Japanese food quizz !

[Maciamo]

We haven't talked much about food on the forum yet. It's time for me to ask you a few questions about the origin of Japanese food. As you probably know, Japanese take eating seriously and French, Italian and Chinese food especially have a big part in everyday life in Japan. What you might not know is that Japanese used to be vegetarians before the Meiji westernisation. Buddhists didn't eat four-legged animals, though fish and seefood were allowed. Nowadays it's a bit tricky for the tourist to distinguish what is traditionally Japanese, what is foreign and what is hybrid (foreign-inspired Japanese food). So, here is my quizz, which of these are traditional Japanese, which are hybrid (=modern Japanese) and which are imports. Specify the country of origin or it's too easy. :p If the dish is a speciality of a particular region in Japan, specify it as well :

bibimba
chaahan　チャーハン
chuuka-soba
dons (katsudon, kaisendon, oyako-don, unagi-don, gyuu-don, kimuchi-don, tendon, stamina-don...)
guratan グラタン
gyoza
goya champuru
hambaagu　ハンバーグ
hijiki
foagura　フォアグラ
biifu shichiyuu ビーフシチュー
kare　カレー
konsome
kimuchi
kureepu　クレープ
norimaki
nikuman(juu)
natto
udon
ebi-chili
ramen
oden
o-bento
okonomiyaki
omoja
omuraisu
potofu　ポトフ
pasta
pizza
potaaju　ポタージュ
subuta
shijimi
shuumai
soba
sushi
sahimi
takoyaki
tonkatsu
tofu based-dishes
tempura
kuroke　
ebi-fry, kaki-fry...
yakisoba
yakiniku
yakitori

Some are quite difficult... watch out for the Japanese spelling.
:blush: Do you want to add more to the list ? Note that I haven't included the kinds of bread, pastry and snacks.

[moyashi]

tonkatsu = Tokyo area I believe. Created during the western food craze back in ??? 1930? Not sure but it could also have it's original origins in Europe/America.

No meat previously. It could be buddhist based but I wouldn't pass off the possiblity of it being that the nation was just so poor.

Nah, I think we have enough ;)

[Olivia]

guratan = gratin (fran軋is) -> this is soooooo good!!!
the same applies to
foagura = fois grois (fran軋is) = liver pate

[Olivia]

ooops...
liver = FOIE

[miyuki]

September 15 is 'Respect-for-the senior-citizens Day.'(since 1966)
Nihon hijiki association set September 15 'hijiki no hi.'(after 1966...maybe)
Because (Hijiki association maintains) we always say, 'If you eat hijiki, you can live longer.'

Hijiki no hi??
Hijiki association??
we can live longer with hijiki???
I haven't heard that...
They must know who ate hijiki first.:D

[Maciamo]

By the way, hijiki is one of my favorite dish ! It's a great pity I have never seen it in restaurants.

[miyuki]

It is my favorite,too.
And my mother's one of ' tokui na ryouri. '
in a restaurant.......I haven't seen such menu.

-'Nagaiki' and hijiki-
They based that on the nutrition of hijiki.
Hijiki is abundant in dietary fiber or Ca,Fe,Na,Mg,Zn,Ka..etc,..

Anyway,sea weeds were found from shell mounds of Jomon period.
Fresh hijiki tastes bitter.(I haven't tasted it...)
As Jomon people knowed to boil foods in a base,
they might taste mild hijiki,I guess.

In Nara period(710-794),people brought sea weeds(mainly wakame,konbu) to Heijyokyo as one of taxes.
In Heian period(794-1192),they wrote how to cook hijiki in their cooking book.
;)

[miyuki]

We can buy cooked hijiki (one of 'o sozai') at a market.

[kinjo]

Someone told me that all Japanese were pure vegetarians long long back...........Is it true?
And it seems that accounts for the hereditary,small, fragile frame of the average Japanese which is rapidly changing nowadays due to the consumption of meat over a period of time?

Any truth in this?

Kinjo

[miyuki]

Some people ate meat even in Edo period.

In Nara period,Tenmu tenno prohibited to eat cattle,horses,dogs,monkeys and birds.
But people allowed to eat deer or wild bore.

Edo period,they prohibited to eat amimals officially.
On the other hand, they made some crafts or drums from cowskins in each han.
Hikone han allowed to kill cattle officially to make drums for Edo bakufu.
They offered miso taste beef every year to Syogun or Tokugawa families.

In Satsuma han,a doctor wrote in his diary that people here caught more birds or animals than people did in other han.

Deer meat was called 'momiji,' and wild bore's meat was called 'Yama kujira(whale of mountain).'
Now we count rabbits 1wa, 2wa...like birds.
It is said because people tried to hold back their meat eating.

[thomas]

Are deer and wild boars still eaten nowadays, are there any typical regions? Tohoku or Hokkaido I assume...

I remember I've tried horse sashimi in Tokyo.

[Maciamo]

I know that it is extremely difficult to find game (deer, pheasant, wild boar, etc) in Tokyo, and when one can you pay for it ! Even duck isn't common in Chinese restaurant. I used to eat Peking or orange duck at home, but I've seen any in Japan. Hunting is prohibited in most of - if not all - Japan, I have heard.

