A Love Letter to Teishoku: The Lunch of Champions
It's lunchtime.
Your stomach growls in hunger, but with all the choices on offer, what could we go for?
To the uninitiated, it's easy to assume that a typical choice of lunch in the Japanese workday might consist of a quick trip to a revolving sushi restaurant, or lining up for a bowl of freshly prepared ramen. Which isn't entirely untrue, but the one that receives the most fanfare but the least amount of celebration is in fact, the teishoku.
Teishoku is a Japanese set meal where all of the dishes in the course are served together as a set. Teishoku dining is based on the Ichiju-issai ["One soup, one side"] traditional meals that are offered at Zen temples, which include a main dish, soup, rice and pickles. The concept spread throughout Japan and transformed into the convenient and hearty set meals found all across restaurants and cafeterias today.
The idea of what Teishoku consists of can vary heavily, as each region has their own specialties. The unwavering staples consist of a generous serving of rice, a nourishing bowl of miso soup, and small plate of tsukemono [pickled vegetables]. The main plate in the middle of the serving consists of either fish, beef, chicken or pork alongside a variety of seasonal vegetables. Common ways of serving the main dishes offered can be grilled, deep-fried, or steamed. Noodle-centric dishes like udon and soba are proudly offered as well.
Restaurants often look to Teishoku options as a way of streamlining their menus. The system also allows for prices to remain low, barely causing a blip on your finances as a set will cost you less than 1000 yen, making it the strict go-to among hungry students and working professionals.
More than plenty of independent restaurants offering delectable local cuisine into their list of specialties. Teishoku meals are often closely tied to the lane of homemade cooking: Wholesome and comforting.
The next time you find yourself hungry, indecisive and in line at that new or old lunch spot, go with the teishoku special on offer. You'll thank us later.
