The original meaning of cuisine in Chinese is to process and organize, but the word cuisine in Japanese means dishes. With the rapid expansion of Japan's economy, Japanese lifestyle has gradually spread to all parts of the world. As a member of world cuisine, Japanese cuisine has naturally taken root in various countries. Japanese huts, tatami mats, waiters in kimono, and Japanese dishes with bright colors and elegant tableware constitute a unique scenery in the food world. Japanese food tastes and eating styles also began to be widely accepted.

The following article introduces the various characteristics and characteristics of Japanese food.

Characteristics of Japanese cuisine: light, non-greasy, refined, nutritious, focusing on the combination of vision, taste and utensils are the characteristics of Japanese cuisine.

Japanese cooking principles:

Five flavors: sweet, sweet, sour, bitter and spicy.

Five colors: white, black, yellow, red, green.

Five methods: raw, boiled, baked, steamed and fried.

Three major categories of Japanese cuisine:

1. Honzen cuisine—traditional formal Japanese cuisine

It originated from the Muromachi period (about the fourteenth century) and is a Japanese cuisine. products of the system. Nowadays, formal "honzen cuisine" is rare and only appears on a few formal occasions, such as weddings and funerals, coming-of-age ceremonies and festival banquets. The dishes range from five dishes and two soups to seven dishes and three soups.

2. Kaiseki cuisine - high-end cuisine [Kaiseki] got its name from the fact that the ceremonial masters endured hunger and embraced warm stones to keep warm during their spiritual practice and fasting. Kaiseki cuisine was originally a cuisine that was paired with the tea ceremony to bring out the delicious taste of tea. Now it has become synonymous with high-end cuisine.

3. Banquet cuisine - Banquet cuisine Kaiseki cuisine is not as rigorous as Honzen and Kaiseki cuisine. The way of eating is more free. In addition to focusing on delicious food, banquet cuisine can be enjoyed in a more relaxed way.

The cooking characteristics of Japanese cuisine:

Japanese cuisine is recognized as an international cuisine that is meticulously prepared. A good chef must become the connection between the eater and nature, allowing guests to taste the most authentic natural delicacies under the chef's careful cooking.

The characteristics of Japanese cuisine focus on the natural original flavor. There is no doubt that [original flavor] is the primary spirit of Japanese cuisine. The cooking method is very delicate and exquisite, from the stock that is slowly simmered for several hours, to the seasoning and cooking techniques, all based on the premise of retaining the original flavor of the food.

The secret of delicious Japanese cuisine is basically to use sugar, vinegar, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, bonito, kombu, etc. as the main seasonings. In addition to tasting the aroma, the taste, touch, vision, smell, etc. are also It cannot be ignored.

In addition to the above cooking methods, there is also knowledge in eating. You must [eat hot dishes while they are hot] and [eat cold dishes while they are cold] so that the taste, time and cooking ingredients can complement each other. , achieving 100% excellent taste.

Common Japanese menus

When we arrive at a Japanese restaurant, the menu categories we often see can be roughly divided into the following five types:

(1 ) Sashimi: Simply put, it is all kinds of raw seafood, such as fish, shrimp, and shellfish.

(2) A la carte items: Traditional Japanese cuisine, usually divided into various cooking methods, such as: fried (fried food), barbecue (grilled food), stewed food (boiled food), steamed (steamed food), soups (smoked food), pickled side dishes, etc.

(3) Sushi: including the usual hand rolls, nigiri sushi, flower sushi, etc.

(4) Hot pot: Common ones include shabu-shabu pot, paper hot pot, pork hot pot, beef hot pot, seafood hot pot, etc.

(5) Set meals: simple set meals and formal set meals, etc.

Another characteristic of Japanese cuisine is its good use of seasonal and local ingredients. In particular, seafood plays an important role in Japanese cuisine, and seafood is also a highly seasonal ingredient. Therefore, you can enjoy various flavors of Japanese food throughout the year.

If you want to enjoy Japanese food a la carte but don’t know how to order, it is recommended that you consult the service staff directly and ask them to give you a reference or let them do it for you. With side dishes, you can enjoy various economical and delicious Japanese dishes.

A common menu in Japanese cuisine—Otumami. The side dishes in Japanese cuisine are mainly light and appetizing, and can be roughly divided into pickles (Tsukemono), cold side dishes (Sumono), and salads (Sarada). Three types.

(1) Pickles: The kimchi, pickles and the like that we are familiar with are soaked in vinegar, salt, or other seasonings for several hours to make them seasonable and delicious. In addition to being served as a side dish with drinks, it can also be used as an appetizer in a set meal. Common ones include miso cucumber, miso white grape, etc.