[moyashi]

There is limited hunting allowed in Hokkaido. Ex-girlfriend's father also owned a rifle. Also, whenever a bear gets rampant the countryside jijis get together and hunt the poor thing.

Pistols I do believe are totaly ilegal while rifles are legal ( in certain areas?) and are highly registered and checked.

I haven't seen much of deer or boar (don't think we got boar in Hokkaido) but I see beer meat every once in a while. But, game in general is difficult to find.

Peking duck ... you probably can get it at high class restaraunts or hotels. It's not the rare, I see it on TV all the time.

[miyuki]

I know little about hunting...

If you have a licence,you can have a hunting gun.
And you allow to hunt some wild bores in a hunting season.
In winter I sometimes hear the news that wild bores or deers
eat field crop.
In such case, people reraly give hunters a special permission.

In Kyusyu,I saw a restaurant that served wild bore at a mountain side.
Horse sashimi is famous in Kumamoto.

:o

[Maciamo]

I don't know if you have really understood this was a quizz. I don't want to give the answers before anybody has at least tried.

[Olivia]

hihi!
we're trying! ;)

another shot...
pasta and pizza are italian, aren't they?

[miyuki]

@Maciamo-san,

Sorry:p

But if someone ask me (or others) ,
I'd like to say something....

(oikari wa gomottomo desu....
datte quiz ni narinasen.....)

:sorry:

[Maciamo]

As I see nobody is going to answer this quizz, so I'll give the "solution".Note that traditional Japanese dishes are usually written in kanji (some are never used) and hiragana.

Traditional Japanese

hijiki
soba
sushi >　寿司　or　鮨
sahimi >　刺身
kaisendon >　海鮮丼
unagi-don >　鰻丼
natto　>　納豆
norimaki > 海苔巻き
oden
o-bento
okonomiyaki > お好み焼き
omoja
tofu based-dishes


Hybrid - Modern Japanese

takoyaki
yakitori
katsudon
oyako-don
gyuu-don
kimuchi-don (hybrid Korean)
tempura (hybrid Portuguese)
tendon (hybrid Portuguese)
stamina-don (hybrid Chinese)
kare　カレー (hybrid Indian)
biifu shichiyuu ビーフシチュー (beef stew)
omuraisu
tonkatsu (hybrid Italian/French)
kuroke　(hybrid French > croquette)
ebi-fry, kaki-fry...
hambaagu　ハンバーグ (hamburger)

Imported

Korea

bibimba
kimuchi
yakiniku
shijimi

China

chaahan　チャーハン
chuuka-soba　中華そば
gyoza　餃子　(jiaozi)
nikuman(juu)　肉饅頭
udon　饂飩
ebi-chili
ramen　
shuumai　焼売 (shaomai)
subuta　酢豚
maabou doufu　
yakisoba　焼蕎麦

France

foagura　フォアグラ > foie gras
guratan グラタン > gratin
konsome > consome
potaaju　ポタージュ > potage
kureepu　クレープ > crepe
potofu　ポトフ > pot-au-feu

Italy

pasta
pizza

Okinawa

goya champuru

Sorry, my computer doesn't have all the kanji for Chinese words (ramen, chahan, mabou doufu).

[Olivia]

reading this makes me hungry... :� he he!

[doudesuka]

bibimba -korean
chaahan｡｡･ﾁ･罍ｼ･ﾏ･�-chinese
chuuka-soba-
dons (katsudon, kaisendon, oyako-don, unagi-don, gyuu-don, kimuchi-don, tendon, stamina-don...)-korean
guratan ･ｰ･鬣ｿ･�-french
gyoza-chinese
goya champuru-
hambaagu｡｡･ﾏ･�･ﾐ｡ｼ･ｰ-German,U.S.
hijiki-japan
foagura｡｡･ﾕ･ｩ･｢･ｰ･�-france
biifu shichiyuu ･ﾓ｡ｼ･ﾕ･ｷ･ﾁ･蝪ｼ
kare｡｡･ｫ･�｡ｼindia
konsome-france
kimuchi-korean
kureepu｡｡･ｯ･�｡ｼ･ﾗ-france
norimaki-japan
nikuman(juu)-korean
natto-japanese-osaka
udon
ebi-chili
ramen
oden
o-bento
okonomiyaki -Italy
omoja
omuraisu
potofu｡｡･ﾝ･ﾈ･ﾕ
pasta-italy
pizza-italy
potaaju｡｡･ﾝ･ｿ｡ｼ･ｸ･�
subuta
shijimi
shuumai-chinese
soba
sushi
sahimi
takoyaki-greece
tonkatsu-euro-U.S.
tofu based-dishes-china
tempura
kuroke-france
ebi-fry, kaki-fry...
yakisoba
yakiniku-U.S. BBQ
yakitori


I am just guessing.

[doudesuka]

nikuman comes from china, I believe.

[doudesuka]

Maciamo, Excuse me, I raced to the bottm to anser your quiz without realizing you gave us the answers. I learned a few things from the origins.:blush: