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Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of
Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (
Japanese: ) is based on rice with
miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as
sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
or in
sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
. Seafood and vegetables are also deep-fried in a light batter, as '. Apart from rice, a staple includes noodles, such as
soba and
udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
. Japan also has many simmered dishes, such as fish products in broth called , or beef in and .
Historically influenced by
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ...
, Japanese cuisine has also opened up to influence from
Western cuisines in the modern era. Dishes inspired by foreign food—in particular Chinese food—like
ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dis ...
and , as well as foods like
spaghetti,
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in trad ...
and
hamburger
A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...
s, have been adapted to Japanese tastes and ingredients. Some regional dishes have also become familiar throughout Japan, including the
taco rice staple of
Okinawan cuisine that has itself been influenced by
American and
Mexican culinary traditions.
Traditionally, the Japanese
shunned meat as a result of adherence to
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1880s, meat-based dishes such as and have become common. Since this time, Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi and ramen, has become popular globally.
In 2011, Japan overtook
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
to become the country with the most
3-starred Michelin restaurants; , the capital of
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
has maintained the title of the city with the most 3-starred restaurants in the world. In 2013, Japanese cuisine was added to the
UNESCO Intangible Heritage List.
Terminology
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The word is now the common word for traditional Japanese cooking. The term is synonymous with "cooking", but became a reference to mostly Japanese cooking, or restaurants, and was much used in the
Meiji and
Taishō eras.
[ It has come to connote a certain standard, perhaps even of the highest caliber, a restaurant with the most highly trained chefs.][ However, is generally seen as an eating establishment which is slightly more casual or informal compared to the .][
The is tied with the Japanese ]tea ceremony
An East Asian tea ceremony, or ''Chádào'' (), or ''Dado'' ( ko, 다도 (茶道)), is a ceremonially ritualized form of making tea (茶 ''cha'') practiced in East Asia by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The tea ceremony (), literally transl ...
.[ The is considered a (simplified) form of ,][ which was formal banquet dining where several trays of food was served.][ The ]homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...
term originally referred to a gathering of composers of haiku
is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, ...
or , and the simplified version of the dishes served at the poem parties became .[ However, the meaning of degenerated to become just another term for a sumptuous carousing banquet, or .][
]
Traditional cuisine
Japanese cuisine is based on combining the staple food
A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard Diet (nutrition), diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of ...
, which is steamed white rice or , with one or more , "main" or "side" dishes. This may be accompanied by a clear or miso soup and (pickles). The phrase refers to the makeup of a typical meal served but has roots in classic , , and cuisine. The term is also used to describe the first course served in standard cuisine nowadays.[, p. 158]
The origin of Japanese "one soup, three sides" cuisine is a dietary style called Ichiju-Issai (一汁一菜, "one soup, one dish"), tracing back to the Five Great Zen Temples of the 12-century Kamakura period ( Kamakura Gozan), developed as a form of meal that emphasized frugality and simplicity.
Rice is served in its own small bowl (), and each main course item is placed on its own small plate () or bowl () for each individual portion. This is done even in Japanese homes. This contrasts with Western-style home dinners in which each individual takes helpings from large serving dishes of food placed in the middle of the dining table. Japanese style traditionally abhors different flavored dishes touching each other on a single plate, so different dishes are given their own individual plates as mentioned or are partitioned using, for example, leaves. Placing main dishes on top of rice, thereby "soiling" it, is also frowned upon by traditional etiquette.
Although this tradition of not placing other foods on rice originated from classical Chinese dining formalities, especially after the adoption of Buddhist tea ceremonies; it became most popular and common during and after the Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, such as in the . Although present-day Chinese cuisine has abandoned this practice, Japanese cuisine retains it. One exception is the popular , in which toppings are directly served on rice.
The small , literally "tea bowl", doubles as a word for the large tea bowls in tea ceremonies. Thus in common speech, the drinking cup is referred to as or for the purpose of distinction. Among the nobility, each course of a full-course Japanese meal would be brought on serving napkins called , which were originally platformed trays or small dining tables. In the modern age, faldstool trays or stackup-type legged trays may still be seen used in , i.e. tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for train ...
-mat rooms, for large banquets or at a type inn. Some restaurants might use the suffix as a more sophisticated though dated synonym to the more familiar , since the latter basically is a term for a combo meal served at a , akin to a diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a co ...
.[ means a meal of fixed menu (for example, grilled fish with rice and soup), a dinner ''à prix fixe''][''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', ] served at or , which is somewhat vague ( can mean a diner-type restaurant or a corporate lunch hall); writer on Japanese popular culture Ishikawa Hiroyoshi defines it as fare served at , and comparable diner-like establishments.
History
Rice is a staple in Japanese cuisine. Wheat and soybeans were introduced shortly after rice. All three act as staple foods in Japanese cuisine today. At the end of the Kofun Period and beginning of the Asuka Period
The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...
, Buddhism became the official religion of the country. Therefore, eating meat and fish was prohibited. In 675 AD, Emperor Tenmu prohibited the eating of horses, dogs, monkeys, and chickens. In the 8th and 9th centuries, many emperors continued to prohibit killing many types of animals. The number of regulated meats increased significantly, leading to the banning of all mammals except whale, which were categorized as fish. During the Asuka period, chopsticks were introduced to Japan. Initially, they were only used by the nobility. The general population used their hands, as utensils were quite expensive.
