Thoughts on “Japanese” food
It’s funny how so many of the foods eaten by the Japanese on a daily basis aren’t very Japanese at all.
Sure, people here eat plenty of things that are associated closely with Japan, like soba and udon noodles, sushi and sashimi, or donburi (”big bowl”) dishes like gyudon (beef bowl) or oyakodon, the “parent and child” rice bowl consisting of chicken and egg cooked together and put over rice, but there are many non-Japanese foods consumed here, too.
Of course, there are many dishes that have been imported from China, like gyoza (pot stickers) or ramen, although the Japanese don’t consider the stir-fried yakisoba noodles to be Chinese in origin, much as they look like chow mein to me.
The Japanese have internalized foods from many other countries, including Italian spaghetti, French croquettes (which go so well with that Japanese tonkatsu sauce) or American “hamburg steak” (steak made from ground beef).
The single most popular food in Japan might just be that ubiquitous curry rice, the thick curry sauce served over steaming rice, which was imported from India via Britain during the Meiji Era. We probably eat it 4-5 times a week at our house.
My favorite Japanese food is katsu kare, which no Japanese person considers to be Japanese food at all, and yet it is only available here.
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:32 pmhow about Japanese Black Truffle,(T. indicum)…Dan?
remora
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:43 pmIn Taiwan, ramen (or “lamian”) is thought of as being a Japanese dish.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:48 amForeigners may believe Japanese eat Sushi or Gyuudon everyday, however they don’t. Curry Rice and Ramen are probably the most popular food in Japan.
In Kansai, Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki are as popular as Curry Rice and Ramen. I mostly eat Tofu, Natto and Soba.
August 24th, 2008 at 11:57 amTofuUnion’s use of the term “foreigner” here got me thinking about the term gaijin.
The term “foreigner” is relative. A Frenchman reads it as referring to everyone who is not French, a German reads it as referring to everyone who is not German (including the French), and so on. Considering the global readership of JAPUNDIT, it could be said that “foreigner” is a confusing term.
Of course, there are English work-arounds (non-Japanese, people who are not Japanese, etc.) that could be substituded. However, isn’t the term gaijin (or the gaikokujin mot du jour that has been declared acceptable by the busybodies who make declarations concerning such things) much more precise and concise in that it refers unambiguously to people who are not Japanese with a single word?
Gaijin. . . Concise and precise. What more could you ask for in a word?
August 24th, 2008 at 3:31 pmTo me, the English word ‘foreigner’ is relative to a place. Something outside the country being discussed is ‘foreign’, as a person who is not in his ‘own’ country is a foreigner (for the most part). So when I’m in England, I’m not a foreigner. Elsewhere I am.
The words ‘gaijin’ and ‘gaikokujin’ are relative to the Japanese people. Hence Japanese people don’t think it’s strange to calls Italians in Italy ‘gaijin’. And the Japanese themselves can never be gaijin, no matter where in the world they are.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:36 pmFood alone is not the only thing that gets imported. Look at Budhism, that came from India quite a long time ago. Japan is not unique in having things imported to it. All cultures across the world have influenced each other. Are fish eggs unique to Japan and Russia? I don’t think so. The Japanese love good food. Curry is an excellent dish. I’ve had some of the best curry in my life in Japan but the best curry I’ve had has been home made by my Japanese wife.
August 24th, 2008 at 8:10 pm