Know About Japanese Cuisine Culture

Japan is a unique culture with many traditions and customs. The other day there was news about the Japanese government having a Japanese traditional "Washoku", meaning Japanese-style meal, catered at the formal UNESCO conference in 2013. Recently, Japan has been getting more attention around the world due to the Japanese food culture.

When people hear the word, "Japanese-style meal", they usually think of sushi, tempura, sukiyaki, and so on. It is true that these foods are very popular and have a good taste, but there is also formal Japanese cuisine called "Kaiseki". Kaiseki dishes are highly regarded not only for their taste but also because they use many seasonal ingredients. Most of all, they have a very beautiful appearance. These dishes are also very famous because they represent the delicateness of the Japanese people and their food.

Another important part of Japanese food culture is table manners. Japanese people have unique table manners regarding such things as chopstick usage. People in Japan mainly use chopsticks for all meals rather than using forks, spoons, or knives to eat. The very first person who used chopstick in Japan was Prince Shotoku. The use of chopsticks was first brought to Japan through Japanese missioners who went to China during the 7th century. Afterwards, using chopsticks spread throughout Japan as the most common way to eat.

In addition to chopstick usage being an important part of table manners, Japanese people also say traditional phrases, like "Itadakimasu" and "Gochisosama," before and after meals to show appreciation for the food and the person who made the meal. There are some inappropriate ways to use chopsticks such as watashibashi, mayoi bashi, and choku bashi. Watashibashi is acting that rest chopsticks sideway across the top of dishes, mayoi bashi is acting that hove chopsticks over the dishes while humming and hawing about what to eat. And, choku bashi is acting that not to use the serving chopsticks, but your own sticks to get food from shared plates.

Japanese food and customs are somewhat similar to other Asian countries but very different from Western countries. Therefore, many people in Western countries find it difficult to understand Japanese food culture and get used to it. Japan has recently become influenced by western food culture, and young Japanese people do not eat as many Japanese – styled foods as they did a few decades ago. However, Japanese food is becoming very popular in other countries because of its healthiness and its taste. It is even common to see people around the world using chopsticks nowadays. When considering that Japanese food and customs are becoming common everywhere, they are likely to live on forever.

How Attractive Is Sichuan Food Culture

People immediately think of Sichuan food as being hot, sour, sweet, and salty; using fish sauce; or having a strange taste. Actually, these flavors were introduced only in the last 100 years, and initially were popular only in the lower strata of society. Hot pepper, an important flavoring in Sichuan cuisine, was introduced into China only 200 to 300 years ago.

During the period of the Three Kingdoms, the kingdom of Shu was located in Sichuan. According to historical research, the people in Shu liked sweet food. During the Jin Dynasty, they preferred to eat pungent food; however, pungent food at that time referred to food made with ginger, mustard, chives, or onions. As recently as 200 years ago, there were no hot dishes in Sichuan cuisine, and few were cooked with pungent and hot flavorings. Originally, its flavorings were very mild, unlike the popular dishes of today, such as pockmarked lady's bean curd and other hot dishes, Even today, some Sichuan dishes, like velvet shark's fin, braised bear's paw, crisp duck roasted with camphor and tea, sea cucumber with pungent flavor, minced chicken with hollyhock, boiled pork with mashed garlic, dry - fried carp, and boiled Chinese cabbage have kept their traditional flavors.

Sichuan has been known as the land of plenty since ancient times. While it does not have seafood, it produces abundant domestic animals, poultry, and freshwater fish and crayfish. Sichuan cuisine is well known for cooking fish. As a unique style of food, Sichuan cuisine was already famous more than 800 years ago during the Southern Song Dynasty when Sichuan restaurants were opened in Lin'an, now called Hangzhou, its capital city.

The prevailing Sichuan food consists of popular dishes eaten by common people and characterized by pungent, hot, strange, and salty flavors. Although Sichuan cuisine has only a short history, it has affected and even replaced more sumptuous dishes.
The hot pepper was introduced into China from South America around the end of the 17th century. Once it came to Sichuan, it became a favored food flavoring.