Due to the lack of meat products Japanese people minimized spice utilization. Spices were rare to find at the time. Spices like pepper and garlic were only used in a minimalist amount. In the absence of meat, fish was served as the main protein, as Japan is an island nation. Fish has influenced many iconic Japanese dishes today. In the 9th century, grilled fish and sliced raw fish were widely popular.[Ashkenazi, M. (2013). The Essence of Japanese Cuisine. The History and Culture of Japanese Food. ] Japanese people who could afford it would eat fish at every meal; others would have to make do without animal protein for many of their meals. In traditional Japanese cuisine, oil and fat are usually avoided within the cooking process, because Japanese people were trying to keep a healthy lifestyle.[
Preserving fish became a sensation; ]sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
was originated as a means of preserving fish by fermenting it in boiled rice. Fish that are salted and then placed in rice are preserved by lactic acid fermentation, which helps prevent the proliferation of the bacteria that bring about putrefaction. During the 15th century, advancement and development helped shorten the fermentation of sushi to about one to two weeks. Sushi thus became a popular snack food and main entrée, combining fish with rice. During the late Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
(early-19th century), sushi without fermentation was introduced. Sushi was still being consumed with and without fermentation till the 19th century when the hand-rolled and nigri-type sushi was invented.
In 1854, Japan started to gain new trade deals with Western countries when a new Japanese ruling order took over (known as the Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...
). Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
, the new ruler, staged a New Years' feast designed to embrace the Western world and countries in 1872. The feast contained food that had a lot of European emphases. For the first time in a thousand years, people were allowed to consume meat in public. After this New Years feast, the general population from Japan started to consume meat again.
Seasonality
Emphasis is placed on seasonality of food or ,[ and dishes are designed to herald the arrival of the four seasons or calendar months.
Seasonality means taking advantage of the (for example, bamboo shoots in spring, ]chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelate ...
s in the autumn) as well as the as they come into season. Thus that arrives with the Kuroshio Current
The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...
has traditionally been greatly prized.
If something becomes available rather earlier than what is usual for the item in question, the first crop or early catch is called ''hashiri''.
Use of tree leaves and branches as decor is also characteristic of Japanese cuisine. Maple leaves are often floated on water to exude coolness or ; sprigs of nandina are popularly used. The ''haran'' ('' Aspidistra'') and sasa bamboo leaves were often cut into shapes and placed underneath or used as separators.
Traditional ingredients
A characteristic of traditional Japanese food is the sparing use of red meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
, oils and fats, and dairy products.[.] Use of ingredients such as soy sauce, miso
is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spread ...
, and umeboshi
Umeboshi ( Japanese: 梅干し, pronounced , literally 'dried ume') are pickled (brined) '' ume'' fruits common in Japan. The word ''umeboshi'' is often translated into English as 'salted Japanese plums', 'Japanese plums' or 'preserved plums ...
tends to result in dishes with high salt content, though there are low-sodium versions of these available.
Meat consumption
As Japan is an island nation surrounded by an ocean, its people have always taken advantage of the abundant seafood supply.[ It is the opinion of some food scholars that the Japanese diet always relied mainly on "grains with vegetables or seaweeds as main, with poultry secondary, and ]red meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
in slight amounts" even before the advent of Buddhism which placed an even stronger taboo.[ The eating of was spoken of as taboo, unclean or something to be avoided by personal choice through the ]Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
. The consumption of whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
and terrapin meat were not forbidden under this definition. Despite this, the consumption of red meat did not completely disappear in Japan. Eating wild game—as opposed to domesticated livestock—was tolerated; in particular, trapped hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...
was counted using the measure word
In linguistics, measure words are words (or morphemes) that are used in combination with a numeral to indicate an amount of something represented by some noun.
Description
Measure words denote a unit or measurement and are used with mass nouns ...
, a term normally reserved for birds.
In 1872 of the Meiji restoration, as part of the opening up of Japan to Western influence, Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
lifted the ban on the consumption of red meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
. The removal of the ban encountered resistance and in one notable response, ten monks attempted to break into the Imperial Palace. The monks asserted that due to foreign influence, large numbers of Japanese had begun eating meat and that this was "destroying the soul of the Japanese people." Several of the monks were killed during the break-in attempt, and the remainder were arrested.[ On the other hand, the consumption of meat was accepted by the common people. ''Gyūnabe'' (beef hot pot), the prototype of Sukiyaki, became the rage of the time. Western restaurants moved in, and some of them changed their form to ''Yōshoku''.
Vegetable consumption has dwindled while processed foods have become more prominent in Japanese households due to the rising costs of general foodstuffs. Nonetheless, Kyoto vegetables, or Kyoyasai, are rising in popularity and different varieties of Kyoto vegetables are being revived.
]
Cooking oil
Generally speaking, traditional Japanese cuisine is prepared with little cooking oil. A major exception is the deep-frying of foods. This cooking method was introduced during the Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
due to influence from Western (formerly called ) and Chinese cuisine,[, p.16 安土,桃山時代から江戸時代にかけて南蛮料理や中国料理の影響と油の生産増大に伴い、油揚や天麩羅,素揚,薩摩撝など副食物として] and became commonplace with the availability of cooking oil due to increased productivity.[ Dishes such as ]tempura
is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word '' ...
, aburaage, and satsuma age[ are now part of established traditional Japanese cuisine. Words such as ''tempura'' or ''hiryōzu'' (synonymous with ganmodoki) are said to be of Portuguese origin.
Also, certain rustic sorts of traditional Japanese foods such as ]kinpira
is a Japanese cooking style that can be summarized as a technique of sauté and simmer. The most common dish made with this technique is Kinpira Gobo, braised burdock root. Kinpira is commonly used to cook root vegetables such as carrots, burdo ...
, hijiki, and ''kiriboshi'' daikon usually involve stir-frying in oil before stewing in soy sauce. Some standard ''osōzai'' or obanzai dishes feature stir-fried Japanese greens with either age or , dried sardines.
Seasonings
Traditional Japanese food is typically seasoned with a combination of dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ...
, soy sauce, sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and ind ...
and mirin
is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms naturally during the fermentation pro ...
, vinegar, sugar, and salt. A modest number of herbs and spices may be used during cooking as a hint or accent, or as a means of neutralizing fishy or gamy odors present. Examples of such spices include ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
, perilla
''Perilla'' is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species ''Perilla frutescens'' and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and veget ...
and red pepper.
