Japanese cuisine
Traditional Japanese cuisine emphasizes seasonal ingredients and balance.
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (washoku) is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, tamagoyaki, and vegetables cooked in broth. Common seafood is often grilled, but it is also sometimes served raw as sashimi or as sushi. Seafood and vegetables are also deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Apart from rice, a staple includes noodles, such as soba and udon. Japan also has many simmered dishes, such as fish products in broth called oden, or beef in sukiyaki and nikujaga.
- Origin
- Japan
- Key staples
- Rice, noodles (soba, udon), fish, miso soup
- Historical influences
- Chinese cuisine, Western cuisines
Lore & Background
Historically influenced by Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine has also opened up to influence from Western cuisines in the modern era. Dishes inspired by foreign food—in particular Chinese food—like ramen and gyōza, as well as foods like spaghetti, curry and hamburgers, have been adapted to Japanese tastes and ingredients. Traditionally, the Japanese shunned meat as a result of adherence to Buddhism, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1880s, meat-based dishes such as tonkatsu and yakiniku have become common. Since this time, Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi and ramen, has become popular globally.
Reader's Guide
Japanese cuisine is significant for its deep historical roots and global influence. It developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes, with rice as a staple and an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. The prohibition of meat due to Buddhism led to a focus on fish, which influenced iconic dishes like sushi and sashimi. In the modern era, Western and Chinese influences were adapted, creating popular dishes such as ramen, tonkatsu, and curry. The cuisine's legacy includes a traditional table setting with rice on the left and miso soup on the right, and dining etiquette such as saying itadakimasu before meals.
Did You Know?
- Sushi originated as a means of preserving fish by fermenting it in boiled rice.
- The word washoku (和食) is now the common word for traditional Japanese cooking.
More in World Cuisines 1-24
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