Japanese nights always remind people of izakaya.

izakaya, as an important life scene, plays an important role in Japanese pop culture. Whether it is pop songs or movies and TV, we can often catch a glimpse of it. With the popularity of Midnight Food Store and The Lonely Gourmet, people pay more attention to izakaya culture than ever before. Compared with ordinary restaurants and bars, izakaya belongs to the late night; Some people talk in groups of three and five in Kan Kan, while others come alone and have a lot on their minds.

izakaya has such a magic power that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is a place for you in izakaya. The pleasure and satisfaction from a pot of hot wine and a dish of side dishes is real and the perfect ending to the day.

So, where did izakaya come from and why did it become an irreplaceable existence in the hearts of the Japanese?

well, we've written out the basic encyclopedia of izakaya you asked for.

1. History of izakaya

2. izakaya and Japanese culture

3. What should I eat and drink in izakaya?

appetizer | order wine | order food

4. Super dry goods! Izakaya menu

ruins of ancient Japanese wine-making department

In Japanese history, wine-making appeared as early as the early 8th century. In 733, a department called "Liquor-making Department" began to levy a tax on rice as a wine-making fee. In heian period, brewing houses gradually rose and spread all over Japan in the 11th century, and temples and shrines all over the country joined the ranks of brewing. However, the brewing houses at that time only served the aristocratic class. According to the law, it is illegal for ordinary people to drink alcohol on days other than festivals.

Until the Kamakura era, brewing houses aimed at the samurai class appeared among the people. They were called "lecherous houses", which, as the name implies, were "kilns" for providing drinks. In the Muromachi era, the shogunate began to levy taxes on brewing houses, and brewing and selling were gradually separated. Most of the wine providers were renamed as "wine houses". During the Warring States Period, when the whole country prospered, the shogunate began to support the common people's economy such as "wine house", and this prototype of modern izakaya gradually became popular in cities.

izakaya really developed in the edo period.

At this time, many wine houses will provide simple appetizers. Many people lingered in the pub, which was called "Ju?けてむ" at that time, that is, "Ju Jiu", which literally translated as "Stop to drink". Shopkeepers will put up a notice on the door saying "Stay in the wine and wait". Over time, it will become "izakaya", which is what we now call "pub".

The reason for izakaya's signboard in the Edo era

was that the ratio of male to female was seriously out of balance at that time, and single men who were not good at cooking and liked to drink were everywhere. Therefore, the "izakaya" which killed two birds with one stone by drinking and eating well met the needs of bachelors all over the country.

Until the 197s, izakaya's image in the eyes of Japanese people remained as a place where male white-collar workers drank Japanese wine. Times have changed. With the continuous improvement of Japanese women's social status, they also joined the ranks of male compatriots to have a drink in izakaya. In order to cater to the preferences of female customers, some stores have introduced women-only menus and adopted more aesthetic decoration for women.

by the 198s, izakaya had developed into a chain store model, and the variety of wine and vegetables began to become rich, and the prices became more civilian. Izakaya has gradually become a simple gathering place for students, company members and friends, and the age groups of the guests have also become broader.

In the past, stores in izakaya used to hang a red lantern in front of the door instead of a billboard, so izakaya was also called "red lantern" by many people. Similarly, some stores chose to hang a warm curtain with ropes, so izakaya also had another name "rope warm curtain", and this decoration style has continued to this day.

Now, izakaya is the most popular social and gathering place for Japanese people, and it is also an indispensable part of Japanese culture. A group of friends sit around a table and drink whenever they want, or book a private room for chatting. Sitting at the bar, most people come alone, or drown their sorrows in wine, perhaps just killing time, chatting with the boss while drinking, but they are not alone.

The atmosphere in izakaya is always unusually warm, dim and warm, with pottery dishes and log bars. The boss is talking and laughing with the guests through the bar, which makes the city people relax their nervous nerves and enjoy the comfort brought by food and wine.

At the same time, izakaya is also a common scene in Japanese movies and TV series.

izakaya is a frequent visitor to Yasujirō Ozu movies. In his films, food has become an aesthetic, which is based on daily life and divorced from daily life. Eating and drinking with heart and living up to every dish is the attitude of living hard.

In another phenomenal Japanese drama "The Lonely Gourmet", the grocer, played by Kogoro Inoguchi, always finds food hidden in the corners of Tokyo, including izakaya, every time he takes an order and visits customers.

delicious roast chicken kebabs, hot Dandan Noodles without soup, and Shizuoka Guandong cooking that melts in your mouth. The close-up of the food in the play, and the enjoyment of the protagonist chewing carefully ... Never brush the play in the middle of the night.