Intense condiments such as wasabi
Wasabi ( Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russ ...
or Japanese mustard are provided as condiments to raw fish, due to their effect on the mucus membrane which paralyze the sense of smell, particularly from fish odors. A sprig of mitsuba or a piece of yuzu rind floated on soups are called ''ukimi''. Minced shiso leaves and myoga often serve as ''yakumi'', a type of condiment paired with tataki
Two methods of preparing fish or meat in Japanese cuisine are called or . In Japanese, means "pounded" or "hit into pieces".
Cooked food
In the first method, the meat or fish is seared very briefly over a hot flame or in a pan, and can be ...
of katsuo
Katsuo (written: , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese basketball player
*, Japanese boxer
*, Japanese boxer
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese sumo wrestler
*, Japanese actor
*, Japanese l ...
or soba. Shichimi
, also known as or simply ''shichimi'', is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Tōgarashi is the Japanese name for ''Capsicum annuum'', a red pepper native to Central and South America, and it is this ingredient tha ...
is also a very popular spice mixture often added to soups, noodles and rice cakes. Shichimi is a chilli-based spice mix which contains seven spices: chilli, sansho, orange peel, black sesame, white sesame, hemp, ginger, and nori.
Garnishes
Once a main dish has been cooked, spices such as minced ginger and various pungent herbs may be added as a garnish, called ''tsuma''. Finally, a dish may be garnished with minced seaweed in the form of crumpled nori
Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi o ...
or flakes of aonori
Green laver (), known as ''aonori'' (; ) in Japan, ''sea cabbage'' () or ''hutai'' () in China, and ''parae'' () in Korean, is a type of edible green seaweed, including species from the genera '' Monostroma'' and '' Ulva'' (''Ulva prolifera'', ' ...
.
Inedible garnishes are featured in dishes to reflect a holiday or the season. Generally these include inedible leaves, flowers native to Japan or with a long history of being grown in the country, as well as their artificial counterparts.
Salads
The [ is boiled green-leaf vegetables bunched and cut to size, steeped in ]dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ...
broth, eaten with dashes of soy sauce. Another item is , which could be made with wakame seaweed,[, p. 147 "wakame and cucumber in sanbaizu dressing (sunomono)"; p. 74 "sanbaizu" recipe] or be something like a made from thin toothpick slices of daikon and carrot. The so-called vinegar that is blended with the ingredient here is often [ which is a blend of vinegar, mirin, and soy sauce. A adds katsuo dashi to this.
An is another group of items, describable as a sort of "tossed salad" or "dressed" (though ''aemono'' also includes thin strips of squid or fish sashimi (''itozukuri'') etc. similarly prepared). One types are ][ where usually vegetables such as green beans are tossed with white or black ]sesame
Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is c ...
seeds ground in a suribachi mortar bowl, flavored additionally with sugar and soy sauce. adds tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super fi ...
(bean curd) in the mix. An ''aemono'' is tossed with vinegar-white miso mix and uses ''wakegi''[ ]scallion
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
and as standard.
Cooking techniques
Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three ''okazu''; they may be raw (sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried
Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norm ...
, vinegared, or dressed.
Dishes
In , the word has the basic meaning of "vegetable", but secondarily means any accompanying dish (whether it uses fish or meat),[ with the more familiar combined form ,][ which is a term for any side dish, such as the vast selections sold at Japanese supermarkets or .][
It figures in the Japanese word for appetizer, ; main dish, ; or (formal synonym for ''okazu''), but the latter is considered somewhat of a ladies' term or '' nyōbō kotoba''.][
]
Below are listed some of the most common categories for prepared food:
* ''Yakimono'' (焼き物), grilled and pan-fried dishes
* '' Nimono'' (煮物), stewed/simmered/cooked/boiled dishes
* ''Itamemono'' (炒め物), stir-fried dishes
* ''Mushimono
Mushimono is a Japanese culinary term referring to a steamed dish, usually containing chicken, fish or vegetables; sometimes treated with sake. The foods are steamed until soft and served hot. Chawanmushi
is an egg custard dish in Japanese cui ...
'' (蒸し物), steamed dishes
* ''Agemono'' (揚げ物), deep-fried dishes
* ''Sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
'' (刺身), sliced raw fish
* ''Suimono'' (吸い物) and ''shirumono'' (汁物), soups
* ''Tsukemono
are Japanese preserved vegetables (usually pickled in salt, brine, or a bed of rice bran). They are served with rice as an '' okazu'' (side dish), with drinks as an ''otsumami'' (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a ...
'' (漬け物), pickled/salted vegetables
* ''Aemono'' (和え物), dishes dressed with various kinds of sauce
* ''Sunomono'' (酢の物), vinegared dishes
* '' Chinmi'' (珍味), delicacies[
]
Classification
Kaiseki
''Kaiseki
or is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals and is analogous to Western haute cuisine.
There are two kinds of traditional Japanes ...
'', closely associated with tea ceremony ('' chanoyu''), is a high form of hospitality through cuisine. The style is minimalist, extolling the aesthetics of wabi-sabi. Like the tea ceremony, appreciation of the diningware and vessels is part of the experience. In the modern standard form, the first course consists of ''ichijū-sansai'' (one soup, three dishes), followed by the serving of sake accompanied by dish(es) plated on a square wooden bordered tray of sorts called . Sometimes another element called is served to complement the sake, for guests who are heavier drinkers.
Vegetarian
Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi
is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'', sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes. ''Katsuobushi'' or similarly prepared fish is also known as .
Shaved ''katsuobushi'' and dried ...
