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Japanese Influence on Other Cuisines from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
#59 - 33 - 0 - Japanese Influence on Other Cuisines from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[ 2007-09-10 00:01:00 ] - lizc
#
Teppanyaki is said to be an American invention, as is the California roll (not to mention the
Philadelphia roll), and while the former has been well received in Japan the latter has not
and has, at worst, been termed not sushi by Japanese people. However thanks to some recent
trends in American culture such as Iron Chef and Benihana, Japanese culinary culture is slowly
fusing its way into American life. Japanese food, which had been quite exotic in the West as
late as the 1970s, is now quite at home in parts of the continental United States, and has
become an integral part of food culture in Hawaii.
Imported and Adapted Foods
As in most countries, Japan incorporates imported favorites from across the world (mostly
from Asia, Europe and to a lesser extent the Americas). Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish
cuisine is of particular interest to Japanese people. Many imported foods are made suitable
for the Japanese palette by reducing the amount of spice used or changing a part of a recipe
(Korean kimchi, originally fermented, was instead pickled minus fermented shrimp). Other
changes include substituting the main ingredient or adding an ingredient which might be
considered taboo in its country of origin (such as sliced, boiled eggs, sweetcorn, shrimps,
Nori, and even mayonnaise sauce instead of tomato sauce on pizza).
Some examples of changed imported cuisine include:
- Pizza with mayonaise, curry, or teriyaki sauce
- Spaghetti with creamy shrimp, lobster, crab, or sea urchin sauce, or a non-creamy light sauce topped with seaweed
- Sausages made of fish instead of pork (however, sausages made of other meats like chicken are unavailable)
- Japanese-only "Chinese dishes" like Ebi Chili (shrimp in a tangy and slightly spicy sauce)
- Korean barbecue that is flavorless and must be dipped in sauce before eating for flavor
- Korean Naengmyun with thicker noodles and a different broth
While tales of hearing Japanese people ask, "Do you have McDonald's in America, too?" are
probably apocryphal, the Japanese certainly do eat at hamburger chains. Mos Burger is a popular
competitor. Other fast-food establishments are similarly popular. These include doughnut and
ice-cream shops. Okinawa even has a chain of A&W drive-in restaurants featuring the company's
root beer.
However, in many ways the variety of imported food is limited; for example, it is rare to find
pasta that is not of the spaghetti or macaroni varieties in supermarkets or restaurants; bread
is very rarely of any variety but white; and varieties of imported cereal are also very limited,
with for some reason a large amount of chocolate flavored cereal. "Italian restaurants" also
tend to only have pizza and pasta in their menus, as noone seems to have heard of any other
Italian dishes.
Washoku and Yoshoku
Imported cuisines and foods from America and Europe are called yoshoku, a shortened form
of seiyoshoku literally "Western cuisine". Japanese cuisine is called washoku, literally "Japanese
cuisine" and Chinese cuisine is called Chukaryori, literally "Chinese recipe".
A number of foreign dishes have been adapted to a degree that they are now considered Japanese,
and are an integral part of any Japanese family menu. Yet, these are still categorized as
yoshoku as they were imported. Perhaps the best example is curry rice, which was imported in
the 19th century by way of the United Kingdom, and vaguely resembles the original Indian dish.
Another example is "beef steak", which is a ground beef patty (often extended with filler and
chopped onions) served with a side of white rice and vegetables. Restaurants that serve these
foods are called yoshokuya, literally "Western Cuisine Shop". However, yoshoku basically refers
to Japanese-style foreign cuisine of a vague origin.
Tempura
One of the oldest imported dishes is tempura, although it has been so thoroughly adopted that
its foreign roots are unknown to most people, including many Japanese. As such, it is
considered washoku. Tempura came to Japan from Portuguese sailors in the 16th century as a
technique for cooking fish. Since then, the Japanese have extended its ingredients to include
almost every sort of seafood and vegetable. Shrimp, eggplant, squash, and carrots are typical
ingredients today. Other foods like tempura that are considered "washoku" are, Anpan, Ramen,
and Soumen.
Fusion Foods
In a constant quest to adopt and expand Japanese cuisine, Japanese have made hundreds of
recipes that are distinctly different from the original recipes but still retain the "air"
(and basic taste) of their origins. For example, "Curry" from India, imported via the United
Kingdom, has fused with varieties of foods to make new recipes. Curry made with fish based
dashi is poured over udon, making "Kare Udon". It is stuffed into a bun and fried in oil,
making "Kare Pan", lit. Curry Bread. According to certain groups of curry eaters in Japan, a
proper way to eat curry rice is to pour soy sauce over curry and eat it with pickled vegetables
called Fukujinzuke or Rakkyo. Other recipes are so exotic by any standard that they remain a
local cuisine. In Nagoya, a dish of warm sweet Macha spaghetti noodles with fresh cream, bean
jam, ice cream, and fruits is served as a dessert in restaurants.
The last recipe is, by no means, a standard of fusion foods in Japan.
This article is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the
Wikipedia article
"Cuisine of Japan".
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Japanese Food - Five Dishes for Newcomers by Michael Russell Japanese Cuisine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaYou will be redirected to original content on www.xaluan.com after 100 seconds! for full media, graphic colours and other functions
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