Japanese animation is not far behind, and the painting style of Wakako Wine is quite magical. The 26-year-old office worker and Wakako are born alcoholics, wandering around the streets after work, looking for a good place to drink. At the moment when the good material enters, there is a sigh of "poof ~" (it's just an animated version of this article editor. ）

? | hors d' oeuvres

As soon as you sit down, the clerk will offer a small bowl of side dishes first. Kanto is called "Otoshi", and the relationship is called "Tsuki dash", that is, appetizers, which may be vegetables, meat or fish, and are not included in the menu. Whether the guests eat or not, the store will put it into the bill, usually around 3,4 yen (equivalent to RMB 2 yuan).

This dish is a benchmark for quickly judging the style and level of a izakaya: whether it is a fixed dish or a seasonal fresh dish, the restaurant's cooking attitude and hospitality are obvious.

after the side dishes are served, the clerk will come to ask questions. At this point, they are actually asking what kind of wine you want to drink.

Japanese people pay attention to politeness and form. When eating out, they are used to ordering wine first. When everyone arrives, they will raise their glasses and say "Thank you for your hard work today". After that, everyone will take a look at the menu and decide to order.

? | Order wine

There is an idiom in Japanese, "Let's have a beer first." とりぁぇずビール) has become the opening phrase for drinkers to enter izakaya.

most Japanese beers are light in taste, with obvious bitterness, and the alcohol content is about 5 degrees. Japanese people often drink mainly four brands: Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo and Suntory.

Volkswagen izakaya generally provides ホッピ(Hoppy), which is a kind of liquor blended with shochu that imitates the taste of beer, that is, about 25 degrees of burning and Hoppy are added to a pre-iced hip flask at a ratio of 1:5.

sake is the first category of Japanese wine. Sake comes from "turbid wine". Rice wine was originally turbid, and after pressure filtration, sake was produced.

Japanese sake provided by ordinary izakaya generally includes "Sake", "Pure Rice Wine" and "Ben Brew" (if the level goes up, there will be "Pure Rice Sake", "Big Sake" and "Pure Rice Sake", which will not be sold in ordinary izakaya, so I will not elaborate here).

"Yinniang" is one of them with high quality, which is fermented at low temperature and requires high whiteness of rice. "Pure rice wine" takes second place, while "Ben Brewing" will be mixed with a small amount of alcohol, and the price is relatively cheap.

The sake made by these different methods has different alcoholicity, sweetness, spiciness and acidity, and the drinking methods are also different. Generally speaking, Sake brewed above the level of Yin is more suitable for cold drinks, while pure rice wine and Ben brewing are relatively cheap, so warm wine and cold drinks are not so particular.

With regard to sake, you can refer to this essay written by our good friend Teacher Mao Shiba: It's getting cold, shouldn't we drink a little wine? .

In izakaya, sake is divided into one-in-one and two-in-two specifications with one-in-one (18cc) as the unit.

In some izakaya, the clerk will take out a small square box (wooden casket), put a small glass in it, and pour the wine face to face. The spilled wine from the small glass will flow into the wooden casket.

The drinking order is as follows: firstly, suck the sake in the center of the drinking cup, then pick up the glass and taste it slowly. After drinking, pour the wine in the wooden jar back into the cup, and drink the remaining wine mixed with wood aroma at once, which is a kind of tasting interest.

cauterization, which is made by Japan's unique distillation method, that is, Japanese shochu, with the concentration below 4 degrees.

Burning can be divided into different types according to raw materials, such as wheat burning, rice burning, taro (sweet potato) burning and brown sugar burning. There are usually four ways to drink shochu. "Rock" comes from the English proverb "on the rock", that is, with ice. "Water cutting", you also understand, is to mix water. "ソーダり" means adding soda to soju. The last one is called "soup cutting", that is, shochu heats water, which is very suitable for drinking in cold weather.

this kind of thing, high ball, is simply a universal collocation in izakaya. The name comes from the cup of wine, which is usually used as a long cocktail. I don't know why it was translated into "Hi Bar" in China, but I am also a little drunk.

Whiskey is usually mixed with soda water, and the most common one is of course Suntory Corner Bottle. In izakaya, which is generally reliable, the soda water used is mostly Suntory's own soda water (it is said that it is because it is full of gas).

High Ball also derived a variety of flavors, such as blackcurrant flavor and lime flavor, which are suitable for girls to drink.

cocktails provided by izakaya are usually not particularly complicated and difficult to make. They are mainly long drinks, mostly fruit juice/soda mixed with alcohol, which are not much different from drinks, and are suitable for girls to drink.

Plum wine is a mixture of green plum (and plum juice), sake and burning. The alcohol concentration is about 12 to 18 degrees, which is very popular among female guests. There are many kinds of plum wine with many flavors, such as black sugar, black tea and green tea. In recent years, Qiaoyamei wine, which is very familiar to everyone, has begun to promote perilla wine and black sugar wine in China. Its drinking method is similar to burning, basically with ice, of course, you can also drink it alone.

? | Ordering

After ordering wine, you can finally look at the menu with peace of mind! ! !

when you order food in izakaya, you will order it in batches. When a dish is served, people share it, instead of putting it into their bowls one by one (although most of the time, everyone is quite careless).

First of all, of course, order some appetizers with wine:

One bite after another of edamame is said to prevent hangover, so it's no exaggeration to call it the king of izakaya side dishes.

In izakaya, soybeans are mostly boiled in water. It is common to drain and salt after cooking, and another way is to add edamame directly to the salt water for boiling. The edamame cooked in this way will not be too dark. Sometimes you will encounter roasted edamame, and the aroma is better than boiled water.

it means "cold tofu". The leading role is similar to preserved egg mustard tuber cold tofu in China, which is a very common appetizer. Just a piece of tender tofu is needed, and then Jiang Mo, shallots, Muyu flowers, green perilla leaves, radish paste and other condiments are put on it, and soy sauce is poured on it.

The wine thief is to make the internal organs of bonito with salt and spice. After a long period of pickling, the fresh and sweet taste is more concise and layered, and the aroma is particularly charming when it enters the throat with wine, which makes people drink up the wine unconsciously, thus obtaining the name of "wine thief".

However, the wine thief usually has a strong smell, which will be unacceptable at first, and it is a high-ranking dish in the appetizer.

many people can't stop eating Japanese food because of it. Common sashimi are salmon (salmon), octopus (octopus), flounder (flounder), snapper (snapper) and octopus.

However, in izakaya, it's not for satiety, but for early taste, so you don't usually order too much.

\ baked goods /

One-night drying is named after fishermen catch fish, so it is dried by sea breeze at night and made overnight. The obtained dried fish is not only convenient to store, but also does not lose water like ordinary dried fish. After roasting, the meat quality of the fish is slightly tight, and the fresh and sweet taste is obvious. If it is grilled by charcoal, the fragrance will be more attractive. Such a method can often highlight the original flavor of different fish.

chicken kebabs (yakitori). Similar to kebabs, the practice is to treat chicken into pieces, string them with bamboo sticks, and then roast them on the fire.

In addition to the meat of chicken breast, chicken leg and other parts, there are chicken skin, chicken gizzard, chicken liver, chicken heart, chicken cartilage and other parts. Even the chicken butt is nicknamed "phoenix tail", and there are many addicts (such as the editor of this article). Some bird-burning stores even provide "rare parts" such as diaphragm and chicken shoulder meat.

Japanese-style roasted bird is not only made from chicken, but also can be eaten in many ways, such as fish, pigs and meatballs, but all of them are called roasted bird. There are roughly two ways to eat: salt roasting or sauce roasting. The former eats more meat, while the latter eats seasoning kung fu, which means that the representative dish is chicken balls.

\ Cooked food /

In fact, the common name of "Guandong Cooked" in Japan is oden, and kantoni is more of a Kansai name. Of course, it's not the kind of Guandong cooking you get in a convenience store.

just the head of the soup, make great efforts: make soup with bonito, minced meat, kelp and mushrooms, season with soy sauce, glutinous rice and sugar, and the contents include radish, eggs, kelp, konjac, vermicelli knots, bamboo fish cakes, thick-cut tofu and so on.

\ Fried food /

Beer comes standard, which is the soul of fried food in izakaya. The biggest difference with European, American and Korean fried chicken is the "thin powder frying method", which is thin and not greasy, and has a little powdery feeling on the surface. For friends who don't like thick shell batter, it is simply a great gospel.

Of course, there is also a dispute in Japanese fried chicken about wrapping powder or noodles. Please look forward to further discussion.

The "Nan Man" here should have been passed down from China in the Tang Dynasty, and it basically has the same meaning as the "Nan Man" in the context of China, that is, "foreigner", which is the Japanese name for Portuguese, Italian and Spanish who first arrived in Japan when it first opened its ports.

When you put it in a dish, it usually means ... fried food with egg yolk sauce (chicken leg meat is the main food). It originated from the local family cuisine in Miyazaki Prefecture, and the fried food was paired with the sauce claimed by sweet and sour, onion, spicy seeds and Tata sauce, which was rich and thick in milky yellow and slightly sweet and sour, making the fried food smooth and dense, and also making up for the meat quality that was sometimes dried by fire.

\ Other /

Yuzishao is also a must-have snack in izakaya. Adding stock to the eggs, fully stirring, laying layers of egg juice on the pot, turning and cutting, and stacking several layers together, is a very perfect and harmonious relationship, and it is very tasty without occupying any sauce.

For Yuzishao, you can refer to this article, Thick Egg Roast vs Egg Roll, no?