(dried skipjack tuna
The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the balaya (Sri Lanka), bakulan/kayu (North Borneo), tongkol/aya (Malay Peninsula/Indonesia), aku (Hawaii), cak ...
flakes), and are therefore pescetarian more often than carnivorous. An exception is '' shōjin-ryōri'' (精進料理), vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. However, the advertised ''shōjin-ryōri'' at public eating places includes some non-vegetarian elements. Vegetarianism, was introduced from China by the Ōbaku sect (a sub-sect of Zen Buddhism), and which some sources still regard as part of "Japanese cuisine".[ The sect in Japan was founded by the priest Ingen (d. 1673), and is headquartered in ]Uji, Kyoto
is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its sourc ...
. The Japanese name for the common green bean takes after this priest who allegedly introduced the New World crop via China. One aspect of the fucha-ryōri practiced at the temple is the wealth of , one example being mock-eel, made from strained tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super fi ...
, with nori
Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi o ...
seaweed used expertly to mimic the black skin. The secret ingredient used is grated ''gobō
''Arctium lappa'', commonly called greater burdock, , edible burdock, lappa, beggar's buttons, thorny burr, or happy major is a Eurasian species of plants in the family Asteraceae, cultivated in gardens for its root used as a vegetable. It has b ...
'' (burdock) roots.
Masakazu Tada, Honorary Vice-President of the International Vegetarian Union for 25 years from 1960, stated that "Japan was vegetarian for 1,000 years". The taboo against eating meat was lifted in 1872 by the Meiji Emperor as part of an effort towards westernizing Japan.[ British journalist J. W. Robertson Scott reported in the 1920s that the society was still 90% vegetarian, and 50–60% of the population ate fish only on festive occasions, probably due to poverty more than for any other reason.
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Rice
Rice has historically been the staple food of the Japanese people. Its fundamental importance is evident from the fact that the word for cooked rice, ''gohan'' or ''meshi'', also stands for a "meal". While rice has an ancient history of cultivation in Japan, its use as a staple has not been universal. Notably, in northern areas (northern Honshū and Hokkaidō), other grains such as wheat were more common into the 19th century.
In most of Japan, rice used to be consumed for almost every meal, and although a 2007 survey showed that 70% of Japanese still eat it once or twice a day, its popularity is now declining. In the 20th century there has been a shift in dietary habits, with an increasing number of people choosing wheat-based products (such as bread and noodles) over rice.
Japanese rice is short-grained and becomes sticky when cooked. Most rice is sold as ''hakumai'' (白米, "white rice"), with the outer portion of the grains (糠, ''nuka'') polished away. Unpolished brown rice
Brown rice is a whole grain rice with the inedible outer hull removed. This kind of rice sheds its outer hull or husk but the bran and germ layer remain on, constituting the brown or tan colour of rice. White rice is the same grain without the ...
(玄米, ''genmai'') is considered less desirable, but its popularity has been increasing.[
]
Noodles
Japanese noodles often substitute for a rice-based meal. '' Soba'' (thin, grayish-brown noodles containing buckwheat
Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...
flour) and ''udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
'' (thick wheat noodles) are the main traditional noodles, while ramen is a modern import and now very popular. There are also other, less common noodles, such as ''somen'' (thin, white noodles containing wheat flour).
Japanese noodles, such as soba and udon, are eaten as a standalone, and usually not with a side dish, in terms of general custom. It may have toppings, but they are called . The fried battered shrimp tempura sitting in a bowl of tempura-soba would be referred to as "the shrimp" or "the tempura", and not so much be referred to as a topping (''gu''). The identical toppings, if served as a dish to be eaten with plain white rice could be called ''okazu'', so these terms are context-sensitive. Some noodle dishes derive their name from Japanese folklore, such as kitsune
In Japanese folklore, , are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to ''yōkai'' folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of employing t ...
and tanuki, reflecting dishes in which the noodles can be changed, but the broth and garnishes correspond to their respective legend.
Hot noodles are usually served in a bowl already steeped in their broth and are called ''kakesoba'' or ''kakeudon''. Cold soba arrive unseasoned and heaped atop a ''zaru'' or ''seiro'', and are picked up with a chopstick and dunked in their dip sauce. The broth is a soy-dashi-mirin type of mix; the dip is similar but more concentrated (heavier on soy sauce).
In the simple form, ''yakumi'' (condiments and spices) such as shichimi
, also known as or simply ''shichimi'', is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Tōgarashi is the Japanese name for ''Capsicum annuum'', a red pepper native to Central and South America, and it is this ingredient tha ...
, nori, finely chopped scallions, wasabi, etc. are added to the noodles, besides the broth/dip sauce.
Udon may also be eaten in ''kama-age'' style, piping hot straight out of the boiling pot, and eaten with plain soy sauce and sometimes with raw egg also.
Japanese noodles are traditionally eaten by bringing the bowl close to the mouth, and sucking in the noodles with the aid of chopsticks. The resulting loud slurping noise is considered normal in Japan, although in the 2010s concerns began to be voiced about the slurping being offensive to others, especially tourists. The word ''nuuhara'' (ヌーハラ, from "nuudoru harasumento", noodle harassment) was coined to describe this.
Sweets
Traditional Japanese sweets are known as ''wagashi''. Ingredients such as red bean paste
Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or ...
and mochi are used. More modern-day tastes includes green tea ice cream, a very popular flavor. Almost all manufacturers produce a version of it. Kakigōri is a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup or condensed milk. It is usually sold and eaten at summer festivals. A dessert very popular amongst children in Japan is dorayaki. They are sweet pancakes filled with a sweet red bean paste. They are mostly eaten at room temperature but are also considered very delicious hot.
Beverages
Tea
Green tea may be served with most Japanese dishes. It is produced in Japan and prepared in various forms such as matcha, the tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony.
