Japanese Food (continued)

 

II. Rice and Noodles

Rice was the most important crop to the Japanese. It was introduced into Japan more than 2,000 years ago by the Yayoi people (300 B.C.E.-300 C.E.) who came to Japan mostly from Korea and Northern China.

Japan imported from China the technique of wet rice agriculture common to much of Asia. Rice seeds are sown in small seedbeds. The seedlings are then transplanted one by one to a prepared paddy field. While the plants are maturing, they must be kept irrigated, but the fields are drained as the rice ripens. The rice is then harvested and threshed.

Wet rice agriculture requires plenty of rain, but also strong warm sun. It requires relatively flat, fertile land, an abundant and dependable supply of water for irrigation, and a reliable labor force.

Wet rice agriculture does not require a lot of land. Good rice land is scarce in Japan. The typical Japanese farm was less than an acre in size. Wet rice agriculture requires a great deal of cheap labor found in an extended family.

Rich people controlled land ownership: the nobles during the first thousand years of Japanese history, the samurai and the shogun during the second. Often these men did not own the land themselves, but they held rights to a share of the rice crop. The farmers had to give part of their rice crop to politically powerful people.

From International Schools Cyberfair
 

Rice is usually served in a bowl and eaten with chopsticks. As in the past, rice is often eaten three times a day. No proper meal is considered complete without rice, a serving of pickled vegetables and a bowl of miso-flavored soup. All accompanying foods-whether meat or fowl, seafood or vegetable-are considered "side dishes," no matter how complex or substantial they may be.

 

Noodles are an important food, too. There are two main types of noodles: udon (made from wheat flour and is usually thick), and soba (made from buckwheat)

Different types of noodlesSoba noodles can be eaten hot or cold.

Learn more about rice and noodles:

Few spices are used in cooking. The main seasoning is shoyu (soy sauce).

 

III. Vegetables and Fruits

Japanese cuisine uses vegetables mostly as side-dishes.

Vegetables are never overcooked. They are often just boiled for just a few minutes and served with a light soy sauce and sesame seeds. Vegetables are served on tiny plates given to each person.

The most common way to serve vegetables is in the form of pickles. Cucumbers, cabbage, lotus root, Japanese horseradish root, daikon, or other root vegetables taste delicious and maintain their crispness when pickled.

Here are some popular vegetables:

Ohitashi ("o-hee-tash-ee") or boiled spinach

Japanese cucumber and eggplant

from Japanese Food Photo Gallery

bok choy (white vegetable) from China

Kinpira-gobo (simmered burdock root)

Misato Rose - a Chinese radish

Mizuna cabbage

Lotus root (renkon)

Edamame (green soy beans)

Hakusai cabbage

Popular Fruits

Pickled Plums - Umeboshi

Mandarin oranges

Asian pears

Miso Soup

Miso soup is a central part of the Japanese diet. Soup is often served before every meal including breakfast. Miso soup is made from fermented soy bean paste added to water with some vegetables (often thinly sliced green onions, small pieces of tofu, sliced mushrooms, even seaweed). It is a very healthy soup.

Miso soup (from Marukome)

Here is a good recipe for miso soup. And see the Kid's Page on Miso soup, too.

 

The Buddhist ban on meat-eating led to the development of a vegetarian cuisine based around tofu and other soy-based products.

Soy beans tofu in many recipes

 

Go back to Page One: Japanese Food

This is Page Two: Japanese Vegetables, Fruits, Grains

Go to Page Three: Japanese Food, Recipes

Return to Medieval Japan Home Page

Sample Activities - Things to Do:

