China people take rice as the staple food, supplemented by wheat. Although there are differences between the north and the south, the main trend remains unchanged. Europeans and Americans take fish, meat, cattle and vegetables as the staple food, supplemented by bread, noodles and rice; The Japanese are mainly rice and wheat. The climate, geographical environment, heat and humidity in each region are all important conditions that affect the survival of crops. So it is reasonable to form different eating habits.

China has a vast territory and abundant natural resources. The inland is not affected by the coastal monsoon, but it is very suitable for planting rice. However, in the north, due to the cold weather, rice can't be harvested every year, so people plant wheat to make up for the food shortage in the cold winter. However, European and American countries are flat, located by the sea, greatly influenced by the ocean, rich in precipitation, fertile soil and delicious grass, which are most suitable for grazing, and naturally form the habit of taking meat as the staple food today.

Look at Japan's topography, which is surrounded by the sea and influenced by the ocean. It is very suitable for planting rice, but the mountains in Japan are uneven, so it is very difficult to grow rice. The surrounding oceans have brought rich aquatic resources to Japan, and their people love it very much. Although the Japanese have always taken rice as their staple food, the proportion of rice has been less than 5% for centuries.

First, several stresses on Japanese diet

Advocacy for original flavor and sensitivity to seasons. Most of the soil in China is inland and not adjacent to the ocean. The inland is less affected by the humidity of the ocean, and the four seasons in many places are not distinct and have low sensitivity to the seasons. Therefore, in our food culture, there are few original flavors. We add a lot of seasonings and cook at high temperature, and the original flavor has already disappeared.

unlike the environment in China, Japan, surrounded by the sea, has the richest aquatic products in the world. At the same time, it is deeply influenced by the warm current and cold current from the ocean, and the four seasons change clearly, which makes the Japanese people very sensitive to the subtle changes in climate. The same sensitivity is also used in diet.

Even now, the influence of seasonal changes is getting smaller and smaller, and people's sensitivity to seasons is decreasing year by year, but their attitude towards seasons can still be seen in dishes: delicate cherry blossoms are served on the plates in spring, grapefruit is placed in summer, osmanthus is placed in autumn, and peach blossoms are placed in winter. Commemorate the change of seasons in this way.

Japanese people seldom use seasonings and do not cook at high temperature. They carefully protect the original taste of food.

It is said that before the 17th century, the Japanese were particularly scarce in domestic spices, and the maritime trade was underdeveloped. Therefore, spices and seasonings were not used in daily cooking, which formed the Japanese's meticulous taste of food, and naturally they hoped to keep it original, and this habit has been handed down all the time.

Japanese chefs have two important principles: good knife skills and a pair of chopsticks.

Especially when making sushi and sashimi, a famous knife is very good. The division of knives in Japan is very fine, including kitchen knife, willow-edged knife, octopus knife, puffer fish knife, tuna knife and so on. Each knife has its unique use, even in European and American countries with fine division of labor, it can't reach this level at all.

Japanese cuisine is famous for its original flavor, but this single method is also a big drawback.

With the food import from Europe, America, China and other regions, the eating habits of a new generation of teenagers have undergone subtle changes. Even though Japan's diet is in line with its own, it has a single taste, and many fish are eaten without cooking, with a strong smell. Many foreign tourists and even local people are not used to it. Even if ginger is added, the sterilization effect is not very good, and many people who are not used to it will cause some adverse reactions.

Japanese cuisine pays attention to the shape and color of food.

In our kitchen in China, we can see the flaming, red-faced chef pouring dishes with very good colors on the plates. We also pay great attention to color in our diet, but we really don't pay much attention to the shape of the plates.

But in the Japanese kitchen, we can't see the red face and smell the fragrance overflowing. We can only see the chef busy setting things on the plate with chopsticks. A small sushi and sashimi have to go through several twists and turns before they can be served on the table.

For Japanese cuisine, it is not only about color, but also about shape.

Although they don't weigh much, they are excellent in shape modification. Exquisite shapes are carved with high-quality materials, which shows that the chef's superb knife method, with matching materials, is almost not decorated with spices, but it can be called a landscape painting in form. Even a bowl of Lamian Noodles is very persistent in its pursuit of all kinds, and even our pasta in China can't shine in front of them.

the pursuit of utensils and environment is naturally not beautiful for well-crafted food without matching plates.

