Surrounded by the sea, the Japanese archipelago consists of more than 4,000 islands, with mild climate, distinct seasons and unique and fresh seafood, so it has developed its own marine cuisine. There is a sense of decision, and the development direction of dishes is no exception. In other words, local culture creates delicious food.
At the same time, because Japan is an island country with few resources and no neighboring countries, this natural environment makes it have a strong sense of crisis, and it is always afraid that it will not be spared from any natural and man-made disasters and make the Japanese nation extinct. For this reason, some cultures spread from China have been translated into Japanese-style explanations among the Japanese. For example, the idiom "accidentally killing someone" means "oil breaks the enemy" in Japanese. They understand it as: without oil (that is, after the oil is cut off), the enemy will be in danger and have unexpected encounters. Because of this, the Japanese think that you can't cook with oil for every meal like China, but for the sake of life safety, you should cherish and save oil. To this end, Japan tries not to use or use less oil to cook, and over time it has developed into a light and fresh Japanese cuisine.
As we all know, Japan is greatly influenced by Confucianism, especially the idea that "harmony is precious" is deeply rooted. Shoto Kutaishi, revered by the Japanese, attached great importance to "harmony", and the first sentence of the seventeen constitutions he presided over was "harmony is precious". In view of this, the Japanese brutally slaughtered large livestock. In addition, there are few plains in Japan, and it is difficult to raise livestock. Japanese seldom eat beef and mutton. After World War II, we gradually ate pigs and beef because of the nutritional value of beef. Mutton is rare in the market and can only be bought in a few places such as Hokkaido. The custom of eating deer, donkeys, dogs and rabbits like China is even rarer. This makes Japanese cuisine less processed and tastes fresh.
Chinese food pays attention to "color, fragrance and taste", while Japanese food pays attention to "color, shape and taste". Change the word "shape" and the characteristics of Japanese food culture will come out. Although Japanese food doesn't pay attention to what it tastes like, it pays attention to "shape", so Japanese food is eaten with eyes. This is also in line with the situation in Japan. Japan is a small country with a large population. It is a custom since ancient times to protect the natural landscape without destroying it. The Japanese always inherit the beauty left by their ancestors to the letter. In the whole diet environment, there is an implicit and restrained beauty everywhere. Japanese people who attach importance to history have inherited the eating habits of the ancients without trace. Therefore, the cooked dishes are also used as a bunch of flowers in the natural scenery to decorate people's lives.
Second, tea ceremony
Take "tea ceremony" as an example. Generally speaking, tea ceremony is a unique art and etiquette activity, which uses making tea and tasting tea as a means to connect feelings. It is the crystallization of Japanese culture, the representative of Japanese culture, the norm of Japanese life and the sustenance of Japanese soul. Tea ceremony is rich in content, covering almost all the contents of oriental culture in a small tea room. In terms of ideology, it includes immortal thought, Taoism, Yin-Yang Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto and so on. Forms include architecture, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, etiquette, flower arrangement, lacquerware, pottery, bamboo ware, cooking, sewing and so on. Tea ceremony is called applied philosophy and artistic life. What is displayed in the teahouse is a lively "little oriental people". Therefore, we can get a glimpse of the profound connotation of Japanese food culture through the tea ceremony.
In fact, the history of Japanese tea culture developed with the historical development of China tea culture, which can be roughly divided into three periods: First, the Heian period was influenced by the methods of making cakes and drinking tea in China in the Tang Dynasty; Followed by Kamakura, Muromachi and An Tian Mountain periods, influenced by the tea-making methods in the late Song Dynasty; Finally, the Edo period was influenced by the tea-making methods of the Ming Dynasty. The second period is the most important in the history of tea ceremony, but the maturity of tea ceremony is in the third period. At that time, the tea ceremony spread to all classes, and there were many schools within the tea ceremony, forming a situation of letting a hundred flowers blossom.
Third, sushi.
As for the name, shape and taste of sushi, foreigners know that whether you like it or not is another matter. Anyone who has been to Japan or is interested in Japan will probably know something about sushi from books or from other people's conversations: sushi is to cut tuna or bonito into edible thin slices and hold them on rice balls with your hands. ...
In fact, sushi has unexpected historical and cultural factors, and it is difficult to make it clear in one or two sentences. But our understanding of sushi has changed a lot from the past.
We found several typical and rare sushi. "porridge cake" (Yamagata Prefecture): This is the hometown flavor of the winery in this county. It is fermented with Gan Qing roe and salted salmon roe as the center, mountain vegetables, and a lot of rice and wine. Finally, it becomes porridge. You can't eat it, you can only eat it with a spoon. This is a very special kind of sushi.
"Xiaxi" (Wakayama County): Blue and white fish are generally used, and sometimes river fish such as fragrant fish are also used. As far as it is concerned, this is a very special practice. Salt and rice are naturally fermented together, not vinegar. It can be said that this is the prototype of Yi. This * * * has something in common with the above-mentioned "Li" in Shiga County. Sprinkle salt on the rice, knead it into a sticky shape by hand, then put it with salted fish, wrap it with persimmon leaves, press heavy stones on it, and ferment for about half a month. "Wine" (Kagoshima Prefecture): Add wine to the rice boiled with a little water, then put fish and shellfish, bamboo shoots, carrots, burdock and mountain vegetables on the rice to form five layers, and then press them with heavy stones.
In addition to the more advanced sushi, ordinary Japanese will also make zongzi when they go out for an outing or bring food to work. Zongzi is made by kneading white rice into triangles, and some of them are covered with roasted seaweed. Because this kind of zongzi does not need to be heated when eaten, it is a popular food.