japanese food

Food individual to the country

Similar to Chinese cuisine, there is a concept of staple (main) foods (主食, shushoku) prepared from five carbohydrate-rich cereals (五穀: 米, 麦, 粟, 豆, 黍 or 稗, or rice, wheats and oats, foxtail millet, beans, proso millet or Echinochloa) and main and side dishes (副食, fukushoku, or more commonly, おかず, okazu) of which role is adding flavors to staple foods. Okazu are usually designed "salty" to eat with shushoku with synergistic harmonization and basically not expected to have them alone in Japan.

A standard Japanese meal nearly always consists of a bowl of cooked white Japanese rice (gohan) as shushoku with accompanying tsukemono (pickles), a bowl of soup, and a variety of dishes known as okazu - fish, meat, vegetable, etc.

Traditional Japanese meals are sometimes classified by the number of okazu which accompany the rice and soup. As Japanese meals, especially at the higher end, consist of several small dishes, the American concept of a "side" is not a part of Japanese meal organization. The simplest Japanese meal, for example, consists of ichijū-issai (一汁一菜; "one soup, one side" or "one dish meal"). This means soup, rice and pickles, and one accompanying dish. A traditional Japanese breakfast, for example, usually consists of miso soup, rice, a pickled vegetable and grilled fish. The standard traditional meal, however, is called ichijū-sansai (一汁三菜; "one soup, three sides"), or soup, rice & pickles, and three dishes, each employing a different cooking technique. The dishes may be raw fish (sashimi), or grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled in translations from Japanese), steamed, deep fried, vinegared, or dressed dishes. Ichijū-sansai often finishes with pickles such as umeboshi and green tea.

This 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, and not according to particular ingredients (e.g., chicken or beef) as are western cookbooks. There may also be chapters devoted to soups, sushi, rice, noodles, and sweets.

Since Japan is an island nation, its people consume much seafood including fish, shellfish, octopus, squid, crab, lobster, shrimp, whale and seaweed. Although not known as a meat eating country, very few Japanese consider themselves vegetarians. It is particularly difficult to find vegetarian cuisine in Japan, as even vegetable dishes are prepared with fish stock or garnishes. However, Shojinryori is a type of cooking which is reputed to follow the strict vegetarian requirements in minor sects of Buddhism, is available in specialty restaurants in Japan. Unfortunately for strict vegetarians most Shojinryori meals contain dashi made from katsuobushi and other non vegetarian elements. Some monks in the temples in Kyoto eat this cuisine. Beef, pork and chicken are commonly eaten as most forms of Buddhism in Japan allow the eating of meat and have become part of everyday cuisine. Lamb is eaten in colder parts of Japan but is not well liked in the remainder of the country.

Noodles, originating from China, have become an essential part of Japanese cuisine, usually (but not always) as an alternative to a rice-based meal. There are two traditional types of noodle, soba and udon. Made from buckwheat flour, soba (蕎麦) is a thin, grayish-brown noodle. Varying amounts of ordinary wheat flour are added, depending on the maker, with a higher content of buckwheat (and hence, a darker color) signifying a higher quality product. Made from wheat flour, udon (うどん) is a thick, white noodle. Both are generally served in a soy-flavored fish broth with various vegetables. Both soba and udon exhibit regional variations throughout Japan. A more recent import from China, dating to the early 19th century, is ramen (ラーメン; Chinese wheat noodles), which has become extremely popular. Ramen is served in a variety of soup stocks ranging from soy sauce/fish stock to butter/pork stock.

Although most Japanese eschew eating insects, there are a couple of exceptions. In some regions, grasshoppers (inago) and bee larvae (hachinoko) are not uncommon dishes. The larvae of a species of caddis fly (zaza-mushi), harvested from the Tenryu river as it flows through Ina City, is also boiled and canned, or boiled and then sautéed in soy sauce and sugar. Salamander is eaten as well in places.

Traditional Japanese table settings

The traditional Japanese table setting has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables (hakozen, 箱膳) or flat floor trays were set before each diner. Larger low tables (chabudai, ちゃぶ台) that accommodated entire families were becoming popular by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way to western style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century.

