FOOD FORUM October 2020 3 CLOSE-UP JAPAN Traditions and Trends in Japanese Food Culture
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Vol. 34 No. 2 October 2020 Kikkoman’s quarterly intercultural forum for the exchange of ideas on food 4 THE JAPANESE TABLE CLOSE-UP JAPAN: Shokupan — Japanese Feasts for 5 JAPANESE STYLE: Grating Special Occasions TASTY TRAVEL: Miyazaki Hiyajiru Festive Food in the Home — by Ayako Ehara 6 MORE ABOUT JAPANESE COOKING: Our current series is focusing on the distinctive foods served on Italian-Style Hiyajiru festive occasions and for special events. This second installment Chilled Soup over Salad introduces a few notable dishes served in the home during the Tomato Sukiyaki Christmas and New Year’s holidays. — 8 KIKKOMAN TODAY: Savoring the Delights of Food at Home Japanese Feasts for Special Occasions Festive Food in the Home New Year’s traditions, from left: Toso sake infused with medicinal herbs; kagami-mochi stacked round mochi rice cakes topped by daidai and dried persimmons. It was in 2013 that UNESCO feast. This custom was adopted frosting. This eventually became declared “Washoku, traditional through the infl uence of Western the standard for today’s Christmas dietary cultures of the Japanese, culture, and has now become more cake; turkey, however, failed to win notably for the celebration of New common in some homes than acceptance. Instead, roast chicken Year,” as an Intangible Cultural are certain Japanese traditional and other chicken dishes became Heritage. In fact, among Japan’s practices. Christmas festivities the centerpiece of the Christmas traditional events and ceremonial are often observed among those feast. The style of Christmas dinner occasions, the New Year holidays, households with children, more we take pleasure in today has been called Shogatsu, are the most widely than 80 percent of which dine on enjoyed in Japanese homes since celebrated in Japanese households. dishes related to this holiday. Here the 1960s. A nationwide survey conducted we introduce foods eaten during the Today, pre-prepared roast by the Ministry of Agriculture, Christmas and New Year’s holidays, chicken fi lls supermarket shelves Forestry and Fisheries in 2015 and take a look at their respective at Christmastime, and a growing found that around 88 percent of backgrounds. number of people order Christmas households serve traditional foods cake at cake shops or online. Cake associated with the New Year, Christmas at Home choices are diverse: aside from either every year or most years. In December 1885, Christmas the classic round sponge cake That same survey revealed that decorations made an early with whipped-cream frosting and 73 percent of respondents reported appearance in Yokohama, Japan, strawberries, other temptations that they also serve a Christmas when a ship chandler, inspired include Bûche de Noël (French by his world travels, trimmed his yule log cake), German stollen and business storefront for promotional Italian panettone. Online videos purposes. These days, Christmas offer instruction on preparing trees and lights are a common cakes from scratch, which some sight throughout Japan. Christmas parents make with their children. feasting revolves around “Christmas It is children, after all, for whom cake,” described in a 1907 Japanese Christmas is a particularly fun and culinary dictionary as a sponge eagerly anticipated occasion. cake with a sweet icing. The book also explains how to prepare a New Year’s Traditional Dishes roast turkey for Christmas. In Immediately following Christmas, the 1910s, home-cooking and Japanese traditions defi ne the women’s magazines appeared, and menu. Shogatsu is the time when December issues featured recipes the deity of the New Year is for homemade Christmas feasts welcomed into the home. Festive that included sponge cake with foods are made as offerings to the Roast chicken and classic Christmas cake with whipped-cream frosting and strawberries buttercream or whipped-cream deity, and partaking of them is 2 Osechi ryori presented in a lacquered jubako thought to ensure good health. Served during the fi rst three days but even so, with the exception In most households, the main of the New Year, these festive of zoni, simmered dishes and offering is kagami-mochi, a pair of foods are beautifully arranged in namasu, a growing number order stacked round mochi rice cakes, a jubako—a lidded lacquer box ready-made osechi ryori, prepared one small and one large, with a comprising two or three stacked by professional outlets such as daidai bitter orange and ten dried, tiers. The custom of serving osechi restaurants and department stores. skewered persimmons placed on ryori in jubako was introduced Although the origins of these top. (The word daidai sounds in schools and in women’s two celebrations differ, both similar to the phrase, “to continue magazines around the year 1900, Western-style Christmas festivities for generations,” and persimmons and fi rst became widespread and the traditional Japanese