AROUND THE WORLD

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

JAPANESE CUISINE

Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: washoku) is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. 

Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi. Seafood and vegetables are also deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Apart from rice, a staple includes noodles, such as soba and udon. Japan also has many simmered dishes, such as fish products in broth called oden, or beef in sukiyaki and nikujaga.

Historically influenced by Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine has also opened up to influence from Western cuisines in the modern era. Dishes inspired by foreign food—in particular Chinese food—like ramen and gyōza, as well as foods like spaghetti, curry and hamburgers, have been adapted to Japanese tastes and ingredients. 

Some regional dishes have also become familiar throughout Japan, including the taco rice staple of Okinawan cuisine that has itself been influenced by American and Mexican culinary traditions. Traditionally, the Japanese shunned meat as a result of adherence to Buddhism, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1880s, meat-based dishes such as tonkatsu and yakiniku have become common. Since this time, Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi and ramen, has become popular globally.

In 2011, Japan overtook France to become the country with the most 3-starred Michelin restaurants; as of 2018, the capital of Tokyo has maintained the title of the city with the most 3-starred restaurants in the world. In 2013, Japanese cuisine was added to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List.

The word washoku (和食) is now the common word for traditional Japanese cooking. The term kappō [ja] (割烹, lit. "cutting and boiling (meats)") is synonymous with "cooking", but became a reference to mostly Japanese cooking, or restaurants, and was much used in the Meiji and Taishō eras. It has come to connote a certain standard, perhaps even of the highest caliber, a restaurant with the most highly trained chefs. However, kappō is generally seen as an eating establishment which is slightly more casual or informal compared to the kaiseki.

The kaiseki (懐石, lit. "warming stone") is tied with the Japanese tea ceremony. The kaiseki is considered a (simplified) form of honzen-ryōri (本膳料理, lit. "main tray cooking"), which was formal banquet dining where several trays of food was served. The homophone term kaiseki ryōri (会席料理, lit. "gathering + seating") originally referred to a gathering of composers of haiku or renga, and the simplified version of the honzen dishes served at the poem parties became kaiseki ryōri. However, the meaning of kaiseki ryōri degenerated to become just another term for a sumptuous carousing banquet, or shuen

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking