By Ken Albala, PhD, University of the Pacific
Japan is a very different, very rapidly changing nation—especially in terms of its food. Even sushi in its original form used to be quite different from what it is today.
Outside Influences of Japanese Cuisine
Put out of your mind any preconceived notions about what Japanese cuisine is. Don’t think about a Japanese steakhouse at all—beef was only introduced in the last two centuries or so.
Even tempura, a popular dish, has its origin from a Portuguese word. It refers to the time or rather quatuor tempora or ember days, which was a religious fast when the people couldn’t eat meat, so they consumed fish. Typically, the Portuguese would fry their fish in batter.
The Portuguese introduced the method in the 16th century, and tempura remained long after they were kicked out, along with a whole slew of other foods introduced by the Portuguese: kasutera, which is a Castilla, a kind of yellow sponge cake from Spain (Castile); or konpeito, which are confections (candies); karumera, or caramels.
This is a transcript from the video series A Cultural Culinary History. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
Even soy sauce was only introduced in the last century or so. It is a Chinese invention that the Japanese seem to have perfected, but it is one example of the many things that were brought over in the past few hundred years.
Sapporo is a great beer, but it is influenced by German people. Influences also go both ways. You may be surprised to learn the Japanese are now the nation on earth with the highest per capita consumption of mayonnaise. Japan’s culture is a very different, very rapidly changing place today, especially in terms of food.
The most important of these is rice, which only arrived in Japan at the end of the Neolithic Period, about 2,400 years ago with immigrants that came from the mainland.
Many of Japan’s cultural and even culinary traditions came from China and Korea in particular. The most important of these is rice, which only arrived in Japan at the end of the Neolithic Period, about 2,400 years ago, with immigrants that came from the mainland.
Before that, in the Jomon Era, the Japanese were still hunters and gatherers. The original inhabitants (Ainu) were Caucasian; they had long beards and very light-colored hair. Their descendants actually still exist in small numbers; most of them are probably of mixed descent and still reside in the mountains.
Asiatic peoples came later from the continent, bringing with them rice and metal tools; and then suddenly, like everywhere else, the population rose.
Learn more about the transition to agriculture
Rice and Noodles in Japanese Cuisine
The variety of rice introduced was short-grained, sticky, and is relatively sweet. To this day, the Japanese don’t generally eat long-grain rice. Much of their cuisine is based on the tactile quality of the rice that they use and the fact that it sticks together, making it easy to pick it up with a chopstick.
The respect and reverence afforded to rice is so great that it is not flavored or seasoned with spices or sauces: It is always white and boiled. Other foods may be added on top of rice, but the rice should be pure and bland to start with. This is a kind of respect for the natural flavor and aroma that the rice has on its own, as nature made it.
The only traditional preparation that alters the rice dramatically is mochi, little rice cakes that are made by pounding steamed glutinous rice with huge hammers. The idea here is to concentrate the pure spirit of the rice and in making it purer, it is an intensification; mochi is one of those foods you consume on New Year’s, as it is a very important festival.
Much the same can be said about sake. Even though it is thought of as a corruption of rice, it is considered raising it to a finer and more spiritual level. Sake plays an important role in religious festivals: It is the food of the gods in the Shinto religion—it is essential in the coronation of the emperor.
Rice is, indisputably, the central staple, and is even made into noodles, another technology introduced from China in the 8th century. Later noodles made from flour were introduced (the udon—popular in Western Japan), and then buckwheat (soba) was introduced in the 14th and 15th centuries. They were especially popular in the 17th century, the Edo Period in Eastern Japan (or now Tokyo). Ramen is a much more recent invention—proper, fresh ramen noodles, not the instant noodles in grocery stores. Starch was usually rice or noodles, which form the substructure of Japanese cuisine.
Learn more about the traditions of vegetarianism in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism
Fish Dishes in Japan
What else was eaten? Their entire cuisine was based on fish, and only strict Buddhist monks avoided fish. Here, the topography works perfectly to their advantage.
Japan is surrounded by water; therefore, you’re never very far from the sea. The ideal became fish that was as fresh as could be found—unlike Europe, where most of the fish was salted, pickled, or preserved in some way.
In Europe, only the very wealthy could afford fresh fish. In Japan, even far from the coast, people wanted fresh fish, no matter if it had to be freshwater fish. The simpler the better; there’s a saying:
“Eat it raw first, then grill it, and boil it as a last resort.” The idea is you don’t want to ruin the flavor of the fish. The raw fish, of course, was cut in thin slices (namasu); this preparation has always been eaten in Japan.