Traditional table settings are based on the ichijū-sansai formula. Typically, five separate bowls and plates are set before the diner. Nearest the diner are the rice bowl on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind these are three flat plates to hold the three side dishes, one to far back left (on which might be served a simmered dish), one at far back right (on which might be served a grilled dish), and one in the center of the tray (on which might be served boiled greens). Pickled vegetables are often served as well, and eaten at the end of the meal, but are not counted as part of three side dishes.

Chopsticks are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the diner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a chopstick holder, or hashioki (箸置き).

Dishes for special occasions

In Japanese tradition some dishes are strongly tied to a festival or event. Major such combinations include:

• Osechi - New Year.
• Chirashizushi, Ushiojiru (clear soup of clams) and amazake - Hinamatsuri.
• botamochi (sticky rice dumpling with sweet azuki paste) - Spring equinox.
• Chimaki (steamed sweet rice cake) - Tango no Sekku and Gion Festival.
• Hamo (a kind of fish) and somen - Gion Festival.
• Sekihan, literally "red rice", rice cooked with adzuki - celebration in general.
• Soba - New Year's Eve. This is called toshi koshi soba (年越しそば) (literally "year crossing soba").

In some regions every 1st and 15th day of the month people eat a mixture of rice and adzuki (azuki meshi, see Sekihan).

Japanese ingredients

• Rice
  • Short or medium grain white rice
  • Mochi rice (glutinous rice)
• Vegetables:
  • nira (Chinese chives)
  • spinach
  • cucumber
  • eggplant
  • gobo (greater burdock)
  • daikon
  • sweet potato
  • renkon (lotus root)
  • takenoko (bamboo shoots)
  • negi (Welsh onion)
  • fuki (butterbur)
  • moyashi (mung or soybean sprouts)
  • kaiware (radish sprouts)
  • Sansai (wild vegetables)
  • Konnyaku (shirataki)
  • Mushrooms (shiitake, matsutake, enokitake, nameko, shimeji, eringi)
• Tsukemono (pickled vegetables)
• Seaweed (nori, konbu, wakame, hijiki etc. see Category:Sea vegetables)
• Processed seafood (chikuwa, niboshi, cuttlefish, kamaboko, surimi, Satsuma age)
• Noodles (udon, soba, somen, ramen)
• Eggs (chicken, quail)
• Meats (pork, beef, chicken, horse), sometimes as minchi (minced meat)
• Beans (soy, adzuki)
• Soy products:
  • Edamame
  • Miso
  • Soy sauce (light, dark, tamari)
  • Tofu
    • soft: kinugoshi-dōfu (silken), oboro-dōfu, kumidashi-dōfu
    • firm: momen-dōfu (cotton)
    • fried: aburage, agedōfu, atsuage, ganmodoki
    • freeze-dried: kōyadōfu
    • Soy milk, Yuba
    • residue: Okara
    • see also Category:Tofu
• Fruits:
  • persimmon
  • chestnut
  • nashi pear
  • loquat
  • citrus fruits (daidai, iyokan, kabosu, kumquat, mikan, natsumikan, amanatsu, sudachi, yuzu)
• Katakuri flour, kudzu flour, rice powder, soba flour, wheat flour
• Fu (wheat gluten)

See also Category:Japanese ingredients.

Japanese flavorings

It is not generally thought possible to make authentic Japanese food without shō-yu (soy sauce), miso and dashi.

• Shō-yu (Soy sauce), dashi, mirin, sugar, rice vinegar, miso, sake.
• Kombu (kelp), katsuobushi (flakes of cured skipjack tuna, sometimes referred to as bonito) and niboshi (dried baby sardines) are often used to make dashi stock.
• Negi (welsh onion), onions, garlic, nira (Chinese chives), rakkyo (a type of scallion)
• Sesame seeds, sesame oil, sesame salt (gomashio), furikake, walnuts or peanuts to dress.
• Wasabi (and imitation wasabi from horseradish), mustard, red pepper, ginger, shiso (perilla or beefsteak plant) leaves, sansho, citrus peel, and honeywort (called mitsuba).
• Monosodium Glutamate, for better or for worse, is often used by chefs and food companies as a flavor enhancer, as well as being available on the table as a condiment.

