I cannot drink alcohol.

アレルギーがあります。お酒（さけ）を飲（の）めません。

Aruregii ga arimasu. Osake o nomemasen.

3. I am vegan. I cannot consume eggs.

ビーガンです。たまごを食（た）べれません。

Biigan desu. Tamago o taberemasen.

Hope the above helps!

Happy traveling to Japan! :)

Until next time!

No comments

1. Alcohol

2. Pork

3. Beef

4. Mutton

5. Chicken

6. Ham

7. Bacon

8. Lard

9. Gelatin

10. Mirin

11. Eggs

12. Milk

13. Seafood

14. Beans

15. Shortening

16. Emulsifier

Example

1. Because of my religion, I cannot consume pork.

2. I have allergy. I cannot drink alcohol.

3. I am vegan. I cannot consume eggs.

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