The practice of dipping what we now call sashimi in soy sauce with wasabi is a 17th-century invention; the act serves to mask the pure flavors of the fish, especially if you’re talking about something very delicate.
Sushi, in its original form, started as a way to preserve the fish for several years. Click To TweetSushi, in its original form Nare-Zushi, was very different from what it is today. It began as a way to preserve the fish for several years.
A bite-sized piece, or sometimes what looks like a little goldfish, was salted and then rolled in rice flavored with vinegar, and then left to cure. After it is preserved, the soured bacterially-attacked decomposed rice was wiped off and then the fish was preserved for consumption.
Learn more about how the Italian Renaissance brought a new aesthetic approach to cookery
In the 15th century, there developed a much quicker way to ferment the fish, and then the rice could be eaten as well; after that, unfermented sushi with raw fish came in the Edo Period.
In the 18th century, people began to compete in very interesting, novel ways of preparing food. Japanese cuisine saw the creation of hand-rolled Nigiri sushi and it was served at a kind of restaurant as a sort of fast food.
Staples of Japanese Cuisine
There is also a slew of vegetables: Daikon radish is probably the one most familiar to you, cut into impossibly thin sticks. If you’ve seen someone do this, it is amazing.
The Daikon is sliced with a long knife and as it is sliced, it is turned, and we get this long, thin ribbon cut from the root with this very narrow blade, and then that’s sliced and cut into tiny little sticks. Daikon can also be pickled yellow.
Pickling is popular in traditional Japanese cooking, but it is usually very simple salt fermentation; it is not vinegar cured with dill and garlic like a traditional cucumber pickle. The pickles come at the end of a Japanese meal, and they contrast with the blander flavor of rice.
Start with mild flavors and you build up to stronger ones. The practice in Japanese restaurants in the US is to start with miso soup because Americans prefer to drink soup at the beginning. This makes no sense in Japanese cuisine; in Japan, soup always comes at the end because of its strong flavor.
Our practice of starting with sour pickles as an appetizer also makes little sense. Other important vegetables are gourds, dried and cut into long strips; mushrooms, like the shiitake (a unique Japanese cultivar) and matsutake.
Learn more about the traditional Japanese reverence for nature as reflected in their respect for the natural flavors
Soybeans are also clearly central. They’re eaten boiled and cold as edamame. They’re made into tofu, which was introduced from China in about the 11th century and, for Buddhist monks, serve as a wonderful source of protein.
Soy is also made into miso paste, which is a fermented, storable seasoning for boiled dishes, for soup, and it is kind of a universal flavoring also. It is made by boiling and mashing the beans and then introducing a fungus that grows on rice grains—known as Aspergillus oryzae, called koji in Japanese—and salt, and it is left to mature for about a year or so.
There are dozens of different types, some of them very expensive, some only made by some local craftsmen in one locality. The Japanese appreciate the subtle differences in miso—between yellow and white miso, and red miso—similar to the way Europeans obsess over wine.
Some Miso is considered very bland and good for children, and then there are dark, pungent, salty ones. The Japanese have been making miso since the 8th century.
The Japanese have a theory of five basic flavors: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami. Click To TweetOf course, there’s also shoyu or soy sauce. That’s a relative newcomer; it began to be manufactured on a commercial level in the 16th century. Today it is the most important seasoning, going into about 70% of all Japanese dishes. Along with that, there’s mirin—a sweetened kind of sake, and then all sorts of sauces made with soy, vinegar, and citrus, like ponzu.
The Japanese have a theory of five basic flavors: There’s not just salty, sour, sweet, and bitter, but there’s another one called umami that might be translated as “meaty”, “savory”, or “mushroom flavor.” Glutamates are what causes it; but you find it in a whole range of foods, especially soy sauce.
Japanese cuisine is much more than what is found in traditional steakhouses in America. Armed with this knowledge, an occasional dabbler can enjoy the rich complexity gained from many influences over the centuries into Japan’s culinary culture.
Common Questions About Japanese Cuisine
The Japanese love sushi and sashimi, of course. Ramen is hugely traditional and popular, as well as miso soup.
No. In Japan, it is largely considered rude to the chef or host to leave food behind on the plate.
Two dishes are considered the national foods of Japan: sushi and rice with curry.
A traditional Japanese breakfast always consists of rice and miso soup. Generally there will be some type of protein and perhaps a few side dishes.
