Breakfast is a significant meal for the Japanese. A traditional breakfast consists of rice (which is the main part of a course in lunch and dinner), miso soup, omelet roll, grilled, or broiled fish, tsukemono (mixed vegetables) pickles, natto (fermented soy beans) and toasted nori (dried seaweed). There are specific equipment for cooking Japanese meals. However, they can be tried with normal cooking dishes too. Traditional Japanese Rolled Omelet (Tamagoyaki) Tamagoyaki is a rolled Japanese omelet and is sweet to taste. A rectangular pan is the best to make this omelet; however, you can also use the normal non-stick pan. Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons, sugar
• 2 tablespoons, mirin (similar to sake, but contains less alcohol content)
• Salt as per taste
• 3 tablespoons, dashi soup stock
• 1 teaspoon, soy salt
• vegetable oil

Preparation Take a large mixing bowl and beat the eggs in it. Add sugar, mirin, soy sauce, salt, and dashi soup stock and mix till it blends well. Heat the pan with little oil and pour a part of the egg mixture into the pan. When it starts setting, roll it, and shift it to one side of the pan. Again, pour a part of the egg mixture in the remaining part of the pan and let it spread under the first roll. When this is half-cooked, roll it over the first one. Continue doing this until all the egg mixture is used. After the omelet is fully cooked, take it from the pan and cut it into pieces. If you are using a normal frying pan, place the rolled omelet onto a bamboo sheet and cut the edges that comes out. Traditional Miso Soup Miso soup is one of the common dishes that is served with steamed rice for breakfast. Miso is a soy bean paste that is used in many Japanese dishes. The type of miso and the type of ingredients used in the soup will change the way it tastes. Here is a recipe of miso soup made with tofu. Ingredients

• 1 block tofu
• 2 green onions
• 3-4 tablespoons, miso paste
• 3 cups, dashi soup stock

Preparation Chop the tofu into cubes and the green onions into small pieces. Take a heavy bottom pan, put in the dashi soup stock and heat it on medium flame. When it starts boiling, lower the flame and add the tofu pieces and let it cook for some time. Take some dashi soup stock in a small bowl and mix it with the miso till it dissolves well in the liquid. Pour this mixture back into the pan and stir it slowly. Put off the flame before it starts boiling and add in the chopped green onions. Miso soup can be made with other vegetables like Chinese cabbage, Japanese pumpkin, mushrooms, natto, potatoes, and daikon radish. Rolled omelet and miso soup are the main dishes served with rice in a traditional Japanese breakfast. Pickles form an important part of the breakfast menu and the Japanese prefer the very salty ones. They are made from cabbage, cucumber, etc. Also, salmon fish is popularly eaten for breakfast by the Japanese. Traditional Japanese breakfast is served in a unique way. Japanese food is served in bowls, wherein the bowl of rice is to be placed to the left of the person and the miso soup to his/her right. Westernization has influenced the Japanese cuisine. But, even today, most of the Japanese love to have their breakfast made in a traditional way.