Japanese Cooking

The beautiful land of Japan, with its four distinct seasons and its charming natural scenery, has given the Japanese people a unique personality that in turn has produced a distinct type of cooking and food.

Its long history makes its foods and their preparation different from that of other nations. The discerning visitor will note that the food of the Japanese is influenced by their love of simplicity and delicate plainness.

The basic materials required in Japanese cooking are white rice, tender fish, beautiful vegetables of varied hues, miso-soup with its fragrance, and green tea.

The real esthetic value of cooking in this country is to bring out the various special flavors of the above materials.

For example, if you have some fresh fish, you may prepare it without changing its natural and peculiar flavor, as in suimono (clear soups), yakimono (broiled foods), nimono (boiled foods), mushimono (steamed foods), agemono (fried foods), as sashimi (sliced raw fish), or as namasu (raw fish mixed with vegetables and flavored with vinegar).

Vegetables may be treated in the same fashion, as they are available all the year round, and they may be prepared as hitashimono (boiled greens), nimono (boiled foods), in miso-soup, tsukemono (pickles), and so on, in such a way as to preserve their original, special flavor. Sometimes they are used together with other foods for flavor or fragrance.

 From: 100 Favorite Japanese Recipes for Western Cooks

BY AYA KAGAWA, D. M.

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