Is Japanese the world's greatest cuisine?
No, it isn't. Because there is no such thing in the world's greatest cuisine. There are many great cuisines: Chinese, French, Indian etc. And Japanese is one of them.
So why do so many chefs swear by Japanese cuisine?
Because it is philosophically different from nearly every other cuisine. Indian food is about taking ingredients and cooking them with spices. French food used to be based on great sauces.
Japanese food is about searching for outstanding ingredients and making them taste like the best versions of themselves.
Indian chefs will look at a piece of fish and think of the masalas he or she will fry it with or the curry it can go into. A Japanese chef will look at the same fish and wonder how its flavour can be preserved. Can it be served raw as sashimi? Can it become part of a delicate tempura? Can it be marinated in miso to bring out its flavour?
This approach so inspired the French that much of the nouvelle cuisine revolution of the 1970s was based on the same principles: less sauce, more ingredients that taste of themselves with minimal human intervention.
I love Japanese food. I'm going to like eating in Japan, right?
この記事は Brunch の April 15, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Brunch の April 15, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Hitting the wrong note
Even hitmakers can have epic fails. Here are 10 bands that named themselves in haste, only to repent at leisure
A walk to remember
As India celebrates 25 years of Fashion Week, here's your front-row seat to the first edition, in 2000. The models, the designs, the gossip, the backstage drama, and those after-parties!
Before the tea gets cold
Sudhir Patwardhan's paintings show a Mumbai that viewers may find familiar. But look closer. The details tell new tales, trigger universal questions
Who's the third world now?
There was a time when Egypt or Lagos were considered lawless lands. Now one has to be on guard in London and Paris
Spice routes and detours
More and more countries are discovering that packaged Indian spices are contaminated. Back home, they're so convenient and trusted, we didn't think to look closer. It's time to rework this recipe
Murder, she rewrote
What's better than a woman detective? A team of two. New shows and films are making the most of the partnership, giving crime drama and comedy an edge
What broth this on?
Hopeless ramentic? Slurp up this guide and order the best bowl, every time
Unconventional habits
There's so much more to nuns and convent education than what shows up on screen. Why do the cliches persist?
Photos or pulp fictions?
Gauri Gill's portraits showcase ordinary folks, doing ordinary things, but wearing extraordinary masks. See why the quirky series offers more than what meets the eye
Hear it from a reliable sauce
Kikkoman launched a dark soya sauce for the Indian market after realising that Indians expect Chinese and pan-Asian dishes to have a rich, dark colour. It mimics the taste profile of the flagship Kikkoman soya but has a different colour.