Refined form and the simplest content are the two main gastronomic
the principles professed by the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun.
West is West, East is East, and they will never come together ... This famous Kipling phrase involuntarily comes to mind when you get acquainted with real, authentic Japanese cuisine. Not only products and methods of their preparation are different - the matter is in the approach to cooking. Delicacies are not accepted here in the usual sense of the word: according to the Japanese, food should not be prepared for long and difficult. "Do not create, but find and discover!" - say the Japanese chefs. That is, take a simple product, delicately emphasize its taste and serve so as to deliver to people not only taste, but also aesthetic pleasure.
RICE AND SEAFOOD
In Japanese, "food" and "boiled rice" are denoted by the same word. And it should be noted that here they love the local product, prepared without salt and other seasonings, most often - steamed. They say that the Japanese simply refuse to recognize him in Russian porridge or Uzbek pilaf! Japanese rice is sticky, so it is convenient to eat with hashi (special chopsticks). And the Japanese eat rice at least twice a day - in small portions.
Another no less significant group of products for residents of the Land of the Rising Sun are the gifts of the sea and ocean. Moreover, the Japanese sincerely do not understand why fry or cook something that is delicious in kind.There is a huge number of dishes, the preparation of which boils down to a beautiful laying out of pieces of fresh fish on a plate. Of the more exotic and specific treats - odori dish, the essence of which is to eat fish literally alive. The classic version of this dish is “dancing perch”: they simply pour fish over with boiling water and cut them into pieces, despite the fact that it continues to beat with its tail.
Perhaps the top of Japanese culinary art is the preparation of poisonous puffer fish. This pleasure is not for the faint of heart: in the muscles, liver and caviar of one fish, there is such an amount of nerve agent that can send another 30-40 people to the world. However, throughout history, the Japanese stubbornly did not want to abandon such a dangerous delicacy, which, they said, had a taste "refined, like Japanese painting." Chefs who decide to obtain a license for cooking puffer will have to graduate from a special school and pass an exam.
NOODLES
Various types of products made from stiff unleavened dough are no less popular in Japan than in Italy: noodles are eaten hot and cold, added to soup and served as a side dish. Transparent rice is called bifon, brownish buckwheat, similar to very thin spaghetti, - soba, yellow egg - ramen, and thick wheat flour noodles - udon. The latter are especially favored by the Japanese and are recommended to be cooked in fry from the fry so that it acquires a particularly delicate taste and becomes a real "food for the soul." By the way, you shouldn’t break the noodles before cooking: the locals believe that the longer the string, the more it foreshadows the eater.
SOUPS AND BOILONS
It will seem strange to our man a very free treatment of the Japanese with the so-called first. Soup for them is more likely an addition to another dish, so someone starts the day with it, and someone supplements them with Japanese fast food (sushi, rolls, sashimi). Secondly, the Japanese prepare the vast majority of soups unusually empty: the liquid is at least 80% of the dish. Usually the basis for them is dashi broth, which is cooked on the basis of seaweed, dried fish flakes or sardines. For such broths in our time, there are instant dry mixes that are simply poured into boiling water and infused for some time. Transparent soups add a small amount of vegetables or seafood, sliced in the form of symbols of the current time, which is of great importance for the Japanese. And the famous thick miso soup is prepared on the basis of soybean paste and can be served both for lunch and breakfast or dinner.
MARBLED MEAT
Despite the fact that meat in Japan began to be consumed relatively recently, at the beginning of the 20th century, the fame of the so-called marbled beef kobugu stepped far beyond the borders of this country. When fried, it turns out so tender that it literally melts in your mouth. The secret of the dish lies in the exceptional quality of the meat. Gobies intended to gourmet gustatory taste are grazed on special meadows, fed with selected food, watered with spring water, they are even given some beer. In addition, every day they receive electromassage sessions and relaxation in special cots with beautiful music.As a result, the calf’s meat receives a beautiful marbled vein pattern and, of course, an amazing taste!
TOFU
Once upon a time, Buddhist monks introduced this soy product to the Japanese. Tofu was appreciated and served at the imperial table: the product was credited with the ability to prolong life. However, already in the 19th century, the daily menu of every Japanese was unthinkable without tofu. Emphasizing immense respect for this product, it is called "o-tofu": the prefix "o" means "respected". In addition to the undeniable health benefits, soy cheese also has an invaluable culinary property: a neutral taste. Therefore, it goes well with any sauces, spices and seasonings, absorbing their spiciness and aroma.
And finally, another facet of the gastronomic philosophy of Japan, which is perfectly expressed in the proverb: "Food, like a person, cannot appear naked in society." Perhaps in no kitchen in the world they pay so much attention to serving and serving dishes. And their design demonstrates the remarkable design abilities of local culinary specialists. It is the art of serving and decorating dishes, combined with indispensable rituals worthy of a separate article, that make Japanese cuisine so attractive to the gourmets of the world.
The article was published on the materials of the magazine "Good advice" 10/2013
Text: Alexander Sotnikov. Photo: PR
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova
