Japanese

=**Japanese Cuisine**=

Introduction/History
Japan is an island country. Consequently, their cuisine is heavily dependent on seafood. Seafood was easily spoiled in the past, when people did not have good ways to preserve their food. So, the Japanese people started fermenting their fish. Sushi, in the beginning of its history, was not raw fish. The Japanese people wet their rice with vinegar and inserted the fish flesh between the rice layers to make the fish ferment quickly. However, with the development of wasabi, which used to be an antidote, the Japanese people started eating less fermented fish. In the 1500s, the Japanese people adapted the meat-eating culture from overseas, which came from China and Korea. As time passed on, the Japanese people had crop to feed their animals.

**Rice**[[image:furikake.jpg width="242" height="235" align="right"]]
Made from the typical Japanese sticky rice, rice is eaten on a normal basis. Rice is eaten with soup, other side dishes, or furikake.

**Fish**
Japan is surrounded by waters all around, since it is an island country. The Japanese people did not have good skills for raising livestock until they gained the information from foreign influences. A diet based mainly on fish was established until that time period, and therefore the Japanese diet consists mainly of fish.

**Noodles[[image:somen.jpg width="368" height="279" align="right"]]**
The Japanese people like to eat noodles, since it is easy to cook. It is another part of their diet, noodles with pre-made soup that is made from various ingredients.

**Miso Sauce**[[image:natto.jpg width="331" height="270" align="right"]]
Miso Sauce is made from fermenting beans through a special method in the country. Dry straws of rice are used in order to make the fermenting process go faster.

**Natto**
Natto is another type of fermented beans, which still maintain their shape. They are known to be extremely sticky, and have a distinct smell. Natto can be eaten with leek, wasabi, karashi, egg, mayonnaise, and many other types of sauces.

**Nihon Kimuchi[[image:Kimuchi.jpg width="334" height="289" align="right"]]**
The Japanese people used to have white fermented vegetables that were similar to the Korean kimchi. However, in the modern days, instead of their traditional fermented vegetables, Korean kimchi is eaten often thanks to its strong flavor.

[[image:wasabi.jpg width="278" height="278" align="right"]]
Wasabi was origianlly an antidote, and started its usage as sauce during the 1200s~1300s. Eating food with wasabi weakened the danger of food poisoning from eating fish, since maintaining a good quality of fish was extremely difficult to do in the past.

Soysauce is an important source of taste in Japanese food. The unique taste coming from the soybeans used in the process provide a taste that is different from other types of salty sauces in the world. Some are made with fermented fish, but serve the same purpose as soysauce.
 * Soysauc[[image:soysauce.jpg width="349" height="236" align="right"]]e**

**Furikake[[image:furikake1.jpg width="228" height="228" align="right"]]**
Furikake is often sprinkled on plain rice to make its flavour stronger. It is a convenient way to eat rice without a complex cooking process.

**Famous Dishes**
Sukiyaki is done by putting a huge pot in the middle of the table and inserting ingredients as the water boils. Herbs are used to decrease the smell of the other ingredients. Fish and meat are always a part of sukiyaki, as it adds more flavor to the food.
 * Sukiyaki**[[image:sukiyaki.jpg width="242" height="282" align="right"]]

Sushi is made from mixing rice with sugar and vinegar, and putting a piece of fish on a small piece of rice. They are eaten with wasabi and soysauce.
 * Sushi**[[image:sushi.jpg width="340" height="256" align="right"]]

Sashimi is made from alive fish, and no other cooking process is used except for cutting. The fish is prepared while it is alive, cut with an extremely sharp knife. The best skill is to serve the fish alive in front of the customer, all prepared and sliced, to maximize the freshness of the meat.
 * Sashimi**[[image:sashimi.jpg width="309" height="276" align="right"]]

Ramen is noodle that is let loose in a type of soup. Depending on the flavour of the soup, the kind of ramen is decided. It is a famous daily-eaten food.
 * Ramen**[[image:ramen.jpg width="398" height="301" align="right"]]

**Korea and China**
During the 1500s, knowledge of raising livestock came from overseas, from Korea and China. From this point on, the Japanese people started including meat in their diet. Prior to this influence, the diet consisted mainly of seafood and fish.

**A Typical Meal**[[image:http://www.chinesewhispers.info/jap-meal.jpg align="right"]]
A typical Japanese meal consists of a few side dishes, a soup, and rice. When the Japanese people eat noodles, they prefer to have only a few sauces to accompany it instead of side dishes. The rice is usually plain, to harmonize with the taste of the side dishes, the main dish, or the soup.

**Chashuu-Mori[[image:Chashuu.jpg align="right"]]**
2 Onions 10-20 pieces of Garlic 2 Leek Stems 2 Small pieces of Ginger 1 cup of Japanese Sake 1 tsp of Instant Coffee 1.5kg of Neck of Pork Any fresh Vegetables available.

1. Put all of the prepared ingredients except the Neck of Pork in a pot and start boling the water. The pot must be big enough for everything to fit in. While the water heats, dip the pork in cold water to drain the blood out. 2. If the water starts boiling, place the Neck of Pork in the boliing water. 3. After 40-60 minutes, the pork's smell is gone, and the tastes of the ingredients are left with the meat. 4. Throw away the soup and the other ingredients. 5. The pork is sliced into chunks with 1cm thickness. 6. The pork is then eaten with fresh vegetables of your choice.