Sichuan has high humidity and many rainy or overcast days. Hot pepper helps reduce internal dampness, so hot pepper was used frequently in dishes, and hot dishes became the norm in Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan food has become the common food for most people in the area, especially since the dishes go well with rice. In this respect, Sichuan cuisine differs from Beijing cuisine, which was mainly for officials and nobility; Huai - Yang cuisine, which was mainly for rich, important traders; and Jiangsu - Zhejiang cuisine, which was mainly for literati. Typical, modern Sichuan dishes like twice - cooked pork with chili sauce, shredded pork with chili sauce and fish flavor, Crucian carp with thick broad - bean sauce, and boiled meat slices are common dishes eaten by every family.

Sichuan food is famous for its many flavors, and almost every dish has its own unique taste. This is because many flavorings and seasonings are produced in Sichuan Province. These include soy sauce from Zhongba, cooking vinegar from baoning, special vinegar from Sanhui, fermented soy beans from Tongchuan, hot pickled mustard tubers from Fuling, chili sauce from Chongqing, thick, broad - bean sauce from Pixian, and well salt from Zigong.

Much of the spicing of regional Chinese cooking is based upon bringing together five fundamental taste sensations – sweet, sour, pungent, salty and bitter. The balance of these particular elements in any one dish or regional cuisine can vary, according to need and desire, especially as influenced by climate, culture and food availability.

In Szechuan cuisine, there are a variety of ingredients and spices used to create these basic taste sensations. These include a variety of chili peppers, peppercorns over various types, Sichuan peppers, which are in reality a type of fruit, not pepper, and produce a numbing effect in addition to their warm flavor. Sichuan peppers, also called flower pepper and mountain pepper, are a traditional part of the Chinese five spice powder, or at least of those that are modeled upon the most authentic versions of the spice combinations common to regional Chinese cooking.

Other ingredients used commonly in Szechuan cuisine to create the five fundamental taste sensations include different types of sugars, such as beet root sugar and cane sugar, as well as local fruits for sweetness. The sour comes from pickled vegetables and different varieties of vinegar. A special bitter melon is added to many dishes to offer the touch of bitterness that complements other flavors. Other spices and flavors include dried orange peel, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and bean paste. Salt is important to Szechuan cuisine, and the area produces uniquely flavored salts that help to distinguish authentic Szechuan cuisine from the other regional cuisines from China.

Here Is A Great List Of Top Famous Korean Food

Korean food has become so popular that people from every culture increasingly enjoy these savory, spicy and almost soul-healing dishes. So what are some of these dishes that are so popular universally? Every culture has their own uniquely weird food but also some of the mainstream hits that almost represent as they identify of those cuisines. Following list is a great list of top six Korean food appreciated by Koreans, Americans, Europeans, other Asians and everyone else. So what are they?

1. Kimchi

Must I say more? If you don't know where kimchi came from, perhaps you need to go back to learn the most basics about Korean culture. These amazing yet addicting cabbage pieces strangely not only have been winning all the love on dinner tables throughout Korean history but have boldly stepped up to represent Korean food internationally. Koreans take their kimchi seriously. Every household proudly brags about their unique concoction in kimchi to dinner guests as if better the flavor of it, more cultured and somehow more dedicated to preserving their treasures of ancestry. If you haven't tried kimchi yet, maybe I will put going to a Korean restaurant on my to-do-list this week.

2. Galbi

If kimchi represents Korean food as a whole, galbi represents Korean barbecue. This soy sauce marinated, fruity and savory grilled short ribs are the biggest treat for any Korean families as their top choice of occasional eat outs. I remember the excitement and salivation whenever he got paid from work and decided to take us out for some galbi. Traditionally, galbi had been a choice of food for the privileged as beef was expensive in old day Korea. Not surprisingly, short rib is the part of beef that is one of the most expensive parts in Korea due to a high demand level. In the United States, not so much yet although in restaurants they still may be. Like every Korean barbecue dish, galbi comes with a variety of side dishes and lettuce wraps at restaurants.

3. Bulgogi

Beef teriyaki with kicks? Or perhaps is it totally different? My answer to that about bulgogi - same category with distinctive differences. Bulgogi is tender, savory, juicy and sometimes grilled. It's soupier than teriyaki. This popular dish has been one of the most commonly popular dishes universally. Any meat eating human being would appreciate the experience of eating bulgogi as I would say this is the least edgy mainstream hit in Korean food.

