AJINOMOTO EUROPE S.A.S. opens a series of Japanese Cooking Seminar at the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris
Is Japanese cuisine really popular abroad?
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| Mr. H. Kobayashi’s demonstration |
Today we often hear people saying that Japanese foods have become very popular in Europe. But it is not entirely true. What is popular is mainly “Sushi” and not all Japanese Foods. Many state that there are many more Japanese restaurants, but the majority of them serve only “Sushi” which is specially adapted or re-created for European clients. It is an interesting trend or a fashion seen abroad, but it is equally important to know the rich world of Japanese cookery as seen in Japan and to understand from where and how it has travelled.
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| Ms. Y. Aihara, Food Journalist |
With an idea of presenting the broad and varied aspects of Japanese cuisine, AJINOMOTO EUROPE S.A.S. opened a series of cooking seminars, “The basic seasoning of Japanese cookery”, at the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris. The main aim is to teach the basis of Japanese cookery and seasoning techniques step by step.
The first course was held on April 18th, in collaboration with Miyasaka Jozo Co., Ltd, one of the most popular Miso producers. In fact Miso is the most ancient and most familiar seasoning in Japan.
What is Miso?
It is a type of paste made from fermented grains of Soy, Rice or Wheat. The history of Miso started when a seasoning called “Hishio” had been imported from China, probably through Korea into Japan in the centuries long past. Hishio was a salted and fermented mixture of meat or fish with cereals. In the process of fermentation, the protein dissolved into amino-acids and became a flavour rich liquid. That is the Hishio-sauce. In Japan the technique was re-adapted and developed into making Miso, using only locally acquired cereals such as Soy, Rice or Wheat, without using animal protein. As noted in the records dating back to the 7th century, Miso was an essential ingredient which accompanied the rice, the staple food of Japanese population from ancient times. Even today in the 21st century, Japanese people need a cup of Miso soup beside the bowl of rice at their table every day. In fact a cup of Miso soup and a bowl of cooked rice is the ultimate Japanese meal.
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Red, white or in between, as wines in Europe, each region has its own Miso colour. Thus Ms.Yumiko Aihara, a Paris-based food journalist and a presenter of the seminar, talked about several types of products. As the time of fermentation takes longer the colour of Miso becomes darker with a hint of red and gives out depth in its taste. It is a type called Aka (Red) Miso, popular in the major parts of Japan stretching from the North to the Eastern regions. In the region around Kyoto, people are fond of lighter colour and milder taste of Shiro (Whittier) Miso, which requires only a few weeks of fermentation while the red type of Miso requires more than several months or even a year to mature.
Cooking with Miso
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| Mr. Okui and Mr. Kobayashi, tasting Dashi bouillon |
Many Japanese families have both red and white Miso in their kitchen and select or mix them according to the types of dishes they wish to make, as shown by Mr. H. Kobayashi, a very skilled cook of 30 years’ experience in France.
He started his course by cooking fresh vegetables with Yuzu -Miso dressing (flavoured with Yuzu citrus juice), followed by “Saikyo-yaki” (Miso marinated Salmon), Miso-Itamé (Sautéed vegetables) and “Ton-Jiru “ (Miso Soup with Pork and vegetables).
As Miso is also an inseparable partner of Dashi-bouillon to make daily Miso soup or other pot-au-feu or mijotés type of dishes, a special guest of the day, Mr. T. Okui, the prestigious Konbu (kelp) merchant in Japan and the speaker of the Konbu-Umami seminar held there in 2006 at the same place, explained how the taste of dishes became delicious when several types of amino-acids of each ingredients are combined in the process of cooking , taking the example of mixture of Konbu, Katsuo and Miso. Thanks to this effect the dishes become tastier without depending on fat or animal meat. It is the very secret of Japanese cuisine, which is delicious and at the same time healthy.
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| Example of Cuisine with Soy Sauce |
The second seminar is scheduled for June 13th, under the theme of Soy Sauce. If you are interested in the event, please visit the web site of MCJP http://www.mcjp.asso.fr/index.html to reserve your place.
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