Surprising Facts about Home Cooking
In 2013, “Washoku” (Japanese cuisine) was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, making it the fifth cuisine to be recognized globally, following French, Mediterranean, Mexican, and Turkish cuisines. This registration has made Washoku an internationally recognized culinary culture. However, the everyday Japanese food that we eat is quite different in content.
Is Washoku different from Japanese food?
Japanese food refers to the entire range of meals commonly consumed in Japan. This includes not only traditional Japanese dishes but also foreign dishes such as curry, ramen, and omurice that have been adapted to Japanese tastes and widely accepted domestically. Meanwhile, Washoku specifically refers to traditional Japanese culinary styles, which have been registered by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Washoku includes kaiseki and kaiseki-ryori, regional dishes, and is based on the “one soup, three sides” format, which includes rice, soup, a main dish (meat or fish), and two side dishes (excluding pickles, such as boiled greens or seasoned vegetables). The typical flavoring of Washoku comes from dashi made from fish and kelp, seasoned with soy sauce, miso, mirin, and vinegar.
【The Culinary Journey of Tempura】
Tempura is a traditional Japanese dish where various ingredients like shrimp, fish, and vegetables are coated in wheat flour and egg and then fried. It is believed to have originated in Nagasaki Prefecture in the Kyushu region and later spread throughout Japan. Today, tempura stands alongside sushi, grilled meat, and ramen as one of Japan’s iconic dishes, popular both domestically and internationally.
Shrimp Tempura
Shrimp is a representative ingredient in tempura, widely used in many dishes. Shrimp tempura is popular as a topping for udon and soba noodles or served over rice in a dish called tendon.
Mushroom Tempura
Mushrooms are also great for tempura, especially shiitake and maitake mushrooms, which are commonly used due to their unique shapes.
Vegetable Tempura
Various vegetables and roots like pumpkin, asparagus, eggplant, bitter melon, sweet potato, and lotus root are also used in tempura.
Kakiage
Kakiage is a type of tempura made by mixing small shrimp and vegetables and frying them together. It’s affordable and satisfying, often served on top of udon or soba noodles.
Unique Tempura
As an example of unique tempura, there are dishes where boiled eggs and ice cream are coated in wheat flour and egg and fried.
The Culinary Journey of Rice Dishes
“Onigiri,” “Inari Sushi,” and “Ochazuke” are staple fast foods in Japanese daily life. Rice dishes vary widely, including “Chirashi Sushi” and “Kamameshi” with seafood, vegetables, and mushrooms, and “Ehomaki” eaten for good luck. “Natto rice” and “Tamago kake gohan” are common everyday meals. In cold winters, warming zosui is ideal, and on celebratory occasions, red rice is traditionally eaten. These are examples of dishes tailored to various occasions using rice.
Congee
Congee is a dish where rice is cooked until soft in an ample amount of water, making it a suitable meal for when you’re ill due to its easy digestibility.
Onigiri
Onigiri are traditional Japanese portable rice balls shaped by hand into forms like triangles and wrapped in nori seaweed. They are commonly filled with ingredients such as umeboshi, salted salmon, or mentaiko.
Onigirazu
Onigirazu is a type of portable meal wrapped in nori seaweed, made without squeezing the rice with hands, unlike onigiri which is tightly pressed. Introduced in a manga in 1990, onigirazu has since gained popularity.
Ohagi
Ohagi is a Japanese confection made by covering glutinous rice with sweetly cooked azuki bean paste. It is particularly consumed during grave-visiting seasons in spring and autumn.
Ochazuke
Ochazuke is a simple dish made by pouring tea over rice and is often enhanced with salt, seaweed, and wasabi.
Inari Sushi
Inari Sushi consists of sushi rice stuffed into sweet and savory fried tofu pouches. Its convenience has made it a popular menu item at conveyor belt sushi restaurants and in sushi bento boxes.
Kamameshi
Kamameshi involves cooking rice and ingredients like chicken and shiitake mushrooms in individual pots, flavored with soy sauce and mirin. This dish became famous for its station bento version sold at Yasukawa Station in Gunma Prefecture.
Ehomaki
Originally a Kansai regional custom eaten from February 2nd to 4th at the beginning of the year, ehomaki became widely popular when convenience stores began selling it nationwide in the 1990s.
Chirashi Sushi
Chirashi Sushi is a type of sushi with vinegared rice mixed with various ingredients such as seafood, egg omelette, carrots, bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms. It is traditionally eaten during the Girls’ Festival on March 3rd.
Zosui
Zosui is a dish where rice is slowly cooked with soy sauce or miso-based broth mixed with seafood, mushrooms, and vegetables. It’s easy to digest and warms the body, making it particularly popular in cold winters. It’s also commonly made using leftover soup from hot pot meals.
Matsutake Rice
Matsutake mushrooms are considered the most luxurious mushrooms in Japan. Matsutake rice is cooked with rice seasoned with dashi, sake, salt, and soy sauce, incorporating the aromatic matsutake mushrooms. It is a deluxe Japanese dish that allows you to enjoy the exquisite aroma of the matsutake.
Mixed Rice (Takikomi Gohan)
Mixed rice involves cooking rice with a variety of ingredients, seasoned with soy sauce, sake, and dashi. Ingredients can include chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, clams, chicken, oysters, sweet potatoes, and green peas, allowing for a seasonal variety of flavors.
Red Rice (Sekihan)
Red rice is a traditional dish where glutinous rice and adzuki beans are steamed together. The pigment from the adzuki beans dyes the rice red, which is why it is named “red rice.” It has been considered an auspicious food for centuries and is commonly eaten during celebrations.
Tendon (Tempura Rice Bowl)
Tendon is a dish where seafood and vegetables are coated in flour and egg, fried, and then placed on top of rice. The tempura and rice are seasoned with a sweet and savory sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
Natto Rice
Natto rice consists of fermented soybeans, known as natto, served over rice. Natto is characterized by its stringy texture and is a highly nutritious food commonly eaten in households in the Kanto region.
Egg on Rice (Tamago Kake Gohan)
Due to strict hygiene management of chicken eggs in Japan, it is safe to consume raw eggs. It is common to eat raw egg over rice, seasoned with soy sauce.