Common Japanese staple foods (Shushoku)

Rice (gohanmono)

Rice served in Japan are of the short grain Japonica variety. In a traditional Japanese setting (e.g. served in a bowl) it is known as gohan or meshi (Generally males only say meshi). In western-influenced dishes, where rice is often served on the plate (such as curries) it is called raisu (after the english word "rice".)

• Gohan or Meshi - plainly cooked white rice. It is such a staple that the terms gohan and meshi are also used to refer meals in general, such as Asa gohan/meshi (breakfast), Hiru gohan/meshi (lunch), and Ban gohan/meshi (dinner). Some alternatives are:

• Genmai gohan - white rice cooked with brown rice
• Okowa - cooked glutinous rice
• Mugi gohan/meshi - white rice cooked with barley
• Soy-flavored raw egg (Tamago kake gohan), nori, and furikake are popular condiments in Japanese breakfast
• Ochazuke - hot green tea or dashi poured over cooked white rice, often with various savoury ingredients
• Onigiri - balls of rice with a filling in the middle. Japanese equivalent of sandwiches.
• Takikomi gohan - Japanese-style pilaf cooked with various ingredients and flavored with soy, dashi, etc.
• Kamameshi - rice topped with vegetables and chicken or seafood, then baked in an individual-sized pot
• Sekihan - red rice. white rice cooked with adzuki beans to Glutinous rice

• Kare Raisu (Japanese curry) - Introduced from UK in the late 19th century, kare-raisu is now one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Not as spicy as its Indian counterpart, and eaten with a spoon.
• Hayashi rice - thick beef stew on rice; origin of the name is unknown, but may be "hashed (beef) rice"
• Omurice (Omu-raisu オムライス) - omelette filled with fried rice, apparently originating from Tokyo

• Mochi - glutinous rice cake

Congee

• Kayu or Okayu - rice congee (porridge), sometimes egg dropped and usually served to infants and persons in ill as easily digestible meals
• Zosui (Zōsui) or Ojiya - a soup containing rice stewed in stock, often with egg, meat, seafood, vegetables or mushroom, and flavoured with miso or soy. Known as juushii in Okinawa. Some similarity to risotto and Kayu though Zosui uses cooked rice

Donburi

A one-bowl lunchtime dish, consisting of a donburi (big bowl}-full of hot steamed rice with various savory toppings:

• Katsudon - donburi topped with deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork (tonkatsudon), chicken (chickendon)
• Tekkadon - donburi topped with tuna sashimi
• Oyakodon - (Parent and Child) - donburi topped with chicken and egg (or sometimes salmon and salmon roe)
• Gyūdon - donburi topped with seasoned beef
• Tendon - donburi topped with tempura (battered shrimp and vegetables).
• Unadon - donburi topped with broiled eel with vegetables.

Sushi

Sushi is vinegared rice topped or mixed with various fresh ingredients, usually fish or seafood.

• Nigiri-zushi - This is sushi with the ingredients on top of a block of rice.
• Maki-zushi - Translated as "roll sushi," this is where rice and seafood or other ingredients are placed on a sheet of seaweed (nori) and rolled into a cylindrical shape on a bamboo mat and then cut into smaller pieces.
• Temaki - Basically the same as makizushi, except that the nori is rolled into a cone-shape with the ingredients placed inside.
• Chirashi - Translated as "scattered", chirashi involves fresh sea food, vegetables or other ingredients being placed on top of sushi rice in a bowl or dish.

Sake

Sake is usually considered as an equivalent to rice (gohanmono) in Japan and one of them is chosen as a "staple food" and not simultaneously taken except in case with Sushi.

Noodles (men-rui)

Noodles often take the place of rice in a meal. However, the Japanese appetite for rice is so strong that many restaurants even serve noodles-rice combination sets.

• Traditional Japanese noodles are usually served chilled with a dipping sauce, or in a hot soy-dashi broth.
  • Soba - thin brown buckwheat noodles. Also known as Nihon-soba ("Japanese soba"). In Okinawa, soba likely refers to Okinawa soba (see below).
  • Udon - thick wheat noodle served with various toppings, usually in a hot soy-dashi broth, or sometimes in a Japanese curry soup.
  • Somen - thin wheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce.

