Japanese cuisine

There are many views of what is fundamental to Japanese cuisine. Many think of sushi, steakhouse meals (teppanyaki), or elegant stylized formal tea ceremony meals (kaiseki). Very few think of the traditional everyday food of the Japanese people--especially that existing before the end of the Meiji Era (1868 - 1912) or before World War II. Few modern urban Japanese know their traditional cuisine.

Traditional Japanese cuisine is dominated by white rice, and few meals would be complete without it. Anything else served during a meal--fish, meat, vegetables, pickles--is considered a side dish. Side dishes are served only if they will enhance the taste of the rice.

Traditional Japanese meals are named by the number of side dishes that accompany the rice and soup that are nearly always served. The simplest Japanese meal, for example, consists of Ichiju-Issai ("soup plus one" or "one dish meal"). This means soup, rice, and one accompanying side dish--usually a pickled vegetable like daikon. A traditional Japanese breakfast, for example, consists of miso soup, rice, and a pickled vegetable. The most common meal, however, is called Ichiju-Sansai ("soup plus three")--soup, rice, and three side dishes, each employing a different cooking technique. The three side dishes are usually raw fish, a grilled dish, and a simmered dish -- although steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed dishes may replace the grilled or simmered dishes. Ichiju-Sansai often finishes with pickled vegetables and green tea.

This uniquely Japanese view of a meal is reflected in the organization of traditional Japanese cookbooks. Chapters are organized according to cooking techniques: fried foods, steamed foods, and grilled foods, for example. There are also usually chapters devoted to soups, sushi, rice, noodles, and sweets.

Essential Japanese Ingredients

Short or Medium Grained White Rice
Vegetables (spinach, cucumber, eggplant, burdock (gobo), daikon, sweet potato, lotus root)
Seafood
Pickled Vegetables
Seaweeds (Nori, Konbu, Wakame, Hijiki)
Noodles (Udon, Soba, Somen)
Processed Seafood (Niboshi, dried Cuttlefish, Kamaboko)
Eggs (Chicken, Quail)
Meats (Pork, Beef, Chicken, Lamb)
Beans (Soy, Adzuki)

Essential Japanese Flavorings

It is not generally thought possible to make authentic Japanese food without shoyu and dashi, in particular.

Shoyu, Dashi, Mirin, Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Miso, Sake.
Konbu, Katsuobushi, Niboshi.
Onion, Garlic, Leek, Chive, Shallot -- all discouraged by Buddhism, but popular in modern Japan
Sesame Seeds, Sesame Oil, Walnuts or Peanuts to dress.
Horseradish, Wasabi, Mustard, Red Pepper, Ginger, Shiso (or Beefsteak) leaves, Sansho, Citrus.

Famous Japanese Dishes

Sushi - Nigiri (hand squeezed pieces), Maki (rolled sushi, typically in seaweed) and Temaki (large hand rolls in a cone shape)
Sashimi - slices of raw seafood
Tempura - deep-fried items in light batter
Teriyaki - cooking method employing a sweetened soy sauce, often using grilled meat or chicken
Tonkatsu - deep-fried pork cutlet
Udon - thick white noodle served with various toppings
Soba - thin brown buckwheat noodle served with various toppings
Ramen - thin light yellow noodle served with various toppings; thought to be of continental origin, it is a popular and common item in Japan
Donburi - one-bowl dishes of hot steamed rice with various savory toppings
Nabemono - hot pot including sukiyaki
Gyoza - Japanese dumplings, often filled with pork, tofu or vegetables
Hamachi Kama - grilled yellow tails jaw and cheek bone
Agedashi Tofu - cubes of deep-fried silken tofu served in hot broth
Miso Soup - soup made with miso, dashi and seasonal ingredients like fish, kamaboko, onions, clams, potato, etc.
Macha Ice (Green tea ice cream) - green tea flavored ice cream
Tempura ice cream - ice cream deep-fried in tempura batter
Bento or Obento - combination meal served in a wooden box
Ochazuke - Green tea poured over white rice. (from the Japanese Ocha (green tea) + tukeru (to soak or moisten))
Dango - Japanese dumpling
Osechi - Traditional food eaten at the New Year
Mochi - rice cake
Okonomiyaki
Onigiri - Japanese rice balls
Hiyayakko-cold tofu dish
Oshiruko-a warm, sweet red bean soup with rice cake
Anmitsu-a traditional Japanese dessert.
Kakigori
Uirou

Some of the strongest images of Japanese cuisine come from kaiseki (tea ceremony meals), sushi (various toppings served on vinegared rice) and sashimi (fresh raw fish). Kaiseki as practiced today is refined and as visually aesthetic as it is culinarily. As such, it is rarely seen in the household and, if then, only with respect to particular dishes or preparation styles. Sushi and sashimi is much more common and can be found in convenience store quality to specialty restaurants.

Japanese Influence on other Cuisines

Teppanyaki is said to be an American invention, as is the California roll, but they have been successfully imported to Japan.

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.

References

Tsuji, Shizuo. (1980). Japanese cooking: A simple Art. Kodansha International/USA, New York.

External Links:

Yasuko-san's Home Cooking has traditional recipes and thoughts on traditional Japanese food.