Japanese vegetables can be a bit of a mystery.

They taste like soup, but are actually a stew of rice, carrots, turnips, and a bit more.

The vegetables that you can find at your local supermarket are cooked in a traditional style that involves frying them in oil and then serving them in broth with a little bit of vinegar and ginger to give it that umami taste.

Here’s what we learned from eating Japanese vegetables in 2016.