• Chinese-influenced noodles are served in a meat or chicken broth and have only appeared in the last 100 years or so.
  • Ramen - thin light yellow noodle served in hot chicken or pork broth with various toppings; of Chinese origin, it is a popular and common item in Japan. Also known as Shina-soba or Chuka-soba (both mean "Chinese soba")
  • Champon - yellow noodles of medium thickness served with a great variety of seafood and vegetable toppings in a hot chicken broth which originated in Nagasaki as a cheap food for students

• Okinawa soba - a thick wheat-flour noodle served in Okinawa, often served in a hot broth with sōki, steamed pork. Akin to a cross between udon and ramen.
• Yaki soba - Fried chinese noodles
• Yaki udon - Fried udon noodles

Bread (pan)

Bread (Pan deriv. from Portuguese Pão) is not native to Japan and is not considered traditional Japanese food, but since its introduction in the 19th century it has become common.

• Curry bread (karē pan) - deep fried bread filled with Japanese curry sauce.
• Anpan - sweet bun filled with red bean paste.
• Yakisoba-pan - bread roll sandwich with yakisoba (fried noodles and red pickled ginger) filling
• Katsu-sando - sandwich with tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) filling

Common Japanese main and side dishes (Okazu)

Deep-Fried dishes (Agemono)

• Korokke (croquette) - breaded and deep-fried patties, containing either mashed potato or white sauce mixed with minced meat, vegetables or seafood. Popular everyday food.
• Kushiage - skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep fried.
• Tempura - deep-fried vegetables or seafood in a light, distinctive batter.
• Tonkatsu - deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork (chicken versions are called chicken katsu).
• Karaage - bite-sized pieces of chicken (sometimes fish) floured and deep fried. Common izakaya food, also often available in convenience stores.

Grilled and pan-fried dishes (Yakimono)

• Gyoza - Chinese ravioli-dumplings (potstickers), usually filled with pork and vegetables and pan-fried
• Kushiyaki - skewers of meat and vegetables
• Okonomiyaki - savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients, flavoured with the likes of Worcestershire sauce or mayonnaise(see also Okonomiyaki restaurants)
• Takoyaki - a spherical, fried dumpling of batter with a piece of octopus inside. Popular street snack.
• Teriyaki - grilled, broiled, or pan-fried meat, fish, chicken or vegetables glazed with a sweetened soy sauce
• Unagi, including kabayaki - grilled and flavored eel.
• Yakitori - barbecued chicken skewers, usually served with beer
• Yakiniku - various bite-sized meat and offal (most often beef) barbecued, usually at the table. Including Korean bulgogi.
• Genghis Khan barbecue - barbecued lamb or mutton, with various seafoods and vegetables .
• Yakizakana - flame-grilled fish, often served with grated daikon. One of the most common dishes served at home.

Nabemono (one pot "steamboat" cooking)

• Shabu-shabu - hot pot with thinly sliced beef, vegetables, and tofu, cooked in a thin stock at the table and dipped in a soy or sesame-based dip before eating.
• Sukiyaki - thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, dashi, sugar, and sake. Participants cook at the table then dip food into their individual bowls of raw egg before eating it.
• Tecchiri - hot pot with blowfish and vegetables, a specialty of Osaka.
• Oden - surimi, boiled eggs, vegetables etc. simmered in a dashi stock. Common wintertime food and often available in convenience stores.
• Motsunabe - beef offal, chinese cabbage and various vegetables cooked in a light soup base.

