Cooking for busy people – Japanese version

If you’ve ever been to Japan you know that finding where to eat here is very, very easy. And the food is pretty good anywhere you go. At least I’m yet to find a place where I would not like the taste of what’s being served. But if you (like me) actually live here, trying to find a balance between your busy schedule and healthy eating habits might be a bit difficult. First of all, some of Japanese food is not exactly healthy: miso soup is a real sodium bomb, tempura and all kinds of agemono (deep-fried dishes) are cooked in oil (say hi to cholesterol!), plus mayonnaise and soy sauce that are widely used in cooking… not exactly healthy either. Cooking for yourself and choosing what exactly you want to eat is an obvious healthy choice, but…

Ain’t nobody got time for that?! （￣□￣||）

That’s when I found an interesting service, which I’ve only tried for a week for now, but it is certainly promising:  assemble-your-own-dinner kit “Oisix”! ⤵

So the basic idea is that they send you a recipe (or actually even 2, as there are usually two dishes in one kit) and everything you need in order to cook it (minus the stuff that’s usually present in any kitchen like salt, pepper, cooked rice, etc.). The whole process is supposed to only take around 20~30 minutes of your time and obviously in the end you’re left with a delicious stuff you proudly cooked yourself.

Interestingly, all the vegetables are usually already washed and even cut, but if washing and cutting some particular vegetable reduces its quality, look or taste, they leave it as is. The quantity is also carefully measured, so you won’t be left with any leftovers. There is a choice between kits for 2 or 3 people, and the result will always be exactly the number of servings you chose. If you prefer larger servings, however, this kit might leave you feeling a little unsatisfied.

The best thing about these kits for me is I get to try some vegetables I didn’t even know about or didn’t know what to do with them (like renkon or komatsuna) or try some completely new recipes I wouldn’t come up with on my own. Plus it’s fast, fun and tasty.  Will definitely use this service a while more, at least until I get comfortable making all these common daily Japanese dishes.

What are your struggles with cooking? How do you deal with them? Let me know in the comments!