China's food culture from ancient times to the present also pays more attention to the dishes in full bloom, but this is limited to powerful people such as dignitaries, businessmen on the rich side, bureaucrats, etc. Most of those tableware are magnificent and extremely luxurious, all of which show their power and financial resources, but ordinary people have no spare money to buy.

The most commonly used utensils in China are round and oval. Compared with Japanese dishes, there are more styles and shapes, such as square, round, leaf, melon and fruit, boat and boat, which are very eye-catching. But the material is not like China's. They don't care about the most material. They use some elegant colors, such as cyan, brown, black and so on, and the carving is exquisite.

Paying attention to the environment is an important environment for Japanese cuisine. If western food in Britain is about mood, Japanese food is about mood.

Japanese cuisine is extremely demanding on the environment. Japanese people grow up in the dark and advocate darkness. Naturally, Japanese sushi is also produced in the dark. It is said that if people can't see with their eyes, other senses will be more sensitive. For authentic Japanese cuisine, such an environment can stimulate people's taste and make the food more delicious.

So the lights in traditional sushi restaurants will be a little dim, so people can see things, but not enough to see them clearly. Put a table on the tatami, with exquisite dishes. Outside the door are lush trees and fake landscapes, which are quiet and secret, giving people an unusual feeling of a paradise.

Japanese people's sensitivity to seasons can also be reflected in shops. We can't imagine the delicacy of the Japanese, but if you pay attention, you will find that there is a flower symbolizing the season in the vase at the door of an exquisite sushi restaurant. Although few people may notice it, this traditional delicacy is really touching.

But now, with the development of Japan, more and more foreign tourists are attracted. They are not used to dim lighting, so sushi restaurants have to make adjustments to meet the market demand. Moreover, more and more people with financial strength want to taste Japanese sushi, so it is naturally overcrowded, and the tranquility hidden in the downtown area in the past has also been dispelled.

There are only a few high-end sushi restaurants in Japan, which still maintain their original flavor and tranquility in the changing times.

Second, several famous traditional Japanese snacks

Sushi Many people confuse sushi with sashimi. Sushi and sashimi are completely different.

there are many kinds of sushi, and it's easy to make. Put the steamed rice on the kelp first, smooth it, put cucumber strips, tuna and scallops in the middle, roll it up and cut it into small pieces, then dip it in mustard and you can use it.

Sushi is found all over the world, but Japanese sushi pays attention to the original flavor. As the Japanese say, when you go to eat sushi, especially high-grade sushi, you must take it with your hands, because the more famous sushi, the chef cooks it with his own body temperature, so you must also feel it with your own body temperature.

The materials used for sashimi are very rich, such as tuna slices, flounder slices, salmon slices, eel slices, etc. It can be said that any fish that can be sliced can be used as sashimi materials. Some fish fillets don't need to be cooked, so there is a high demand for slicing knives. These fish fillets are generally sold according to the season, and you can only eat specific fish fillets in the adaptive season.

when eating sashimi, there are also unique requirements. First of all, we should appreciate the beauty of sashimi, the beauty of color and shape, the beauty of ingredients, etc. Then move chopsticks, pick up the fish fillet, put wasabi on it, and dip it in special soy sauce. The delicious sashimi is finished with the cooperation of the chef and customers.

pasta the Japanese don't have enough rice, so they use wheat as a supplementary food. Japanese pasta is very famous, including udon noodles, Lamian Noodles noodles and soba noodles. Let's briefly introduce udon noodles in a few days.

udon noodles are made of wheat, which tastes similar to domestic noodles, but softer. It is very simple to make, and it doesn't need too much seasoning. It can be cooked hot in winter and eaten cold in summer, with some vegetables, tempura and onions. It is very delicious and worth tasting.

summary

Japanese food culture is single and original, but this is also its shortcoming. Nowadays, against the background of China cuisine, Italian cuisine, French cuisine and so on, it seems that traditional Japanese cuisine is out of place.

times are changing, and people's tastes are changing. Although there are still many people who stick to the post of traditional inheritance, we still have to admit that traditional cuisine is already a sunset industry.

finally, as the saying goes, "one side can feed one side." It's a perfect place to use it here. Japan is rich in marine resources due to the influence of climate. Influenced by the climate, the Japanese people have formed a sensitive personality, and this exquisite and compact eating habit without losing its nutritional value came into being.