food japan

Dishes[edit]

A typical Japanese dish of grilled fish with accompaniments

Further information: okazu (or sōzai (惣菜)); List of okazu

In the aforementioned stock phrase ichijū-sansai (一汁三菜 "one soup, three sides"), the word sai (菜) has the basic meaning of "vegetable", but secondarily means any accompanying dish^[17] including fish or meat. It figures in the Japanese word for appetizer, zensai (前菜); main dish, shusai (主菜); or sōzai (惣菜) (formal synonym for okazu - considered somewhat of a housewife's term^[18]).

Salads[edit]

Japanese vegetable salads often add seafood

The o-hitashi or hitashi-mono (おひたし)^[4] is boiled green-leaf vegetables bunched and cut to size, steeped in dashi broth,^[19][20] eaten with dashes of soy sauce. Another item is sunomono (酢の物, "vinegar item"), which could be made with wakame seaweed,^[21] or be something like a kōhaku namasu (紅白なます, "red white namasu")^[22] made from thin toothpick slices of daikon and carrot. The so-called vinegar that is blended with the ingredient here is often sanbaizu ^[ja] (三杯酢, "three cupful/spoonful vinegar")^[21] which is a blend of vinegar, mirin, and soy sauce. A tosazu ^[ja] (土佐酢, "Tosa vinegar") adds katsuo dashi to this. Note sparing use of oil, compared with Western salads.
An aemono ^[ja] (和え物)^{[dead link]}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 goma-ae (胡麻和え)^[23] where usually vegetables such as green beans are tossed with white or black sesame seeds ground in a suribachi mortar bowl, flavored additionally with sugar and soy sauce. Shira-ae (白和え) adds tofu (bean curd) in the mix.^[23] An aemono is tossed with vinegar-white miso mix and uses wakegi^[23] scallion and baka-gai (バカガイ / 馬鹿貝, a trough shell (Mactra sinensis) as standard.

Cooking techniques[edit]

Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three okazu; they may be raw (sashimi), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed.

List of dishes[edit]

Main article: List of Japanese dishes

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Tempura battered and deep fried seafood and vegetables

Yakitori grilled chicken

Below are listed some of the most common dishes:

• grilled and pan-fried dishes (yakimono 焼き物),
• stewed/simmered/cooked/boiled dishes (nimono 煮物),
• stir-fried dishes (itamemono 炒め物),
• steamed dishes (mushimono 蒸し物),
• deep-fried dishes (agemono 揚げ物),
• sliced raw fish (sashimi 刺身),
• soups (suimono 吸い物 and shirumono 汁物),
• pickled/salted vegetables (tsukemono 漬け物),
• dishes dressed with various kinds of sauce (aemono 和え物),
• vinegared dishes (su-no-mono 酢の物),
• delicacies, food of delicate flavor (chinmi 珍味).^[4]

Classification[edit]

Kaiseki[edit]

Japanese Kaiseki ryori

Kaiseki, 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 hassun (八寸). Sometimes another element called shiizakana (強肴) is served to complement the sake, for guests who are heavier drinkers.
The tea ceremony kaiseki(懐石) is often confounded with another kaiseki-ryōri (会席料理), which is an outgrowth of meals served at a gathering for haiku and renga composition, which turned into a term for sumptuous sake-accompanied banquet, or shuen (酒宴).^[1]

Vegetarian[edit]

Nattō, Japanese soybean-based vegetarian food

Strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna 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. Regarding vegetarianism, fucha-ryōri ^[ja] (普茶料理) 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".^[5] The sect in Japan was founded by the priest Ingen (d. 1673), and is headquartered in Uji, Kyoto. 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 modoki-ryōri (もどき料理 "mock foods"), one example being mock-eel, made from strained tofu, with nori seaweed used expertly to mimic the black skin.^[24] The secret ingredient used is grated gobō (burdock) roots.^[25][26]
Dr. Masakazu Tada, Honorary Vice-President of the International Vegetarian Union for 25 years from 1960, stated that "Japan was vegetarian for a 1,000 years". Although this is not totally true, British journalist J. W. Robertson Scott reported in the 1920s that the society was 90% vegetarian. 50–60% of the population ate fish only on festive occasions, probably more because of poverty than for any other reason.

Rice[edit]

Main article: Japanese rice

Gyūdon beef rice bowl (right) and niku shoyu ramen beef noodle (left).

Rice has been the staple food for the Japanese historically. Its fundamental importance is evident from the fact that the word for cooked rice, gohan and meshi, also stands for a "meal".^[27] While rice has a long history of cultivation in Japan, its use as a staple has not been universal. Notably, in northern areas (northern Honshū and Hokkaidō), other grain 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.^[28]
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 (玄米, genmai) is considered less desirable, but its popularity has been increasing.^[28]

Noodles[edit]