The eating habits of the culture - Japan.
"Food and An Australian Identity"
The eating habits of the culture (foods eaten; main ingredients; methods of cooking; meal times; who prepares the meal)
The Japanese cuisine is known for its simplicity and beauty. The Japanese cuisine is known to be one of the world's most healthiest diets. As the Japanese serve their meals raw or slightly cooked with a bit of fat also used. This was influenced by their Buddhist faith, which as Buddhists; they were not allowed to consume meat or dairy products.
The Japanese diet does not only contain sushi; there are other meals that are also very well known. The Japanese are also known for their teriyaki; marinated beef/chicken/fish; sukiyaki; thin slices of beef, bean curd and vegetables; tempura; deep fried seafood and vegetables; sashimi; slices of raw seafood dipped into soy sauce and of course the sushi which is slices of raw seafood placed into dried seaweed with some lightly vinegared rice.
The most important ingredients used in Japanese cooking are rice, soy beans and vegetables. At each meal served, the dishes almost always have rice, and vegetables in it. Without these 3 ingredients, the Japanese would not be eating anything. This shows how significant these ingredients are.
Yellow, black, white, green, and red are the colours that must be included to make a perfect Japanese meal. The flavours sweet, spicy, salty, bitter and sour must also be included into a Japanese meal, or else this dish would not at all be perfect. The five traditional cooking methods that the Japanese most regularly use are: - boiling, grilling, deep-frying, steaming and surprisingly serving raw. Serving raw is a cooking method even though there is no cooking involved, plenty of preparation is implicated.
At breakfast time, sayo; the person who makes and prepares the meal; ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Yellow, black, white, green, and red are the colours that must be included to make a perfect Japanese meal. The flavours sweet, spicy, salty, bitter and sour must also be included into a Japanese meal, or else this dish would not at all be perfect. The five traditional cooking methods that the Japanese most regularly use are: - boiling, grilling, deep-frying, steaming and surprisingly serving raw. Serving raw is a cooking method even though there is no cooking involved, plenty of preparation is implicated.
At breakfast time, sayo; the person who makes and prepares the meal; makes a mini-dinner. Their breakfast includes fish, rice, miso soup (fermented soybean soup), Japanese pickles, and dried seaweed, with occasionally a raw egg with a small amount of rice.
Lunch would normally contain some meat, fish or seafood, rice, miso soup, and a small salad. And as a beverage, they would drink coffee or tea more often than not.
The perfect Japanese dinner would include boiled rice, clear soup/miso soup, boiled vegetables, fish or meat, sliced raw fish and pickles. Sake (rice wine) would be drunk or the normal beer known by the world would be drunk instead.
Sayo (the chef; person who prepares a meal) usually prepares the meals. There is no specific gender on which Japanese cooks and prepares the meal.
Food for special occasions (celebration days; foods eaten)
Special occasions must always involve food, to be able to have a good time.
Shichiya-no-iwai (Seventh Day Celebration); this day is the seventh day from
which a baby is born. In the morning, the baby is offered a small amount of rice on a wooden table with narrow hexagonal paper. The rice is coloured red for this celebration.
Kuizome is also known as the first meal. This has been a ritual since the 14th century. This is done on the 120th day after the child's birth. The child would eat a simple Japanese meal on this day.
Honzen-Ryouri is only served during ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, funerals and other formal occasions. The Honzen-Ryouri is a basic and traditional style of cooking for the Japanese.
The Kaseiki-Ryouri is the menu of a light meal before a ceremony. Where a thick, bitter tea is served. Although this dish, wouldn't taste nice on an empty stomach, so the guests would eat a light meal, just enough to make them feel slightly less hungry.
The Osechi-Ryouri is the traditional meal of only being eaten during the New Year period (only up to 3.January). This meal is usually served in lacquer boxes and believed to bring good luck, happiness, and wealth.
Other information
The Japanese are very conscious about theirs and others table manners. When brought into a restaurant, you are expected to be able to sit in the seiza position.
The seiza position is when you sit kneeling without a bent back. You must remain in this position for the whole meal.
The rules for eating are:
* Don't start eating until everyone is served
* It is good manners if you eat everything in the bowl; to the last grain of rice
* It is impolite to pour yourself a drink
* It is okay to make slurping noises while eating
The proper uses of chopsticks are:
* Do not stab chopsticks into your food.
* Do not point your chopsticks at someone.
* Do not use chopsticks to move plates and dishes around.
* Do not wave your chopsticks in the air.
* Place your chopsticks on a chopsticks rest when not in use
Bibliography
* http://members.tripod.com/~Doc_In_The_Kitchen/japan.html
* http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cooking%20by%20Country/Japan.htm
* http://asiarecipe.com/japinfo.html#cult
* Encarta 99
* http://www.ogasawara-ryu.com/en/ome15.html
By: Cecilia Truong
