Not a single dish in Japanese cuisine is complete without rice. This cereal is very common in the country of the rising sun and is loved by the inhabitants of this state. But the most interesting thing is that the Japanese prefer to cook and use only their own - Japanese rice.
Maki Maki restaurants offer their customers a variety of rice dishes on the page. .
Varieties
In the modern world there are a huge number of different varieties of rice. However, they are all combined into three main types:
- Japanese;
- Indian;
- Javanese.
The grains of Japanese rice are shortened and have a rather high content of starch, amylopectin and amylose, which give the cereal stickiness and a unique jelly-like texture. The Indian is long and does not stick together during cooking. The Javanese variety has oblong grains and is characterized by increased friability.
Story
For the first time in Japan, rice appeared in the III century BC. He was brought from the Korean Peninsula. In those days, famine began in Japan, as stocks of game came to an end, and people began to die out. And then rice appeared on the Japanese archipelago, which became a kind of savior of the Japanese people, both in terms of nutrition and in terms of the demographic problem.
After some time, it has become the basis of the welfare of the country. With this cereal, taxes were collected, and salaries were paid to officials.
Role in japan
Rice is a symbol of the country and the soul of the whole nation. Since ancient times, it is believed that if rice is well spike, it means - everything else is also good. Every year, the monarch himself transplanted rice seedlings to his imperial field. Even during World War II, soldiers were given boxes to commemorate their homeland. They had rice and a red plum in the middle.
Also, this cereal is the main offering to the souls of the departed. And the daughter-in-law can become a full-fledged mistress in the house only after the mother-in-law gives her a special spatula for laying rice - shamoji. The Japanese still worship Hatake no Kamisama - the spirit of the rice field - one of the main deities. And what is most exciting and incredible - sumo - is not just a fight, but a ritual that is dedicated to the spirit of the rice field.
Expensive, but image is more important
Despite the fact that the cost of rice in Japan is very high, the government does not stop financing this industry. And all because of nationally prestigious considerations, because Japanese rice is the best in the world and the inhabitants of the country eat it daily. Here the words food and rice are inseparable and united in one word - gohan.