Inside my Summer Refrigerator

Since we arrived a few months ago, we have been trying different foods, brands, and grocery stores. Our diet has changed a lot. In Chicago, a third of our meals were either Japanese or Chinese. The rest was a mix of Mediterranean (many recipes from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem), Italian from Marcella Hazan's collection, or something improvised - variations on pasta, fried rice, etc. 

The inside of my refrigerator right now looks nothing like before. Western ingredients like cheese and meat are relatively expensive in Japan and less ubiquitous, so our western-eastern ratio has flip flopped. Japanese ingredients are easier to find, so that is what we eat more of now. Seafood is fresher and relatively less expensive than meat, so we eat more of that.

I do miss a lot of foods. It is the peak of summer, and I miss bringing home a bounty of berries and stone fruits. Fruits are conceptualized complete differently here in Japan. They are perfectly cultivated, unfailingly sweet, and more dessert-like than fruit-like. I love them, but I miss the my farmer's market fruits. I also miss the large variety of legumes and grains sold at my local supermarket. I miss Kerrygold butter. Not to mention the cheese. I miss the cheese so much. 

That said, I enjoy trying new recipes and discovering new ingredients. So here is a look inside my new refrigerator. Note: I realize it is not very organized. 

Husband's bento, daughter's bento. On the bottom left are remnants of a pack of tofu donuts. A guest brought them for us to try. They taste like regular donuts. My husband threw the bananas in the refrigerator because they were getting soft - those are now in the freezer awaiting their smoothie fates. Out refrigerator does not get much fuller than this. Our shopping/eat cycle is about 2-3 days at most. In Chicago, it was weekly.

On the top: soba dipping sauce, doubanjian for mapo tofu, tabasco, white sesame paste for salad dressing and sauces, tonkatsu sauce. On the bottom: more tonkatsu sauce, parmesan, ketchup, anchovies, wasabi, and random condiment packages from takeaway.

The pitcher is filled with mugicha, a summertime necessity. Coconut milk was a failed experiment. Sriracha, mustard, and mayo are staple condiments in our household. The milk is for the kids while the soy milk is for the adults. 

I love the top-down shape of the produce drawer. So much easier to fit bulky produce in the refrigerator!

Chicken breast in the defroster drawer. In Japan, breast meat is cheaper than dark meat, which is considered juicier and thus tastier. 

Random things drawer. I mostly store cheese and deli meat here. Right now I have some parmigiano-reggiano, brie, gouda, and laughing cow cubes.

The freezer - where I store my frozen treats. 

Zero bars are lactose free and sugar free. I accidentally bought them not knowing this, but they are pretty good. Ice pops are for E. I bought the red bean paste ice cream wafer sandwich to try. Most frozen desserts are sold individually, so it is easy to try them without committing to "value packs". They are the best part of a Japanese summer. 

Top freezer shelf. Premade frozen gyoza on the right, Frozen spinach ravioli on the bottom, and the rest are raw meats and fish. 

The ice drawer.

Stores give you these little ice packs whenever you buy something that needs to remain cold. I have tried to bring the ones we have (when I remember) so we don't acquire new ones. We store them in this side drawer. The drawer is a freezer but not as cold as the bottom freezer. This makes it also ideal for storing ice cream. 

The bottom half of the produce drawer. The peaches are stored outside until right before we eat them. Can you tell how deep this drawer is? Great for storing vegetables like cauliflower. Items like daikon and shiitake are inexpensive while cauliflower is more expensive. Applies are not too bad, but peaches are a luxury. The ones pictured here were fruit gifts. 

I wonder how the contents of our refrigerator compares to yours?