Japanese cuisine is food for people who want to live long. Food from Japan all over the world is the standard of good nutrition. One of the reasons for the long closure of the Land of the Rising Sun from the world is its geography. She in many ways determined the uniqueness of the nutrition of its inhabitants. What is the name of Japanese food? What is its originality? Learn from the article!
Japanese food is originality not so much in the ingredients of each dish as in the centuries-old cooking and serving methods. Attention to detail is the main secret and distinguishing feature of Japanese cuisine. Every nuance, ritual and rule is important. Japanese food is prepared exclusively from fresh products, so each dish is part of the natural cycle, a continuation of the thought of the eternal change of season.
Serving and serving meals
Probably, no one in the world’s cuisine pays so much attention to serving dishes and table setting, as in Japanese. Beauty and minimalism - this is the combination that traditional tableware possesses, diverse in shape, materials and sizes. Japanese food has the same qualities as tableware: the most striking example is sushi and sashimi and their decorations - leaves, flowers, grass. Each plate of Japanese delicacies is a real masterpiece.
Japanese food
The change of seasons is instantly reflected on the table of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun. After heat treatment and preparation, each ingredient is required to maintain its natural texture and color. The aroma is only emphasized by numerous spices and seasonings.
Japanese cuisine is characterized by preserving the taste of vegetables, fish, meat, fruits, seafood, tofu and other products in a natural way.
The main seasonings are soy sauce and miso, which are made using traditional technology. They vary in color and taste, existing in three main versions.
Japanese food is primarily rice. It is the main ingredient in the cuisine of the Land of the Rising Sun and is part of most dishes.
About 150 years ago, the inhabitants of Japan were afraid to eat meat products. Their modern cuisine is still mainly based on seafood and dishes made from soya bean products such as yuba, tofu, natto, miso soup and soy sauce.
A significant role in Japanese cooking is played by fresh ingredients. For example, vegetables, seafood and mushrooms, the set of which depends on the time of year outside the window. In addition, in each of the regions of Japan there are local dishes, which can also be tasted in Tokyo.
Japanese food, whose names are often very difficult to remember and pronounce, is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. Now we will talk more about those dishes that are happy to eat in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Main dishes
Japanese food, the list of which is very diverse, despite a very limited set of ingredients, will appeal to many gourmets and just lovers of the exotic. The cuisine of this country has thousands of recipes that differ from each other. Let's talk about some of them.
Udon is a type of wheat noodle that does not use an egg. In most cases, udon is served hot, like noodle soup in a broth.
Soba is a greyish-brown buckwheat noodle. Most often served cold without broth.
Sushi is a traditional dish of the Land of the Rising Sun, which is prepared from various seafood and rice.
Sashimi, or sashimi, is one of the national dishes of Japanese cuisine. Under this "scary" name lies nothing more than a fillet of various varieties of fish, which are cut into small pieces. Other seafood is sometimes used. The fish is subjected to minimal heat treatment or served raw. Served with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce.
Miso soup is a national dish of Japanese cuisine. It is made from wakame seaweed, onion, miso (soya paste) and aburaage.
A Japanese dish of chicken pieces, along with the entrails that were fried over coals on bamboo skewers, is yakitori. This dish is served either with salt alone or with tare sauce, which is made from soy sauce, sugar and mirin. In this case, the meat is poured with sauce, fried until tender, and then served, poured with the same sauce. Sometimes this dish is served with lemon juice. Yakitori is a very popular Japanese dish.
Snacks
Japan snacks are also very diverse.
A dish very popular in the Land of the Rising Sun - takoyaki - is made from a piece of octopus and batter. The appetizer is fried in a special pan, which has hemispherical recesses.
Takuan is an equally popular traditional snack in Japan. It is prepared from daikon radish.
Seasonings
European chefs add spices and herbs to the dish during its preparation. And the culinary specialists of Japan use them only so that the finished dish acquires additional taste or aromatic shades. You can sprinkle food with spices, or you can add them to dipping sauce.
The most famous seasonings of the Land of the Rising Sun are ginger, wasabi and siso. In addition to them, Japanese chefs also use a variety of wild herbs called sansai. Each of them is distinguished by its unique taste and aromatic qualities.
Gary is a variety of pickled vegetables - tsukemono. This is young ginger, sliced into thin slices, marinated with sugar and vinegar.
Gary has a peculiar pungent taste, which is often associated with perfumery. It is usually served with sushi and soy sauce and wasabi. Gary is necessary in order to interrupt the aftertaste after the transition from one type of land to another. There is no need to eat a lot of ginger or burning - a small piece is enough. In addition, you can use a piece of ginger as a brush in order to grease sushi with soy sauce.
desserts
Japanese food for children - first of all, of course, desserts and sweets. Culinary specialists of the Land of the Rising Sun prepare sweets from various berries, fruits, nuts, as well as milk and dairy products. Rice in Japan is used even for desserts.
Dessert is served without sugar green tea. This drink gives you the opportunity to enjoy the taste of sweets, revealing it fully.
One of the most popular desserts in Japan is wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets. In their preparation using exclusively fresh natural ingredients such as legumes, rice, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, a variety of herbs and teas.
The drinks
Residents of the Land of the Rising Sun are very fond of various fruit and berry and soft drinks. But the obligatory and most beloved here is undoubtedly tea. In Japan, this drink is not brewed at all in small and pot-bellied teapots, but right in the mugs, from where they drink.
Tea pots from Japan claim that the best time to drink tea is the moment a few minutes after brewing a drink. Then, when the twisted tea leaves straighten out and the tea picks up taste. The latter can be judged by the color of the drink: greenish-brown.
Japanese powder food
This is a recent invention of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun. A food set consists of ingredients in the form of a powder. So, for example, wafers with jam look like a bag of contents that needs to be diluted with water to make dough and jam of different tastes. In addition, there are molds for baking waffles. Japanese powder food is an alternative to fast food in other countries of the world.