h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there!

Sorry if I shortened down your user name a bit.

Which is not the reason I'm posting, of course...

Anyhow, I am trying to convince friends that soy products are not the main ingredient for any Japanese meal and, seeing as you are a first hand witness, so to speak, I was wondering if you'd be able to either confirm or deny this?

Oh, and we (me and others) *do* read the articles you write for but unfortunately we're pretty bad at feed-back. I've been wishing for a hit counter for years, but the BBC have never appeared to be interested in implenting one, despite themselves being able to check which entries gets the most hits.

Allowing the actual writers of said entries to be able to check out if they have any readers would stimulate people to write more entries I think. Ho hum.

I've just logged back in after disappearing off the face of the earth for 7 months... apparently soy is derived from or related to soya, as in the bean. Even in the bean form it is unlikely to be the main part of a meal but a side serving. Soy sauce is used about as often as we use salt and is used both in the cooking process and after serving, as a condiment. It's an acquired taste, but mostly harmless. European varieties, including some made in Japan for the European market, are not authentic. Kikkoman is the most available 'original'.

Thanks, that confirms what I thought.

And welcome back - will we have the pleasure of reading more articles about life in Japan, by any chance?