Beer
Beer production started in Japan in the 1860s. The most commonly consumed beers in Japan are pale-colored light lagers, with an alcohol strength of around 5.0% ABV. Lager beers are the most commonly produced beer style in Japan, but beer-like beverages, made with lower levels of malts called ''Happoshu'' (発泡酒, literally, "bubbly alcohol") or non-malt Happousei (発泡性, literally "effervescence") have captured a large part of the market as tax is substantially lower on these products. Beer and its varieties have a market share of almost 2/3 of alcoholic beverages.
Small local microbrewery, microbreweries have also gained increasing popularity since the 1990s, supplying distinct tasting beers in a variety of styles that seek to match the emphasis on craftsmanship, quality, and ingredient provenance often associated with Japanese food.
Sake
Sake is a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 15–17% ethanol, alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation (food), fermentation of rice. At traditional formal meals, it is considered an equivalent to rice and is not simultaneously taken with other rice-based dishes, although this notion is typically no longer applied to modern, refined, premium ("ginjo") sake, which bear little resemblance to the sakes of even 100 years ago. Side dishes for sake are particularly called ''sakana'' or ''otsumami''.
Sake is brewed in a highly labor-intensive process more similar to beer production than winemaking, hence, the common description of sake as rice "wine" is misleading.
Sake is made with, by legal definition, strictly just four ingredients: sake#Rice, special rice, water, Aspergillus oryzae, koji, and special yeast.
As of 2014, Japan has some 1500 registered breweries, which produce thousands of different sakes. Sake characteristics and flavor profiles vary with regionality, ingredients, and the styles (maintained by brewmaster guilds) that brewery leaders want to produce.
Sake flavor profiles lend extremely well to pairing with a wide variety of cuisines, including non-Japanese cuisines.
Shōchū
''Shōchū'' is a distilled spirit that is typically made from barley, sweet potato, buckwheat
Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...
, or rice. ''Shōchū'' is produced everywhere in Japan, but its production started in Kyushu.
Whisky
Japanese whisky began commercial production in the early 20th century, and is now extremely popular, primarily consumed in . It is produced in the Scottish style, with malt whisky produced since the 1980s, and has won top international awards since the 2000s.
Wine
A Japanese wine, domestic wine production exists since the 1860s yet most wine is imported. The total market share of wine on alcoholic beverages is about 3%.
Regional cuisine
Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties known as ''kyōdo-ryōri'' (郷土料理), many of them originating from dishes prepared using traditional recipes with local ingredients. Foods from the Kantō region taste very strong. For example, the dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ...
-based broth for serving udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
noodles is heavy on dark soy sauce, similar to soba broth. On the other hand, Kansai region foods are lightly seasoned, with clear udon noodles. made with light soy sauce.[Introduction to Japanese Food](_blank)
Retrieved January 8, 2010
Traditional table settings
The traditional Japanese table setting has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables (''hakozen'', 箱膳) or flat floor trays were set before each diner. Larger low tables (''chabudai'', ちゃぶ台) that accommodated entire families were gaining popularity by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way to Western-style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century.
The traditional Japanese table setting is to place a bowl of rice on the diner’s left and to place a bowl of miso soup on the diner’s right side at the table. Behind these, each ''okazu'' is served on its own individual plate. Based on the standard three ''okazu'' formula, behind the rice and soup are three flat plates to hold the three ''okazu''; one to far back left, one at far back right, and one in the center. Pickled vegetables are often served on the side but are not counted as part of the three ''okazu''. Chopsticks are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the diner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a chopstick rest, or ''hashioki''.[
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Dining etiquette
Many restaurants and homes in Japan are equipped with Western-style chairs and tables. However, traditional Japanese low tables and cushions, usually found on tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for train ...
floors, are also very common. Tatami mats, which are made of straw, can be easily damaged and are hard to clean, thus shoes or any type of footwear are always taken off when stepping on tatami floors.
When dining in a traditional tatami room, sitting upright on the floor is common. In a casual setting, men usually sit with their feet crossed and women sit with both legs to one side. Only men are supposed to sit cross-legged. The formal way of sitting for both sexes is a kneeling style known as ''seiza''. To sit in a ''seiza'' position, one kneels on the floor with legs folded under the thighs and the buttocks resting on the heels.[
When dining out in a restaurant, the customers are guided to their seats by the host. The honored or eldest guest will usually be seated at the center of the table farthest from the entrance. In the home, the most important guest is also seated farthest away from the entrance. If there is a tokonoma, or alcove, in the room, the guest is seated in front of it. The host sits next to or closest to the entrance.
In Japan, it is customary to say ''itadakimasu'' ("I [humbly] receive") before starting to eat a meal. When saying ''itadakimasu'', both hands are put together in front of the chest or on the lap. ''Itadakimasu'' is preceded by complimenting the appearance of food. The Japanese attach as much importance to the aesthetic arrangement of the food as its actual taste. Before touching the food, it is polite to compliment the host on his artistry. It is also a polite custom to wait for the eldest guest at the table to start eating before the other diners start. Another customary and important etiquette is to say ''go-chisō-sama deshita'' ("It was a feast") to the host after the meal and the restaurant staff when leaving.
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Dishes for special occasions
In Japanese tradition some dishes are strongly tied to a festival or event. These dishes include:
* Botamochi, a sticky rice dumpling with sweet azuki paste served in spring, while a similar sweet Ohagi is served in autumn.
* Chimaki (steamed sweet rice cake): Tango no sekku and Gion Matsuri, Gion Festival.
* Hamo (a type of fish, often Eel (food), eel) and sōmen: Gion Matsuri, Gion Festival.
* Osechi: New Year.
* Sekihan is red rice, which is served for any celebratory occasion. It is usually sticky rice cooked with azuki, or red bean, which gives the rice its distinctive red color.
* Soba: New Year's Eve. This is called ''Toshikoshi soba, toshi koshi soba'' (literally "year crossing soba").
* Sushi, Chirashizushi, Ushiojiru (clear soup of clams) and amazake: Hinamatsuri.
