Food

I n t r o d u c t i o n

J a p a n e s e  F o o d

The history of Japanese food culture is said to have started from when people were hunting in the fields and catching clams from the ocean to rice cultivation during the Yayoi era. With rice being the staple food, the Japanese are known for their use of fish and beans, seaweed, and vegetables. Japanese food is famous for being macrobiotic. There are foods that are necessary in cultural events. There are local dishes that vary in different weather and locations. There are various items that were originally for preservation purposes that have now come to represent Japanese food. The food is art.

S u s h i

Since Japan is surrounded by ocean, seafood has always been widely consumed as well as rice. Originally, raw fish was fermented in salt to preserve it and eaten with seasoned rice. In Japanese cuisine, sushi indicates dishes that use sushi rice, which is seasoned with a sweet vinegar mixture. Although you can make sushi without using any fish/rawfish, many kinds of fish are used in sushi dishes.

Is sushi equal to raw fish? No. Raw fish is called sashimi in Japan and is not the same as sushi. Sushi indicates foods that use rice seasoned with sweet rice-wine vinegar. Of course, raw fish is the most popular ingredient in sushi, but the main element of sushi is Japanese sticky rice. There are many kinds of sushi, which don’t include raw fish. Cooked fish, shellfish, and various other ingredients can be combined in sushi.

S i d e  E l e m e n t s  o f  S u s h i

The important seasonings are soy sauce, and Wasabi (Japanese horseradish). Soy sauce is used as dipping sauce. Wasabi is put in Nigiri-zushi or is mixed with soy sauce for dipping. The most important side ingredient of sushi is ginger. Pickled ginger is called gari and is served with sushi. Gari is eaten between bites of sushi to refresh the mouth for each new taste. You can purchase pickled ginger at Asian markets or you can make it yourself.

K a i s e k i

Kaiseki literally means “stone in the bosom”, and refers to a practice where Zen monks would ward off hunger by putting warm stones into the folds of their obi. The term came to mean a light vegetarian meal served before a tea ceremony, possibly referring to the simple meals that monks ate which staved off hunger as much as a warm stone did.

T e m p u r a

Tempura was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by early Portuguese visitors. The word tempura may be derived from the Portuguese noun tempero, meaning a condiment or seasoning, or from the verb temperar, meaning “to season. There is still today a dish in Portugal very similar to tempura called peixinhos da horta, “garden fishies”..

In Japan, restaurants specializing in tempura are called tenpura-ya and range from inexpensive fast food chains to very expensive five-star restaurants. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or a bento lunch box. Kakiage is a comfort food variation with mixed vegetable strips, often clumped together in heavier battered fritters.

B e n t o  L u n c h  B o x

S a s h i m i

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafoods, sliced into thin pieces , but dimensions vary depending on the type of item and chef, and served with only a dipping sauce, soy sauce with wasabi paste and thin-sliced ginger root or ponzu, and a simple garnish such as shiso and shredded daikon radish.

The word sashimi means “pierced body”= sashimi = sashi pierced sticked and= mi, body, meat, may derive from the culinary practice of sticking the fish’s tail and fin to the slices in identifying the fish being eaten.

L o t u s  R o o t

Dessert warm grilled Lotus root Mochi

This well-known, perennial aquatic plant with its beautiful white and pink water-lily flowers , is a native of Asia. Although all the plant is edible, the root or stems are the parts most commonly available. The buff-color, wooden-looking roots are quite long and are normally divided into sausage-like segments. Air passages run the length of the root, giving them a beautiful, paper chain, cross-section. They have a crispy fibrous texture with a mild, distinctive flavor, some say they resemble artichokes.

They may be cooked in many ways: stir-fried, mixed with other vegetables, used in vegetarian dishes, dried, steamed in soup, fried or candied. They are also used raw in salads, cut into slices for a most attractive appearance. In addition, they also provide a specialty starch.

O k o n o m i y a k i

Okonomiyaki is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients. Okonomi means “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki means “grilled” or “cooked” yakitori and yakisoba; thus, the name of this dish means “cook what you like, the way you like”. In Japan,

~Kojiki~