Japan
I did my doctorate in Sydney in the 1980s. All these Japanese recipes are therefore from students in their twenties, who, in the 1980s, were studying in Sydney. Why does that sound dull? It wasn’t dull at all. One of my Japanese friends taught me to love Billy Joel, another taught me a very strange dance (which I shall not be demonstrating for anyone soon) and they all got together to give me one of the best birthdays of my life.
There were some good things about Sydney for Japanese food back then. Magnificent seafood, for instance. There were some bad things. Lack of specialist ingredients. And then there was me. I was disastrous for traditional Japanese cooking. My culinary skills were sufficient for Japanese home cooking, but my immense allergy to fish meant that so many of the dishes I recorded were versions made especially for me.
This is not so unusual. The extreme allergy is unusual, but we all make adaptations to dishes when we adopt them into our own foodways. This is a good example of a more extreme adaptation than most, but adaptations always happen. Food history is never static – it’s always about change.
Cucumber Pickles
Slice cucumbers as thinly as possible. Pickle them in vinegar, sugar and a little bit of salt. After 10-30 minutes, squeeze and serve.
Fried chicken
Marinate chicken pieces in sake, soy sauce, grated ginger and Chinese Five Spice Powder. Dry. Dip in flour. Deep fry.
Red Bean Soup
Boil red beans and sugar and water until very soft. Mash or blend. Put a grilled rice cake in the bottom of the soup bowl and serve with pickles and green tea.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I’m going to try out the fried chicken recipe when we get home.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 7 minutes. Seafood Recipes