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NIPPONIA No.36 March 15, 2006 |
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Special Feature*
Dig in! Japanese Culture in the Kitchen
Mountains, plains, rivers and the sea... Nature has given the Japanese archipelago a tremendous variety of fine ingredients, and the country is a culinary delight. Recipes play up freshness, while seasonings and stocks bring out the flavor of the ingredients. Decorated tableware plays a role in the presentation, and food is arranged with an eye to beauty. Traditional preservation methods take advantage of the climate and natural preserving agents, and foreign recipes are absorbed with enthusiasm.
From a keen awareness of the pleasures of dining came culinary knowledge and expertise, and these have crystallized into a distinct food culture. So what is Japanese cuisine, anyway? These pages offer a taste. 
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A Japanese Meal
One example of a home-cooked meal. Rice and miso soup are partners, the mainstay of the meal. The main dish generally features fish or meat, and other dishes may include natto fermented soybeans and pickles.
(Photo: Kono Toshihiko)
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 Korokke (croquettes)  French croquettes became a Japanese “Western” dish. In Japan croquettes are generally served with rice and come with a shredded raw cabbage salad.
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 O-chaGreen tea and hoji-cha (roasted green tea, shown in photo) are drunk during and after meals.
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 Tsukemono (pickles) Eggplant, Japanese turnip, daikon radish and the like are pickled in salt or rice bran.
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 Go-han (rice)White rice is the staple food. It is boiled and generally plays a central role in the meal. The side dishes play a supporting role, and whet the appetite for more rice.
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 Yaki-zakana (grilled fish)The main dish, such as fish (photo shows grilled salted mackerel) or meat, generally contains protein.
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 Shoyu (soy sauce) Almost any food tastes good with soy sauce.
Here it seasons grilled fish, natto and pickles.
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 Natto (fermented soybeans) Small soybeans undergo a fermentation process to become a food that goes very well with boiled rice.
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 Miso-shiru (miso soup) To make this soup, the chef made a stock of tofu and wakame, then dissolved miso in it.
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