Nimono (stewed dishes)

• Nikujaga - beef and potato stew, flavoured with sweet soy
• Nizakana - fish poached in sweet soy
• Kakuni - chunks of pork belly stewed in soy, mirin and sake with large pieces of daikon and whole boiled eggs. The Okinawan variation, using awamori, soy sauce and miso, is known as rafuti.
• sōki - Okinawan dish of pork stewed with bone

Itamemono (stir-fried dishes)

Stir-frying is not a native method of cooking in Japan, however mock-chinese stir fries such as yasai itame (stir fried vegetables) has been a staple in homes and canteens across Japan since the 1950's. Home grown stir fries include:

• Kinpira gobo - Thin sticks of Greater burdock (gobo) and other root vegetables stir-fried and braised in sweetened soy
• Chanpurū - A stir-fry from Okinawa, of vegetables, tofu, meat or seafood and sometimes egg. Many varieties, the most famous being gōyā chanpurū.

Sashimi

Sashimi is raw, thinly sliced foods served with a dipping sauce and simple garnishes; usually fish or shellfish served with soy sauce and wasabi. Less common variations include:

• Tataki - ei skipjack tuna or beef steak seared on the outside and sliced, or a finely chopped fish, spiced with the likes of chopped spring onions, ginger or garlic paste.
• Basashi - sliced horse meat, sometimes called Sakura is a regional speciality in certain areas such as Shinshu (Nagano, Gifu and Toyama prefectures) and Kumamoto. [1].
• Fugu - sliced poisonous pufferfish (sometimes lethal), a uniquely Japanese specialty. The chef responsible for preparing it must be licensed.
• Rebasashi - usually liver of calf, completely raw (rare version is called "aburi")
• Shikasashi - sliced deer meat, a rare delicacy in certain parts of Japan

Soups (suimono and shirumono)

• Miso soup - soup made with miso dissolved in dashi, usually containing two or three types of solid ingredients, such as seaweed, vegetables or tofu.
• Sumashijiru - a clear soup made with dashi and seafood
• Tonjiru - similar to Miso soup, except that pork is added to the ingredients
• Dangojiru - soup made with dumplings along with seaweed, tofu, lotus root, or any number of other vegetables and roots
• Zoni - soup containing mochi rice cakes along with various vegetables and often chicken

Pickled or salted foods

These foods are usually served in tiny portions, as a side dish to be eaten with white rice, to accompany sake or as a topping for rice porridges.

• Tsukemono - pickled vegetables, hundreds of varieties and served with most rice-based meals.
  • Umeboshi - small, pickled ume fruit. Usually red and very sour, often served with bento lunch boxes or as a filling for onigiri.
• Shiokara - salty fermented viscera.
• Tsukudani - Very small fish, shellfish or seaweed stewed in sweetened soy for preservation.
• Mentaiko - salt-cured pollock roe.
• Ikura - salt cured salmon caviar.

Miscellaneous

• Agedashi tofu - cubes of deep-fried silken tofu served in hot broth
• Edamame - boiled and salted pods of soybeans, eaten as a snack, often to accompany beer
• Bento or Obento - combination meal served in a wooden box, usually as a cold lunchbox
• Hiyayakko - chilled tofu with garnish
• Osechi - traditional foods eaten at New Year
• Natto - fermented soybeans, stringy like melted cheese, infamous for its strong smell and slippery texture. Often eaten for breakfast. Typically popular in Kanto but not elsewhere.
• Chawan mushi - meat (seafood and/or chicken) and vegetables boiled in egg custard
• Ohitashi - boiled greens such as spinach, chilled and flavoured with soy sauce, often with garnish.
• Sunomono - vegetables such as cucumber or wakame, or sometimes crab, marinated in rice vinegar
• Himono - dried fish, often aji (Japanese jack mackerel). Traditionally served for breakfast with rice, miso soup and pickles.

Chinmi

Regional delicacies

• An kimo
• Uni - Specifically salt-pickled sea urchin
• Karasumi
• Konowata

Sweets and Snacks (Okashi, Oyatsu)

see also Category:Japanese desserts and sweets

Wagashi - Japanese-style sweets

• Amanatto
• Anmitsu- a traditional Japanese dessert
• Anpan - bread with sweet bean paste in the center
• Dango - rice dumpling
• Ginbou
• Hanabiramochi
• Higashi
• Hoshigaki - Dried persimmon fruit
• Imagawayaki - also known as 'Taikoyaki' is a round Taiyaki and fillings are same
• Kakigori - shaved ice with syrup topping.
• Kompeito - crystal sugar candy
• Manju - sticky rice surrounding a sweet bean center
• Matsunoyuki
• Melonpan - a large, round bun which is a combination of regular dough beneath cookie dough, with a sweet filling in between. It often (but not always) contains a melon-flavored cream, and its general shape is said to resemble that of a melon.
• Mochi - steamed sweet rice pounded into a solid, sticky, and somewhat translucent mass
• Oshiruko - a warm, sweet red bean (an) soup with mochi - rice cake
• Uiro - a steamed cake made of rice flour
• Taiyaki - a fried, fish-shaped cake, usually with a sweet filling such as an - red bean paste