In some regions, on every first and fifteenth day of the month, people eat a mixture of rice and azuki (''azuki meshi'' (小豆飯); see Sekihan).
Imported and adapted foods
Japan has a long history of importing food from other countries, some of which are now part of Japan's most popular cuisine. Ramen is considered an important part to their culinary history, to the extent where in survey of 2,000 Tokyo residents, Instant noodle, instant ramen came up many times as a product they thought was an outstanding Japanese invention. Believed to have originated in China, ramen became popular in Japan after the Second Sino-Japanese war (1937–1945), when many Chinese students were displaced to Japan.[Seligman, Lucy. "The History of Japanese Cuisine." ''Japan Quarterly'' 41.2 (1994): 165. ''PAO Liberal Arts Collection 1.'']
Curry is another popular imported dish and is ranked near the top of nearly all Japanese surveys for favorite foods. The average Japanese person eats curry at least once a week. The origins of curry, as well many other foreign imports such as ''pan'' or bread, are linked to the emergence of ''yōshoku'', or western cuisine. ''Yōshoku'' can be traced as far back as the late Muromachi period (1336–1573) during a culinary revolution called ''namban ryori'' (南蛮料理), which means “Southern barbarian cooking”, as it is rooted in European cuisine.[ This cuisine style was first seen in Nagasaki, which served as the point of contact between Europe and Japan at that point in time. Food items such as potatoes, corn, dairy products, as well as the hard candy ''kompeito'' (金平糖), spread during this time.][ This cuisine became popular in the Meiji period, which is considered by many historians to be when Japan first opened itself to the outside world. Today, many of these imported items still hold a heavy presence in Japan.
* List of Japanese dishes#Foods imported from Portugal in the 16th century, Foods imported from Portugal in the 16th century
* List of Japanese dishes#Other homegrown cuisine of foreign origin, Other adapted cuisines in Japan
]
Yōshoku – Foreign (Western) food, dishes
Japan today abounds with home-grown, loosely Western-style food. Many of these were invented in the wake of the 1868 Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...
and the end of sakoku, national seclusion, when the sudden influx of foreign (in particular, Western) culture led to many restaurants serving Western food, known as ''yōshoku'' (洋食), a shortened form of ''seiyōshoku'' (西洋食, "Western cuisine"), opening up in cities. Restaurants that serve these foods are called ''yōshokuya'' (洋食屋, "Western cuisine restaurants").
Many ''yōshoku'' items from that time have been adapted to a degree that they are now considered Japanese and are an integral part of any Japanese family menu. Many are served alongside rice and miso soup, and eaten with chopsticks. Yet, due to their origins these are still categorized as ''yōshoku'' as opposed to the more traditional ''washoku'' (和食, "Japanese cuisine").
Chūka ryōri - Japanese Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is one of the oldest the most common foreign cuisines in Japan, predating the introduction of Western food dishes into the country. Many Chinese dishes have been altered to suit Japanese palates in a type of cuisine known as "chuka ryori". Iconic dishes of chuka ryori include ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dis ...
, Jiaozi, gyoza, and Baozi, chukaman.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients in a wheat-flour-based batter.
Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It is frequently served with tonkatsu sauce.
Curry
Curry was introduced by British people, Anglo-Indian officers of the Royal Navy from British Raj, India who brought curry powder to Japan in the Meiji period.[ The Imperial Japanese Navy adopted curry to prevent beriberi. Overtime it was reinvented and adapted to suit Japanese tastes that it became uniquely Japanese.] It is consumed so much that it is considered a national dish.[ Many recipes are on the menu of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, JMSDF. A variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. Usually vegetables like onions, carrots, and potatoes. The type of meat used are beef, pork, and chicken. A popular dish is ''Katsukarē, Katsu-karē'' which is a Tonkatsu, breaded deep-fried cutlet (''tonkatsu''; usually pork or chicken) with Japanese curry sauce.] Japanese curry can be found in foods such as curry udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
, curry bread, and ''katsukarē'', tonkatsu served with curry. It's very commonly made with rice beside the curry on the dish called . This can be eaten during dinner.
Wafū burgers (Japanese-style burgers)
Hamburger chains active in Japan include McDonald's, Burger King, First Kitchen, Lotteria and MOS Burger. Many chains developed uniquely Japanese versions of American fast food such as the teriyaki burger, kinpira
is a Japanese cooking style that can be summarized as a technique of sauté and simmer. The most common dish made with this technique is Kinpira Gobo, braised burdock root. Kinpira is commonly used to cook root vegetables such as carrots, burdo ...
(sauté) rice burger, fried shrimp burgers, and green tea milkshakes.
Italian
High-class Japanese chefs have preserved many Italian seafood dishes that are forgotten in other countries. These include pasta with Shrimp (food), prawns, lobster (a specialty known in Italy as pasta all'aragosta), Crab meat, crab (an Italian specialty; in Japan it is served with a different species of crab), and pasta with sea urchin sauce (sea urchin pasta being a specialty of the Apulia, Puglia region).
Outside Japan
Many countries have imported portions of Japanese cuisine. Some may adhere to the traditional preparations of the cuisines, but in some cultures the dishes have been adapted to fit the palate of the local populace. In 1970s sushi travelled from Japan to Canada and the United States, it was modified to suit the American palate, and re-entered the Japanese market as "American Sushi". An example of this phenomenon is the California roll, which was created in North America in the 1970s, rose in popularity across the United States through the 1980s, and thus sparked Japanese food's – more precisely, sushi's – global popularity.
In 2014, Japanese Restaurant Organization has selected potential countries where Japanese food is becoming increasingly popular, and conducted research concerning the Japanese restaurants abroad. These key nations or region are Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. This was meant as an effort to promote Japanese cuisine and to expand the market of Japanese ingredients, products and foodstuffs. Numbers of Japanese foodstuff and seasoning brands such as Ajinomoto, Kikkoman, Nissin Foods, Nissin and mayonnaise, are establishing production base in other Asian countries, such as China, Thailand and Indonesia.