  1. Experiences:
    • Interview: Go to some of the places listed in the "Community Resources" above (including Japanese grocery stores and restaurants). You may be lucky enough to talk to someone who knows about traditional Japanese culture in one of the places you visit. Prepare a list of questions and take notes on their answers. (A small tape recorder can be checked out for this activity.) Questions about food may include: What is a typical breakfast, lunch, dinner? Are there any special foods for certain holidays or celebrations, such as New Year's Day, Children's Day, etc. Who usually does the cooking in Japan, men or women? Is food in our city very different from food in Japan? Which is healthier, American or Japanese style food? Remember to be polite and respectful of their time. Be sure to have permission from both your teacher and a parent before beginning these visits. (We don't want you to get lost!)
    • Prepare Food: Learn how to be a sushi or tempura expert. Demonstrate how to make these (or other) dishes.
    • Create a pictorial Japanese Recipe Book. Choose some of the best recipes, write them (or copy them from the sites), illustrate them with your original drawings or photographs of dishes your group prepared.
    • Conduct a Taste Test-Survey. Prepare several dishes described above. Prepare a survey form to see how each dish was rated by the student, parent & teacher "tasters". Analyze your results. For example, did adults have different tastes from students? Did students from Asian backgrounds differ from students of other backgrounds? Were there any dishes which some tasters considered "nasty" or wouldn't eat? (Sashimi (raw seafood), eel, octopus, or other types of sushi, for example.)
  2. Plan and plant a Japanese vegetable garden. You can do this as part of our school garden or in your home (or in a "roof garden"). Seed can be obtained from many garden stores or greenhouses, or can be ordered from this list of Japanese vegetable seeds.
  3. All groups may be required to make an oral report on their topic. See the oral report criteria before you begin your report. In addition to background information, you can include a demonstration of how to prepare a Japanese dish.
  4. Create a webpage showing what you learning and activities (such as going on a field trip to a restaurant, interviewing a Japanese cook, cooking at home or at school, etc.) Remember, a good webpage has an introduction, body, and conclusion (with a reflection) just like a good composition. (Add pictures from other sites or scan in photographs you have taken.) A good webpage has good information that is well researched and written in your own words. A good webpage may also have links to lead the reader to more information if they want to learn more.
  5. E-mail Pals: We have set up some contacts with students in Japan. Their English is limited, but you can share your life with them and you can learn a lot from them. For example, students in Japan may be interested in what the "typical American mean" is like. (Is there such a thing?) Exchange some recipes and other information or even photographs. See your teacher about becoming an "e-mail pal". Write up or report orally about what you have learned.
  6. Evaluate the websites listed above according to a five-star system. Which ones, if any, deserve all five stars? Set up your criteria for evaluation. Your evaluations may become part of this webpage.
  7. WEBQUEST! Show how much you know by completing this Japanese Food WebQuest!

Books and Magazines

  1. A variety of Japanese cookbooks are available at Kinokuniya Book Store in Japan Town, San Francisco. Phone: [415] 567-7625. One that has very good photographs and recipes is Quick and Easy Japanese Cuisine for Everyone by Yukiko Moriyama, JOIE, Inc., Tokyo, 1993. Another good book is A First Book of Japanese Cooking by Masako Yamaoka, Kodansha International, New York, 1995.
  2. An educational book for middle school students is A Taste of Japan by Jenny Ridgwell, Thomson Learning, New York, 1993. This book tells much about how food is obtained and prepared, as well as recipes.
  3. Everyday Life in Traditional Japan, by Charles Dunn, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont, 1997, 190 pages. This book has an interesting chapter (pages 50 - 83) on the life of the farmers of Japan especially during the Edo Period (1603 - 1867): how they lived, what work they did, and what they produced. Be sure to see pages 150 - 158 for typical meals in Edo (Tokyo) for the merchant class.
  4. "Life in Old Japan - Coloring Book" by John Green, Dover Publications, New York, 1994. This coloring book has good pictures of agricultural methods: rice production (page 17); silkworms and silk and cotton cloth production (pages 18 - 20); fishing with cormorant birds (page 21).

Video Resources

  1. Near the very end of "Traditional Japan, Vol. I" the traditional and more modern methods of planting rice are shown and includes a traditional dance to begin the rice planting. This video is by Dr. Merry, Nomad Films, 1996. [Available from Japan Video & Media, Inc., 1737 Post Street, San Franciscco, CA 94115 Phone [415] 563-5220.
  2. "The Art of Sushi with Hidehiko Takada" (for information call 1-800-SUSHI-42) This video shows a beginner how to prepare and roll several types of sushi.
  3. "Japanese Cooking: A Taste for All Seasons" [30 min.] is available from Japan Information Center, 50 Fremont Street, Suite 2200, San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: [415] 777-3533. (Videos and information are also available in Los Angeles, California. Phone: [213] 617-6700.)
  4. "The Culinary Art of Japan" (29 min.) is also available from the Japan Information Center, above.

Community Resources

  1. Restaurants near our school and in Japan Town, S.F. may serve as resources. With arrangement by the teacher, interviews and demonstrations (of how to make sushi, for example) can be set up, and other questions can be answered. For example, "We Be Sushi" is found at 1071 Valencia (and elsewhere) and a field trip before the restaurant opens for business might be arranged by the teacher.
  2. In San Francisco's Japan Town there is the Naruwa Grocery Store on Post Street which will have many of the items needed for recipes and equipment (such as the screens for rolling sushi). Check other grocery stores in your neighborhood for ingredients. Many of the ingredients for Japanese cooking can be found at large supermarkets today.