Dagashi - Old-fashioned Japanese-style sweets

• Karumetou - Brown sugar cake. Also called Karumeyaki
• Ramune - delicious soft drink, Marble soda
• Sosu Senbei - Thin wafers eaten with soy sauce
• Umaibou - Puffed corn food with various flavors

Yōgashi - Western-style sweets, but in Japan typically very light or spongy

• Kasutera - "Castella" Iberian-style sponge cake
• Mirucurepu - "mille crepe" - layered crepe

Other Snacks

See also List of Japanese snacks and Category:Japanese snack food

• Azuki Ice - vanilla flavored ice cream with sweet azuki beans
• Hello Panda
• Matcha Ice (Green tea ice cream) - green tea flavored ice cream
• Pocky
• Botan Rice Candy - a rice candy manufactured in Japan.

• Ice Cream - Goma (black sesame seed) and sweet potato are two common flavors of ice cream. Sometimes the green tea ice cream is swirled with sweet potato ice cream similar to the way chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream are served in America.

Tea and other drinks

Tea and non-alcoholic beverages

Sea also Japanese green teas and Japanese drinks

• Sencha - steam treated green tea leaves then dried
• Matcha - powdered green tea
• Hojicha - green tea roasted over charcoal
• Genmaicha - green tea combined with roasted brown rice
• Kombucha (tea) - a tea poured with Kombu giving rich flavor in monosodium glutamate
• Umecha - a tea drink with Umeboshi giving refreshing sourness
• Mugicha - barley tea, served chilled during summer
• Amazake
• Soft drinks
  • Calpis
  • Pocari Sweat
  • Ramune
  • Yakult

Alcoholic beverages

• Sake
• Shochu
• Awamori
• Umeshu

Japanese influence on other cuisines

United States

Teppanyaki (hibachi) is said to be an American invention, as is the California roll (not to mention the New Mexico and Philadelphia rolls), and while the former has been well received in Japan as a novelty, the latter have not and have, at worst, been termed not sushi by the Japanese. In Japan, however, a particular restaurant (still operating) in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo is widely credited with having first developed the concept of teppanyaki during the post war period. 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

Japan has incorporated imported food 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, whilst the food of Northen European countries and the US is generally held in quite poor regard. Historically, foods such as castella and bread were originally imported from Portugal, and the name pan for bread is a loanword from Portuguese.

Many imported foods are made suitable for the Japanese palate by reducing the amount of spice used or changing a part of a recipe. Similarly, Japanese pizza may have toppings such as sliced boiled eggs, pineapple, sweetcorn, nori, and mayonnaise instead of tomato sauce. Shrimp, squid and other seafood excluded in the US is often retained in Japan, just as in other parts of the world.

Foods from other countries vary in their authenticity. Many Italian dishes are changed, however Japanese chefs have preserved many Italian seafood oriented dishes that are forgotten in other countries. These include pasta with prawns, lobster (an Italian specialty known in Italy as pasta arragosta), crab (another Italian specialty, in Japan is served with a different species of crab) and pasta with sea urchin sauce (the sea urchin pasta being a specialty of the Puglia region of Italy).

Examples of changed imported cuisine include:

• Spaghetti with mentaiko sauce topped with seaweed, or made with tomato ketchup, weiners, sliced onion and green pepper (called 'neapolitan')
• Japanese-only "Chinese dishes" like Ebi Chili (shrimp in a tangy and slightly spicy sauce)
• Barbecue that is unflavored and is dipped in sauce before eating for flavor
• Kimchi is a popular pickle in Japan. Japanese Kimchi is thinner than Korean Kimchi.

