Читать книгу Japan from Anime to Zen - David Watts Barton - Страница 12

Nearly everyone who lives in a modern city is familiar with Japanese food, which along with Italian, Chinese, and American cuisines is an essential part of an international diet. Everyone knows that rice, noodles, and tofu, along with chicken, fish, beef, and a great variety of vegetables, are familiar Japanese staples.

But what often makes Japanese food pop is the extraordinary number of condiments and ingredients that either inform the flavors of or add a little something extra to the finished dishes. Far beyond the basic condiments of many international cuisines—the familiar salt and peppers—the variety of Japanese ingredients combine to make Japanese cuisine one of the most distinctive in global gastronomy.

Many of the condiments are familiar to us now, and some—sesame oil, soy sauce, chili sauce—are central to other cuisines. But others, such as bonito flakes, nori, and dried shiitake mushrooms, are unique to Japanese cuisine. Still others, such as curry powder, are familiar from other cuisines but are distinctively different in their Japanese form.

There are dozens to choose from, but to keep things manageable, here are eight of the most common ingredients and condiments that you will find in nearly every Japanese meal. There are many more to explore, but these are a good place to start:

• Shoyu (Japanese soy sauce): Like so many things, soy sauce first came to Japan from China more than a thousand years ago. But shoyu—made from soybeans, wheat, salt, and yeast—and its derivatives such as tamari and ponzu, are a bit less salty than Chinese soy sauce. Shoyu still provides the same lift to foods, especially when used with that staple of any Japanese meal, short-grain white rice. But whatever you do, do not put shoyu directly on a bowl of white rice—it is considered something close to sacrilege.

• Katsuobushi, or bonito flakes: These flakes of dried and smoked skipjack tuna are a crucial ingredient in dashi, which forms the basis of many broths, which are in turn a part of many Japanese soups, stews, and other dishes. As with other dried fish such as anchovies, bonito flakes show up everywhere, imparting Japan’s beloved umami.

• Shiromiso (white miso): An ingredient well known for its many uses, white miso is just one of the pastes made from fermenting a combination of soybeans and barley. Miso is, of course, the base in miso soup (yet another umami-flavored dish), but it is also used in a variety of marinades and salad dressings. White miso takes considerably less time to ferment than red miso, which has a stronger taste and is therefore used somewhat less often.

• Nori: Seaweed is one of Japan’s singular contributions to global cuisine, and its uses and benefits continue to be discovered. One of the most nutritious foods in the world (if your body can absorb it, not all can), seaweed shows up in dozens, even hundreds of Japanese dishes. Nori is just one of many varieties of seaweed (wakame is also useful), but nori is particularly well known for its role in many varieties of sushi, and it is used as a wrapping on that most popular of Japanese snacks, the rice ball (onigiri). It is also shredded or crushed and used as a condiment sprinkled over many dishes.

• Komezu (rice vinegar): Another condiment that comes in many forms, this fermented liquid does everything from providing a dipping sauce for tempura to serving as a binding agent to hold sushi rice together for nigiri. Whether sweetened or spicy, komezu is considerably less acidic than Western vinegars.

• Goma abura (toasted sesame oil): Sesame seeds and their oil are a powerful flavor that is used throughout international cuisine, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, but nowhere have the subtleties of this strong flavor been better harnessed than in Japanese food. A flavoring rather than a cooking oil, when used sparingly it imparts a wonderful, nutty aroma.

• Dried shiitake mushrooms: Perhaps the most distinctive flavor on this list, and yet another source of the fifth flavor, umami, dried shiitake mushrooms have a flavor that stands out even among mushrooms, known in Japanese as kinoko.

• Furikake: A condiment you will not see in any other cuisine, furikake is a powdered combination of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, and salt and is most commonly sprinkled on rice.

These are a handful of the ingredients and condiments common in Japanese food. But there are many others, including unusual tastes such as menma (dried bamboo), rayu (chili oil), karashi (powdered mustard), sinus-frying wasabi, citrusy ponzu sauce, and the piquant pickled plums known as umeboshi.