(2) Cold side dishes:

Including Sumono, cold dishes and various salads. Side dishes with vinegar as the main seasoning are called misomono. In addition to vinegar, cold side dishes can also be cooked with various seasonings or bonito, kombu, etc., such as vinegar-based flower branches, cold onions, miso-based tuna, Cold tofu and more.

(3) Salad: In addition to following Western salad methods, Japanese cooking methods are added to develop Japanese salad characteristics, such as abalone salad, lobster salad, asparagus and shrimp salad, mixed salad, etc.

The Japanese first used coarse salt to make pickles more than a thousand years ago. Today, many side dishes with different flavors have evolved and become an indispensable appetizer in Japanese cuisine.

A common menu in Japanese cuisine - Sashimi

[Sashimi] is sashimi, and some people directly transliterate it as "Sashimi". Sashimi is a raw food dish in which fresh fish or shellfish are cut into pieces using appropriate knife techniques and served with a dipping sauce mixed with soy sauce and wasabi puree.

Most people usually think that wasabi mud (Wasabi) has a sterilizing effect. In fact, it is not the case. The main purpose of wasabi mud is to increase the taste. When purchasing the seafood ingredients used to make sashimi, you must pay attention to their freshness and plumpness. In addition, they must be made by senior chefs. They must have good knife skills, and must be familiar with and understand the techniques of handling, cooking, condiments, and decorations in order to be able to make them. A plate of sashimi dishes that are both visually and tastefully impressive.

The more common sashimi species in China currently include: red sashimi, salmon, tuna, sea bream (Ghanaian fish), swordfish, lobster, shrimp, etc. Among them, the bluefin tuna sashimi, which is abundant in May every year, is a treasure that many diners will never forget.

Sashimi is not necessarily completely raw food. Some sashimi dishes will also be slightly heated, such as: (1) Charcoal roasting: The tuna belly meat is slightly roasted over charcoal fire, and the fish belly is cooked. The oil ester is roasted to impart its aroma, then dipped in ice and sliced.

(2) Blanching in hot water: After the raw fish meat is slightly blanched in hot water, it is immersed in ice water and allowed to cool rapidly. Take it out and slice it. The sashimi will appear cooked on the surface but raw on the inside. The taste is the same as that of sashimi. There will be another flavor on the palate.

Sashimi dishes usually appear in set meals or table dishes, and can also be used as drinks, side dishes or a la carte dishes.

A common menu in Japanese cuisine—Agemono

Fried food is called "Agemono" or "Agemono" on Japanese cuisine menus. Fried food mainly uses batter-coated fried ingredients that are fragrant and crispy, but the ingredients inside remain tender and delicious. Common fried food ingredients include fish, pork, shrimp, taro, oysters, sweet potatoes, eggplants, tofu, green peppers, flower branches, various vegetables and roots. With the continuous innovation of cuisine, the types of fried food have become more abundant, for example, durian has been added. Fenugreek and burdock etc.

Tempura is a familiar dish in Japanese cuisine. The main ingredients are white meat fish fillets and prawns, and the ingredients are eggplant, green peppers, taro, sweet potatoes or shiitake mushrooms.

Generally, Yangwu dishes will come with seasoned dipping sauce and white grape powder. When eating, you can put the grinding powder into the dipping sauce and mix thoroughly, and eat while dipping. Common fried foods include tempura set meals, fried shrimp, tempura, vegetable tempura, fried pork cutlets, fried oysters, fried mushroom balls, etc. In addition, the [Durian Guoyang] (fried durian) developed by our company is a crispy and delicious special dish, which is very popular among customers.

A common menu in Japanese cuisine—Yakimono

The Chinese name of [Yakimono] is what we know as barbecue. Yakimono can be said to be in Japanese cuisine. It is one of the staple foods. The main ingredients of yakiniku are fish, beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, lamb chops, shellfish, etc. The yakiniku cannot be reheated in the pot, so it must be eaten while it is hot.

Common barbecue methods can be roughly divided into the following types:

1. Biscuit: Spread the salad on the ingredients and bake it directly in the oven.

2. Teriyaki: Grill the prepared sauce on one side and smear it on the ingredients until the food is ready to eat.

3. Skewers: String the food on bamboo skewers, place it directly on the fishing stove net, and grill it repeatedly.

4. Teppanyaki: Cook food on a hot thick iron plate.

5. Rock grilling: First place the stones or rocks on the stove to grill to above 300 degrees, and then place the food on the hot rocks for cooking.

6. Shaoqing: Use bamboo skewers to fix the whole fish or shrimp into a shape, place it in the stove or oven and grill until cooked.

7. Salt grilling: Rub the ingredients with salt, put them on the fire, and grill them in the oven. Common ones include salt grilled ayu, salt grilled shrimps, etc.

8. Miso grilling: Dip the fish into the prepared miso sauce, marinate for several hours, and then place it in the oven to bake.