• Usage of Japanese rice instead of indigenous rice (in dishes from Thailand, India, Italy, etc.) or including it in dishes when originally it would not be eaten with (in dishes like hamburger, steak, omelettes, etc.).

The Japanese often eat at hamburger chains such as McDonald's, First Kitchen, Lotteria or Mos Burger, a popular competitor. Other fast-food establishments are similarly popular. These include doughnut and ice cream shops. Okinawa has a chain of A&W drive-in restaurants featuring the company's root beer. The Japanese also alter American-style fast-food, serving such items as green-tea milkshakes and fried shrimp burgers at chains like Lotteria.

In Tokyo, it is quite easy to find restaurants serving authentic foreign cuisine. However, in most of the country, 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, usually either frosted or chocolate flavored. "Italian restaurants" also tend to only have pizza and pasta in their menus. Interestingly for Italian visitors, the cheaper Italian places in Japan tend to serve the American version of Italian foods, which often vary wildly from the version you might find in Italy or in other countries.

Washoku and yōshoku

Imported cuisines and foods from America and Europe are called yōshoku (洋食), a shortened form of seiyōshoku (西洋食) lit. Western cuisine. Japanese cuisine is called washoku (和食), lit. Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine is called Chūkaryōri (中華料理), lit. 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 yōshoku 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 only vaguely resembles the original Indian dish. Another example is "Hamburg steak", which is a ground beef patty, usually mixed with breadcrumbs and fried chopped onions, served with a side of white rice and vegetables. Restaurants that serve these foods are called yōshokuya (洋食屋), lit. Western cuisine restaurants. However, yōshoku 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. Another food, like tempura, that is now considered washoku is sōmen. Tonkatsu is another food introduced by the Portuguese in the same period.

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 wrapped in dough and deep fried, making kare pan, curry bread. Curry is often eaten with pickled vegetables called fukujinzuke or rakkyo. Other recipes are so exotic by any standard that they remain a local cuisine. Anmitsu (あんみつ), a dish of cream, bean jam, ice cream, and fruits is often served as a dessert in restaurants.

See also

• Ainu cuisine
• List of Japanese cooking utensils
• Iron Chef
• Japanese culture
• cuisine
• Cooking
• List of recipes
• Shōkadō bentō
• Japanese New Year
• List of Japanese snack food
• Japanese Biscuits
• Japanese Dining Etiquette

References

• Hosking, Richard (1995). A Dictionary of Japanese Food. Tuttle. ISBN 0-8048-2042-2.
• Kumakura, Isao (1999). "Table Manners Then and Now". Japan Echo 27 (1).
• Tsuji, Shizuo (1980). Japanese cooking: A simple Art. New York: Kodansha International/USA.

External links

• Eat-Japan is a site dedicated to Japanese food and culture, with recipes, an illustrated sushi making guide, bookshop and much more besides.
• Japanese Cooking on Chefs.com has articles and recipes about Japanese cooking.
• Yasuko-san's Home Cooking gives a personal view of traditional recipes and traditional Japanese food.
• Mark Hutchenreuther's Sushi Page. The original and one of the most complete sushi-making guides for westerners.
• A Japanese Cookbook for Kids has very authentic Japanese dishes (like miso soup) suitable for children to prepare.
• Japanese Food - Japanese Lifestyle detailed information on Japanese food, including Japanese recipes and encyclopaedia of Japanese Food.
• Bob & Angie's Japanese Cooking. A site originally hosted by Osaka Gas Company, Bob & Angie's has recipes, cooking advice, information about Japanese ingredients, and much more. No longer updated, but full of useful information.
• Kikkoman Food Forum.
• Hiroko's Kitchen. Web site of world-famous author, Hiroko Shimbo, author of The Japanese Kitchen (2001). Harvard Common Press.
• Japanese cuisine basic techniques - Step by step instructions from the Tsuji cooking academy.
• Japanese Recipes on CookBookWiki.com
• The Sushi FAQ - (the alt.food.sushi Usenet group FAQ) at SushiFAQ.com
• Japanese recipes