Centuries of history and culture have realized the traditional foods of Japan. Like any other part of the world, the food traditions in Japan is inspired by the people’s way of life. Japanese cuisine has quickly gained popularity across the globe, making way into big restaurants miles away from Japan. The Japanese cuisine is otherwise known as the “Washoku” and has shown great significance and impact in Japan and the world across.
Technically, the Washoku is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes. If you are unfamiliar with the Japanese Cuisine, here are 8 things you need to know about the meal:
Japanese Cuisine is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Japanese food has become very popular so much that it made it to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In fact, it is one of three national food traditions that has been recognized for this category, with the other two being French food, and Mexican cuisine.
Drink Miso Soup Straight out of the Bowl
Miso soup makes a great component of Japanese Cuisine. The soup features several ingredients, for example, seaweed and tofu pieces. The ingredients are mixed with dissolved fermented soybean paste. Typically, the miso soup will be served as the first dish for the Japanese dinner you order. To enjoy it like a Japanese, drink the soup straight out of the bowl, instead of using a soup spoon. From there you can use the chopsticks to collect the solid pieces of the soup, including the small pieces of tofu.
Raw food
If you have never once tasted Japanese Cuisine, then you must first be aware of its nature. A lot of the meats in the cuisine are served raw. As a matter of fact, any food that is served with sushi is raw. In sashimi, the meat pieces are cut into very thin slices to compose the dish.
Sashimi Is Not Always Fish
A Japanese Cuisine will present you with Sashimi, which in most cases, features raw pieces of fish, including different types of sushi. However, although it is common to have salmon or tuna served as sashimi, it is not always that the dish with have fish. Sometimes, the meal can be some types of meat served as raw sashimi. If you are not a lover of fish, for example, you can find sashimi that features deer or horse meat.
Rice is a big part of the dishes
In Japan, rice can pretty much be served at any time of the day. It is normal to eat rice several times a day. There are different types of rice for Japanese cuisine. Some of them include Kare raisu, Kayu rice, fried rice, and Donburi. A typical complete Japanese dish consists of rice, served alongside a type of meat.
Don’t Dip Sushi Rice in Soy Sauce
Most customers in restaurants will order Japanese cuisine and have it wrong when eating. Ideally, it is very tempting to sushi rice into the soy sauce. However, this is not a good idea because the soy sauce will ruin the texture of the rice and not quite allow you the full experience of the dish. The soy sauce can quickly overpower the flavors of the sushi, and ruin your whole experience.
Spices and Seasoning
The spices used in Japanese cuisine make the difference between these dishes and all others. Technically, the seasonal ingredients make the Japanese cuisine timeless. Professional chefs carefully consider the different seasons of the year when picking out ingredients. This way, the dishes are prime with flavors representative of the time of the year. It is also a strategy to ensure that the dishes prepared are fresh at all times.
Simplicity
The Japanese cuisine prides itself for simplicity. The trick is in the small portions that are rich in flavor.