United States
The California roll has been influential in sushi's global popularity; its invention often credited to a Japanese-born chef working in Los Angeles, with dates assigned to 1973, or even 1964.[ The dish has been snubbed by some purist sushi chefs,][ and also likened to the America-born chop suey by one scholar.]
the country has about 4,200 sushi restaurants. It is one of the most popular styles of sushi in the US market. Japanese cuisine is an integral part of food culture in Hawaii as well as in other parts of the United States. Popular items are sushi, sashimi, and teriyaki. Kamaboko, known locally as fish cake, is a staple of saimin, a noodle soup that is a local favorite in Hawaii. Sushi, long regarded as quite exotic in the west until the 1970s, has become a popular health food in parts of North America, Western Europe and Asia.
Two of the first Japanese restaurants in the United States were Saito and Nippon. Restaurants such as these popularized dishes such as sukiyaki and tempura, while Nippon was the first restaurant in Manhattan to have a dedicated sushi bar. Nippon was also one of the first Japanese restaurants in the U.S. to grow and process their own soba and responsible for creation of the now standard Negimaki, beef negimayaki dish.
In the U.S., the teppanyaki "iron hot plate" cooking restaurant took foothold. Such restaurants featured steak, shrimp and vegetables (including bean sprouts), cooked in front of the customer on a "teppanyaki grill" (teppan) by a personal chef who turns cooking into performance art, twirling and juggling cutting knives like batons. The meal would be served with steamed rice and Japanese soup. This style of cooking was made popular in the U.S. when Hiroaki Aoki, Rocky Aoki founded his popular restaurant chain Benihana in 1964. In Japan this type of cooking is thought to be American food, but in the U.S. it is thought to be Japanese. Aoki thought this would go over better in the U.S. than traditional Japanese cuisine because he felt that Americans enjoyed "eating in exotic surroundings, but are deeply mistrustful of exotic foods”.
Canada
In Canada, Japanese cuisine has become quite popular. Sushi, sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
, and instant ramen are highly popular at opposite ends of the income scale, with instant ramen being a common low-budget meal. Sushi and sashimi takeout began in Vancouver and Toronto, and is now common throughout Canada. The largest supermarket chains all carry basic sushi and sashimi, and Japanese ingredients and instant ramen are readily available in most supermarkets. Most mid-sized mall food courts feature fast-food teppan cooking. Izakaya restaurants have surged in popularity. Higher-end ramen restaurants (as opposed to instant ramen noodles of variable quality) are increasingly common.
Australia
Japanese cuisine is very popular in Australia, and Australians are becoming increasingly familiar with traditional Japanese foods. Restaurants serving Japanese cuisine feature prominently in popular rankings, including Gourmet Traveller and The Good Food Guide.
Sushi in particular has been described as being "as popular as sandwiches", particularly in large cities like Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane. As such, sushi bars are a mainstay in shopping centre food courts, and are extremely common in cities and towns all over the country.[
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United Kingdom
Japanese food restaurant chains in the UK include Wagamama, YO! Sushi, Nudo Sushi Box, Wasabi (restaurant), Wasabi, Bone Daddies and Kokoro.
Taiwan
Japan and Taiwan have shared Japan–Taiwan relations, close historical and cultural relations. Dishes such as sushi, ramen, and donburi are very popular among locals. Japanese chain restaurants such as Coco Ichibanya, Ippudo, Kura Sushi, Marugame Seimen, Mister Donut, MOS Burger, Ootoya, Ramen Kagetsu Arashi, Saizeriya, Sukiya, Sushiro, Tonkatsu Shinjuku Saboten, Yayoi Ken, and Yoshinoya, can all be found in Taiwan, among others. Taiwan has adapted many Japanese food items. Tianbula ("Taiwanese tempura") is actually satsuma-age and was introduced to Taiwan during Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule by people from Kyushu, where the word ''tempura'' is commonly used to refer to satsuma-age. It is popular as a night market snack and as an ingredient for oden, hot pot and lu wei. Taiwanese versions of oden are sold locally as olen or, more recently, as guandongzhu (from Japanese Kantō-ni) in convenience stores.
Thailand
In Southeast Asia, Thailand is the largest market for Japanese food. This is partly because Thailand is a popular Tourism in Thailand, tourist destination, having large numbers of Japanese people in Thailand, Japanese expatriates, as well as the local population having developed a taste for authentic Japanese cuisine. According to the Organisation that Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad (JRO), the number of Japanese restaurants in Thailand jumped about 2.2-fold from 2007's figures to 1,676 in June 2012. In Bangkok, Japanese restaurants accounts for 8.3 percent of all restaurants, following those that serve Thai cuisine, Thai. Numbers of Japanese chain restaurants has established their business in Thailand, such as Yoshinoya gyūdon restaurant chain, Gyu-Kaku yakiniku restaurant chain and Kourakuen ramen restaurant chain.
Indonesia
In the ASEAN region, Indonesia is the second largest market for Japanese food, after Thailand. Japanese cuisine has been increasingly popular as the growth of the Indonesian middle-class expecting higher quality foods.[ This is also contributed to the fact that Indonesia has large numbers of Japanese migration to Indonesia, Japanese expatriates. The main concern is the halal issue. As a Muslim majority country, Indonesians expected that Japanese food served there are halal according to Islamic dietary law, which means no pork and alcohol allowed. Japanese restaurants in Indonesia often offer a set menu which include rice served with an array of Japanese favourites in a single setting. A set menu might include a choice of yakiniku or sukiyaki, including a sample of sushi, tempura, gyoza and miso soup. Quite authentic Japanese style izakaya and ]ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dis ...
shops can be found in Little Tokyo (Melawai) area in Blok M, South Jakarta, serving both Japanese expats and local clienteles. Today, Japanese restaurants can be found in most of Indonesian major cities, with high concentration in Greater Jakarta area, Bandung, Surabaya and Bali.