New symbolize an abundant harvest.) In mainly in urban areas. There are Year’s holidays are two auspicious the past, each household made its many osechi ryori, but three in events on the Japanese calendar, and own kagami-mochi, but these days particular are eaten in over 80 both are defi ned by warm family they are usually store-bought. percent of households: kazunoko, gatherings and special feasts. Traditionally, the New Year herring roe marinated in soy holiday is also a time for drinking sauce-based dashi; kuromame toso, sake infused with medicinal black soybeans in syrup; and herbs. Family members take tazukuri, small sardines in a crisp turns drinking the beverage to glaze of seasoned soy sauce, mirin protect against misfortune and and sugar. Along with zoni, these illness, though nowadays fewer dishes have a long history of being households include toso in their served not only as part of the New festivities. According to a 2017 Year’s meal, but also as tidbits at survey conducted by the Washoku various ceremonies and rituals. cover Association of Japan, over 80 Other common traditional A family gathers to enjoy traditional osechi ryori during Shogatsu. percent of households serve New osechi ryori include kamaboko Year’s zoni, a soup containing fi sh cake; egg dishes; kinton (sweet mochi that is regarded as the most potato paste with chestnuts); Author’s profile Ayako Ehara was born in 1943 in Shimane Prefecture, important of New Year dishes. simmered chicken and root and graduated from Ochanomizu University. She Zoni differs by region, from shapes vegetables; and namasu (julienned holds a Ph.D. in Education and taught for many of the mochi to variations in soup daikon and carrot in sweetened years at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, where she is currently professor emerita. A specialist in food and ingredients. vinegar). Meats such as braised culture, the history of food education and cookery More than 80 percent of pork belly, roast beef or various science, Dr. Ehara is the author and editor of households also eat osechi ryori, types of ham are included. More many publications, including Katei Ryori no Kindai an assortment of dishes which households prepare homemade (“Modern Home Cooking”; 2012); Oishii Edo Gohan (“Delicious Edo-period meals”; co-author, 2011); and symbolize prayers for happiness dishes during the New Year than Nihon Shokumotsushi (“History of Japanese foods”; and good fortune in the New Year. on any other festive occasion, co-author, 2009). FOOD FORUM October 2020 3 CLOSE-UP JAPAN Traditions and trends in Japanese food culture From left: Two-kin (double-sized) shokupan loaf; shokupan toast with butter. Shokupan Shokupan is the Japanese word for In Japan, shokupan sell as kin, a long rectangular or square loaf of or loaves, with one kin square loaf white bread. It is soft, fl uffy and A new shokupan roughly 350-400g (12-14 oz.) and fi ne-textured with a delicate crust, measuring about 12cm (4.5 in.) and slices easily. These attributes boom has recently per side. A shokupan loaf is often are popular with the Japanese, overtaken Japan sold pre-sliced, in slices of four, six, who buy shokupan in supermarkets, eight or ten. This allows consumers convenience stores and bakeries. to choose their preferred thickness Some households make their own of slice. For the perfect sandwich, shokupan using bread-making of Tanegashima in Kagoshima the bread can be purchased in machines: the basic ingredients are Prefecture. After the Second World twelve thin slices, with the crust fl our, baker’s yeast, salt and water. War, wheat fl our was sent from on all four sides already removed. Bread was fi rst introduced the US to address post-war food A new shokupan boom has to Japan in 1543 when the shortages. This led to white bread recently overtaken Japan, driven Portuguese landed on the island becoming known throughout the by bakeries specializing only in country and, while rice remains shokupan. These “gourmet” loaves Japan’s traditional staple food, are priced four to fi ve times higher bread was eventually adopted as than mass-produced supermarket another. National preference for shokupan, which typically costs the glutinous texture of Japanese only JPY150-200 (USD1.40-1.80). rice led to an inclination for bread Customers line up at these that is moist, soft and bouncy; specialist bakeries for fresh-baked Western-style pain de mie was shokupan that is slightly sweeter therefore modifi ed to accommodate and velvety soft, the result of added the Japanese palate, resulting in butter, honey or fresh cream—bread Thin-sliced shokupan is sold with crust already today’s shokupan. Wider popularity that can be appreciated without removed for sandwiches. of shokupan grew in the 1950s. fi rst being toasted. 4 JAPANESE STYLE Perspectives on Japanese cuisine Grating Tempura served with grated daikon Grating is an essential method in to those produced by food processors fi ne teeth are often preferred when preparing traditional Japanese cuisine.