Monthly Memo From Doi's Culinary Philosophy
Original text by Doi Yoshiharu
Translated by Yoshiko Fukuda
December- Shiwasu
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How many more nights till Millennium… I am trying to think of all the positive things that may happen but it calls for some effort. These days when I take a look back at the 20th century, I only see how much the dietary culture of Japan have changed, losing many of its traditional values. That is why I think of different ways I can redirect the way our dietary culture is heading.
●"Boudara"-Always a Part of Osechi Ryouri
*Osechi Ryouri- an assortment of food especially made for New Years celebrationAt our house, we make boudara as onishime (stewed food)for the Osechi Ryouri every year. It has become something we cannot start out the year without. Boudara is dried cod without its internal organs. After it is dried under the sun, becoming hard as a rock, it is then put in water which is changed every once in a while for about one week to make the dried cod soft all over again. Afterwards it is boiled in coarse tea to get rid of its fishy smell and then when softened even more, it is simmered slowly in stock with sake, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce to adopt a light flavor. My grandmother used to say that if one can properly cook a boudara then he has become a skilled chef. In another words, because cooking a boudara successfully required great experience and skill as a cook, she used cooking boudara as a measurement for good chefs. It seems that my mother was extra careful when it came to cooking boudaras also. The hard part is to settle the flavor equally into the boudara since it has tiny spaces like the grain of wood. Putting a piece of mochi(rice cake) in the stock at the very beginning of the simmering process is said to be the key when it comes to making the boudara absorb that light flavor. However the actual trick that effects the final taste of boudara is reusing broth that was made after simmering other dishes like lotus root, burdock, and konbu roll. The boudara at our house builds up its taste by adding other flavors from sweet to spicy. Why add all those other tastes? That is because it is such a waste when it comes to throwing out all that rich broth. And why not use it when those other extract makes the boudara even more appetizing.
●Cooking that does not waste- that is healthy cooking
The broth from boiling fish can be used for simmering and seasoning bean curd pulp or vegetables. In Okinawa, the broth gained from simmering meat and bones is reused for flavoring vegetables. From the sea bream noodles of the inland sea(popular dish unique to the region in which cooked sea breams are placed on top of noodles), to the simmered dish of the Niigata kurumafu(a kind of wheat gluten original to the region Niigata ), there probably is that kind of sensible cooking all over the country.
For home cooking, what lies in its fundament is using everything possible, trying to reduce anything that might go to waste.
There are countries in the west where in meat cooking, not only the muscles like tenderloins and sirloins are used but also most of the other parts of the body, like internal organs, tail, tongue, blood and even the bones. By eating the whole cow, the nutrient is in fact balanced out.
In Japan, a country surrounded by water, seafood recipes are the most developed compared to all the other countries in the world. How to eat a whole fish, including the eyeballs, and even the bony parts like the head, tail, and the jaws, and of course how to eat the internal organs also, is widely known and passed down from one generation to the next. By being not wasteful and delighting in eating everything, we can maintain our health since we are provided with balanced nutrition. In another words in order for us to be healthy, we need to eat life itself. For instance, when we eat fish we should eat the bones, the internal organs, and even the head since they all supported the fish's life.
Beans and eggs in themselves bring forth life all by themselves. No matter how small they are, by eating them we receive 'life' and energy. That is why they are called "perfected food". I call these unforeseen energy that is like life itself, "vitamin X". I firmly believe that fresh ingredients in season, contain this vitamin X.
●Worldwide, the amount of grain trade including rice, corn, barley and other wheat, is said to be about 2 hundred million tons. More than a fifth of that amount is bought off by Japan from different countries around the world. Similar things can be said for lumber trade and shrimp takings. Japan imports about a third of the gross amount of both. A huge amount of primary products are imported into our country and that trend seems to be growing stronger. On Earth, Japan only covers 0.3 % of surface area and if seen from the satellite, covers only 2%. Economists would say that since Japan is paying the money, there is no problem in the huge amount they import. However the situation is quite more complex. Japan's demands are influencing the world's environmental problems. It is, in deed, making it worse. (Nougyou-shinbun *Newspaper on agriculture of today; October).
Currently in Japan, it is said that a third of our meal is thrown away. If this is true, then it is a serious problem. There will be a time in the future when we would have to pay for all the things we had wasted away.●Cooking enriched itself through not being wasteful
By employing every aspect of an ingredient Japanese cooking enriched itself and developed new dishes.
In Europe, the juice from roasting a chicken is used on a sauteed potato. Likewise, the juice from roasting a pork is poured on top of tomato, zucchini and egg plant gratin, then after bread crumbs are sprinkled on top and olive oil is added, it is heated. It is simple yet it connects numerous tastes in a dish together, making a great side dish to even the main meal, roasted meat. In French, broth is called "fond", which actually mean the bottom of a pan. Originally it used to signify the left over juice that trickled out from broiling meat. Instead of throwing that juice away, they added things like wine, water, and butter to make sauce. When it came to making a vast amount of it, they browned the bones and created fond de veau. Moreover, when that sauce was simmered even more they produced demi glace which became the base for various soups.
In Chinese Cuisine, the broth from diverse ingredients are blended into the whole mix of ingredients. Then to make sure the taste can be completely enjoyed and not missed out, potato starch is added to the juice so the sauce will have a thicker consistency and holds all the ingredients together. The history of Chinese cuisine started out, with its attribute of mixing many ingredients together. There was a story I heard from a cameraman who specialized in taking pictures of dishes. At photo shootings for cooking magazines, diverse dishes are made and after the pictures are taken the staff get together and are allowed to taste the menus that was made. After one photo shooting of a famous Chinese chef, about ten kinds of meals were put back into the wok, from the appetizer, the main dish to even the dessert, to be reheated. I was told that the dishes were all very delicious but clearly there exists a contrasting attitude toward cooking. After being told this story I can believe that there is a blend of coffee and tea sold at Hong Kong. These incentive ideas and the energy is the essence of Chinese cuisine.
In contrast, how Japanese cooking changed over the years were quite different. Japanese cooking did not develop in the ways of Chines nor French cooking. The main reason for this is the nature that surrounded our lives. Japan's particular climate brought forth manifolds of rich plant life of different kinds, which when compared with the western and the Chinese plant life the variety is ten times or even a hundred times more. In Japan more than 80% of the land is covered by government owned forests whereas in that vast China not even a 20%. Therefore in Japan, one could enjoy diversified meals by only eating what are in season, savoring countless tastes, and texture. Endless pleasures awaited the Japanese every season and the changing tastes were carefully picked up and the subtle differences enjoyed. Moreover, that is how aesthetic aspects like skills in using different knives and matching the container with the meal developed.
In Japan we receive so much energy from our rich environment but only a few of us know how much we are indebted to our surroundings. In the west people are more aware of nature's gift which does not recover itself after it is destroyed. That is why they feel it is their duty to save the environment and are more conscious of the fact than we are.
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