In some cases, Japanese cuisine in Indonesia is often slanted to suit Indonesian taste. Hoka Hoka Bento in particular is an Indonesian-owned Japanese fast food restaurant chain that cater to the Indonesian clientele. As a result the foods served there have been adapted to suit Indonesians' taste. Examples of the change include stronger flavours compared to the authentic subtle Japanese taste, the preference for fried food, as well as the addition of sambal to cater to the Indonesians' preference for hot and spicy food.
Japanese food popularity also had penetrated Street food of Indonesia, street food culture, as modest ''Warjep'' or ''Warung Jepang'' (Japanese food stall) offer Japanese food such as tempura, okonomiyaki and takoyaki, at very moderately low prices. Today, okonomiyaki and takoyaki are popular street fare in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities. This is also pushed further by the Japanese convenience stores operating in Indonesia, such as 7-Eleven and Lawson (store), Lawson offering Japanese favourites such as oden, chicken katsu (deep-fried chicken cutlet), chicken teriyaki and onigiri.
Some chefs in Indonesian sushi establishment has created a Japanese-Indonesian fusion cuisine, such as krakatau roll, gado-gado roll, rendang roll and gulai ramen. The idea of fusion cuisine between spicy Indonesian Padang food, Padang and Japanese cuisine was thought because both cuisine traditions are well-liked by Indonesians. Nevertheless, some of these Japanese eating establishments might strive to serve authentic Japanese cuisine abroad. Numbers of Japanese chain restaurants has established their business in Indonesia, such as Yoshinoya gyūdon restaurant chain, Gyu-Kaku yakiniku restaurant chain and Ajisen Ramen restaurant chain.
Philippines
In the Philippines, Japanese cuisine is also popular among the local population. The Philippines have been exposed to the influences from the Japanese, Indian culture, Indian and Culture of China, Chinese. The cities of Davao City, Davao and Metro Manila probably have the most Japanese influence in the country. The popular dining spots for Japanese nationals are located in Makati, which is called as "Little Tokyo", a small area filled with restaurants specializing in different types of Japanese food. Some of the best Japanese no-frills restaurants in the Philippines can be found in Makati's "Little Tokyo" area. In the Philippines, Halo-halo is derived from Japanese Kakigori. Halo-halo is believed to be an indigenized version of the Japanese ''kakigori'' class of desserts, originating from pre-World War II, war Japanese migrants into the islands. The earliest versions were composed only of cooked red beans or mung beans in crushed ice with sugar and milk, a dessert known locally as "''mongo-ya''". Over the years, more native ingredients were added, resulting in the development of the modern ''halo-halo''. Some authors specifically attribute it to the 1920s or 1930s Japanese migrants in the Quinta Market of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Manila, due to its proximity to the now defunct Insular Ice Plant, which was the source of the city's ice supply. In Cebu City, the Little Kyoto district let's you experience the feel of being in Kyoto, Japan with a statue of the reclining Buddha overlooking the city. The Little Kyoto district also features Japanese food stalls serving various Japanese dishes like Takoyaki, Tempura, and various other Japanese cuisine that is enjoyed by the people of Cebu City, Philippines.
Mexico
In Mexican cuisine, Mexico, certain Japanese restaurants have created what is known as "sushi Mexicano", in which spicy sauces and ingredients accompany the dish or are integrated in sushi rolls. The habanero and Serrano pepper, serrano chiles have become nearly standard and are referred to as chiles toreados, as they are fried, diced and tossed over a dish upon request.
Brazil
In Brazil, Japanese food is widespread due to the large Japanese-Brazilian population living in the country, which represents the largest Japanese community living outside Japan. Over the past years, many restaurant chains such as Koni Store have opened, selling typical dishes such as the popular temaki. Yakisoba, which is readily available in all supermarkets, and often included in non-Japanese restaurant menus.
Cultural heritage
In February 2012, the Agency for Cultural Affairs recommended that 'Washoku: Traditional Dietary Cultures of the Japanese' be added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On December 4, 2013, "Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year" was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage, bringing the number of Japanese assets listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list to 22.
Food controversies
Some elements of Japanese cuisine involving eating live seafood, such as Ikizukuri and Odori ebi, have received criticism as a form of animal cruelty.
Japanese cuisine is heavily dependent on seafood products. About 45 kilograms of seafood are consumed per capita annually in Japan, more than most other developed countries. An aspect of environmental concern is Japanese appetite for seafood, which could contribute to the depletion of natural ocean resources. For example, Japan consumes 80% of the global supply of blue fin tuna, a popularly sought sushi and sashimi ingredient, which could lead to its extinction due to commercial overfishing. Another environmental concern is commercial Whaling in Japan, whaling and the consumption of Whale meat#Japan, whale meat, for which Japan is the world's largest market.
See also
* Bento
* Culture of Japan
* Cuisine of Okinawa
* Fake food in Japan
* Honzen-ryōri
* Japanese New Year
* Kaiseki
or is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals and is analogous to Western haute cuisine.
There are two kinds of traditional Japanes ...
* List of Japanese condiments
* List of Japanese cooking utensils
* List of Japanese dishes
** List of Japanese desserts and sweets
** List of Japanese soups and stews
* List of Japanese ingredients
* List of Japanese restaurants
* List of sushi restaurants
References
Works cited
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Further reading
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* Francks, Penelope. "Diet and the comparison of living standards across the Great Divergence: Japanese food history in an English mirror." ''Journal of Global History'' 14.1 (2019): 3-21.
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External links
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Japanese cuisine,
Buddhist cuisine,