Japanese Food
The Japanese mastery of ingredients..
Japanese Food The Japanese are masters at painting a picture of flavour taking the main ingredient and building colour, flavour and texture through the subtlety of Japanese food.The chosen accompaniments are usually delicate so as not to overwhelm the main ingredient but to build a flavour profile to be enjoyed and amazed at
We are all familiar with many items of Japanese food, such as sushi, tempura, ramen and soba noodles and some of us have been lucky enough to sample the flavour and delicacy of true Kobe beef or the famous Hide Beef from the highlands. The two types of beef have extreme marbling of fat through the meat and are a highlight of Japanese food.
But there is so much more to Japanese food, and to attend a Kai seki banquet is one way of exploring many styles, techniques and flavours of unknown Japanese food. These are very common in Japan in the traditional houses and a Kai Seki will consist of 5 to 15 small courses presenting very delicate dishes.
The Japanese are also masters at presentation and each dish is meticulously set out on a specially chosen dish and garnished either simply or elaborately as the dish requires. It is quite an art which will always extend to the shop window to showcase presentation skills and entice passersby with their skills of the intricacies of Japanese food.
We are all familiar with many items of Japanese food, such as sushi, tempura, ramen and soba noodles and some of us have been lucky enough to sample the flavour and delicacy of true Kobe beef or the famous Hide Beef from the highlands. The two types of beef have extreme marbling of fat through the meat and are a highlight of Japanese food.
But there is so much more to Japanese food, and to attend a Kai seki banquet is one way of exploring many styles, techniques and flavours of unknown Japanese food. These are very common in Japan in the traditional houses and a Kai Seki will consist of 5 to 15 small courses presenting very delicate dishes.
The Japanese are also masters at presentation and each dish is meticulously set out on a specially chosen dish and garnished either simply or elaborately as the dish requires. It is quite an art which will always extend to the shop window to showcase presentation skills and entice passersby with their skills of the intricacies of Japanese food.
Sushi,The worlds favourite.
Lets start with Sushi, the most popular of all Japanese food,People assume that raw fish on its own is sushi, sashimi is the raw fish and sushi can be any dish made with the special vinegared rice referred to as chirasai,Today Sushi is recognized as a Japanese food, it originated in 7th century China as a means of preserving fish in barrels, layering the fresh fish between layers of salted rice.
In the 1800s, Sushi was made using a process that involved pressing fish in between layers of salt and leaving it for months to ferment. This process is known as narezushi, or “edomaezushi”, which is still used in some restaurants in Japan but known now as its shortened version of the word “Edo”Unlike the Sushi eaten today, Edo [ named after Edo the former ancient capital of Japan from where the fish was caught] was formed in a ball of rice with a slice of the fish. When it came time to eat narezushi, the rice ball was thrown out and only the fish eaten.
Today, narezushi is very difficult to find outside of Japan in that it has a unique taste not usually appreciated by Westerners. Eventually, a food shortage in Japan changed the way in which sushi was made. Rather than throw the rice out, it was now eaten along with the fish. As the fermentation process was shortened the Japanese found it an advantage to add vinegar which gave the rice a flavour the people loved.
Sushi is now popular outside Japan as well as in Japan, found in bento boxes, sushi train restaurants and as part of any course of a typical Japanese meal. Sushi with the addition of seaweed and other ingredients to make it more attractive and appetizing and taking years of trainng in Japan to become a true Sushi master and elevating this Japanese food to an culinary art form.
In the 1800s, Sushi was made using a process that involved pressing fish in between layers of salt and leaving it for months to ferment. This process is known as narezushi, or “edomaezushi”, which is still used in some restaurants in Japan but known now as its shortened version of the word “Edo”Unlike the Sushi eaten today, Edo [ named after Edo the former ancient capital of Japan from where the fish was caught] was formed in a ball of rice with a slice of the fish. When it came time to eat narezushi, the rice ball was thrown out and only the fish eaten.
Today, narezushi is very difficult to find outside of Japan in that it has a unique taste not usually appreciated by Westerners. Eventually, a food shortage in Japan changed the way in which sushi was made. Rather than throw the rice out, it was now eaten along with the fish. As the fermentation process was shortened the Japanese found it an advantage to add vinegar which gave the rice a flavour the people loved.
Sushi is now popular outside Japan as well as in Japan, found in bento boxes, sushi train restaurants and as part of any course of a typical Japanese meal. Sushi with the addition of seaweed and other ingredients to make it more attractive and appetizing and taking years of trainng in Japan to become a true Sushi master and elevating this Japanese food to an culinary art form.