4. Samgyupsal

Korean bacon or unsalted bacon? Yes, the accurate answer is pork belly. Simple and fatty, samgyupsal is the runner-up in the Korean barbecue category, perhaps a threatening figure to replace galbi the winner. Why so popular? It's cheap. Really that's it? No, obviously by that standard, dirt would be the most popular. Samgyupsal is just amazing. Its flavor and all the side dishes and sauces you can add to it blow any hungry person to an outer space of joy. Moreover, it's so easy to prepare. If you can unwrap a pack of meat, you can prepare samgyupsal. As a boy, I tried samgyup sal cooked instantly on a shovel prepared by a group of furnace workers. It was just so good I did not have time to think about what they used the shovel for until now.

5. Seafood pancake

This dish is also called Hemul Pajeon. This is probably what represents Korean appetizers. It's a thinly fried pancake with vegetables and seafood such as shrimp, squid and oysters. Usually, when I eat pajeon before the main course, I get to take all my main course home since I have some self-control issues. The dipping sauce is the killer. It's a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and spices.

6. Soon tofu stew

This spicy bowl of stew is just full of kicks and joy. Soon tofu is ironically the least tasty ingredient in this bowl. It's the variety of other ingredients you can choose to put in there such as beef, pork, shrimp, squid, mushrooms, vegetables, kimchi, seafood and the list goes on. A cracked raw egg diving into a boiling stew still boiling in a heat-preserved earthen bowl, cooks to perfection. I like mine fishy and seafoody. I am a sucker for soon tofu stew whenever it rains. Watch out for msg usage at some Korean restaurants though if you're sensitive to msg. Apparently, some places without much expertise in cooking this stew uses a handful of it.

Learning How To Cook Delicious Mexican Food

Mexican food is one of the most popular and favorite food in different countries. There are only a few people who don't like Mexican food. One of the reasons Mexican foods is loved by most people is because of its unique recipes and taste. It's actually a fact that Mexican food is really delicious and you can actually find it anywhere. They are just simple food but very tasty and delicious. You can actually make Mexican food from rice, to salad, to soup, to dish, taco, enchiladas, and so on. But the most popular Mexican food is the taco. This is the type of food that Mexicans could be proud of because it's really delicious and satisfying. So, if you want you and your family to enjoy a Mexican delight once in a while, you can actually learn how to cook Mexican food. To help you start here are some of the things that you need to do.

Of course, the first thing to do in cooking is to know the recipe. So, you need to choose at least one Mexican recipe that you want to learn and prepare for your family. Since taco is the most popular and the easiest recipe to prepare, you might want to consider that first. Other Mexican recipes are little complicated, so you could set that aside first. You have several options where you could get the taco recipe; you could search it online, buy a Mexican recipe book with taco recipe in it, or you could ask a friend who knows how to make taco. You can do either of these options; it doesn't matter because you will be able to learn how to prepare taco in any of these ways.

After you have chosen a recipe, you need to cook it as often as you can to be familiarize and to master the recipe. They say that practice makes it perfect. So, try to cook Mexican food as often as you can. One of the most challenging parts of cooking taco is making the dough or the shell. There are two types of shell as they call it that you can make for your taco, the hard and soft. You can try both if you want; it depends on your taste. You can have it for your dinner or lunch. You can also make your family especially your children involved in cooking so they too can learn how to prepare and cook taco. Practice you master one recipe before you proceed to another recipe and before you know it you are already an expert in cooking Mexican food. You can have that in one of the occasions like birthday, anniversary, or graduation.

After you have mastered one recipe, try to set a goal to cook at least one of two Mexican recipes per week or it depends on your availability or desire. The best about learning how to cook different recipes is you are expanding your skills and ability when it comes to food. Food is an essential factor in our life and we deserve to eat the best food in the world especially if you made it yourself. One of the benefits of learning how to cook different dishes is you can eat as many as you want without spending too much. Because when you eat in a popular Mexican restaurant you will be paying a costly meal and may not be satisfied with the quantity, unlike if you know how to cook them, you can eat as many as you want and as often as you want.