How Japan Invented a New Cuisine

[@valmarsiglia]

That's interesting about "Turkish rice." In Mexico, there are tacos called tacos árabes, literally "Arab tacos," which are made with pork. Sounds weird, considering the Muslim ban on pork, but of course it's important to understand that not all Arabs are Muslim, and the Arabs who first served tacos árabes were Lebanese Christian immigrants to Mexico.

[@ech4ng]

Well some of the original tacos arabes were made with lamb as well. This of course would eventually become al pastor and adobada tacos made from pork with corn tortillas instead of pita bread.

[@valmarsiglia]

@@ech4ng Ooh, I'd love to try the lamb version!

[@iskandartaib]

@@valmarsiglia Yes, there are lots of Lebanese christians, but I'll bet pork dishes would be hard to find in Beirut, even among the Christians.. Doesn't mean they didn't sell pork tacos in Mexico, of course... 😁

[@RollerBladingSuxs]

Tacos a la verga too

[@imacg5]

It probably has to do with the "Arabian style" of preparing the meat, not the entirety of the food.

[@Avg-Usr]

The Portuguese influence on Japanese food is actually seen despite their expulsion. The tradition of having fried fish became tempura, which is now as integral to Japanese cuisine as soba or sushi. Still not used to the idea of serving both rice and spaghetti in one dish. There is also a version of “Asian” western food in Hong Kong which incorporates Chinese ingredients and western techniques and vice versa. And Portuguese gave us egg tarts from Macau and Hong Kong and beyond. Basically a version of crème burle in an edible shell.

[@Necrodermis]

yep also the Portuguese introduced one of the first breads or in this case cake that Japan encountered from the west is Bolo de Castela which the Japanese just call Castella which is still made today and one of the very first makers in Japan this year celebrated 400 years of making said cake.

[@knightforlorn6731]

My exploration into my grandmothers Portuguese side led me to Japan. For better or for worse I appreciate the Portuguese history with Japan. Every culture brings some good and some bad so I am happy to take them both.

[@StanfordChiou]

There's an interesting comparison to be made yoshoku, cha chaan teng dishes, and the 'soy sauce western' food of Malaysia/Singapore

[@iskandartaib]

Check out the OTR video on Thai "Cook Shops" I linked in a separate post. There's also another one on American Fried Rice (which is rather amusing). They take a REALLY deep dive into Western-inspired Asian cuisine, and I recall the term "cha chaan teng" was used (in relation to Hong Kong, IIRC). What I'd like to know is why "Nasi Goreng Pattaya" is called "Nasi Goreng Pattaya"... 😁

[@ghostlightning]

Yoshoku is everywhere in Southeast Asia, and particularly in the Philippines, where sushi isn't necessarily the go-to dish in restaurants.

[@karu6111]

They're the gateway drug into Japanese cuisine.

[@tktyga77]

Also, don't forget about Korea's counterpart in yangsik, as opposed to hansik (in contrast to the foodways of its native minorities the Jeju islanders & the Jaegaseung, both quite different from Korean food)

[@TaLeng2023]

I think it's basically what they serve in Tokyo Tokyo.

[@gwailo81]

Hong kong has the same , western style food, every asian country that has western influence does this. This can be said about asian food in america. Some Chinese dishes in America are not served in China

[@masadub]

What makes Japanese Yoshoku unique is that it has developed to suit the Japanese palate since the 1870s as a result of extensive cultural exchanges with Western countries.

[@Pandrogas]

The Japanese Hamburg steak reminds me a bit of Salisbury Steak, but more refined and with the egg, which looks awesome.

[@h.johariabul4574]

I think for Japanese curry, it's actually the influence of Queen Victoria that led British Navy to adopt it as part of their food, and quite a number of Japanese military officer went to Britain as part of their training, leading to introduction of Curry in Japan. That's why the method of cooking is similar to a stew rather to an indian curry.

[@surrealchemist]

Love these kind of videos that teach history through food. It get a greater appreciation of the food and culture behind it.

[@echtel1293]

I think some of the most interesting named food in Japan are Hambaagu and Hambaaga, which sounds pretty similar, but referencing two eras of western food that have gone through changes throughout history, the Hamburg Steak and the Hamburger

[@Andytizer]

This is one of your best videos, great topic, I learned a lot about Japanese food which I could kind of see myself but never had it articulated and explained in an interesting way. Your video is crafted well with dynamic editing, b-roll, actual on site boots on the ground food tasting, I watched 100%, thanks!

[@tktyga77]

When looking at the title, I'd have thought you'd be covering some of Japan's minority foodways such as Ryukyuan & Ainu plus Hachijo, but yoshoku does (with tragic historical reasons folded in) have a counterpart in Korea known as yangsik (in contrast to hansik & those of Korea's native minorities such as the Jaegaseung & Jeju islanders, quite different from Korean food that's often known). In any case, yangsik is just as fascinating as yoshoku & can often be found in bunsik places

[@offthemenuyt]

I’d love to make an Ainu video someday, would probably have to travel to Hokkaido for that one.

[@valmarsiglia]

There are some interesting Japanese delis in New York with the Japanese versions of Western baked goods, sandwiches, etc. There's one called Zaiya on E41st right by the library that had some great box lunches.

[@KritchieXX]

Most curry is eaten with rice, but you hear "curry" and think Indian cuisine, yet you hear "curry rice" and know it's Japanese cuisine.

[@seanmalloy7249]

And curry itself was introduced in the Navy as a dish to address the problem of beriberi among sailors. One of the inducements for enlistment was unlimited white rice; the more refined rice was, the higher class it was considered. Milling rice, however, removed the part of the rice containing thiamine. Navy curry, adapted from British curry made from curry powder, supplied the thiamine missing from the rice-only diet some sailors ate. There is an article on the adoption of curry in Japan on the Atlas Obscura website.

[@cejannuzi]

@@seanmalloy7249 I would have thought it was all the vegetables that go into the dish that addressed the beri beri. I hadn't know about curry powder being supplemented with thiamine.

[@pierresihite8854]

Fantastic video! I think this has got to be one of the best videos you've made so far. The mix between you trying the food and it's history transitions is so smooth and doesn't feel forced.

[@eeeeeeeev]

Doria, the casserole rice dish also exists in Cantonese/Hong Kong Cafe cuisine. Doria also is taken from a potato dish called gratin where the potatoes are replaced with rice

[@cejannuzi]

Doria is just a rice au grain dish. So in that case, the Japanese just invented a pseudo-Italian name for a known dish.

[@adamcase3274]

Thanks for being a star food journalist. The way you take food and interplay with a society's experience is masterful and engaging. Keep doing what your doing because your are doing amazing work. I can't wait to watch your future episodes.

[@LauraAdamsRodriguez]

This video is 10/10. Great editing, food reviews, history, it has everything!

[@Eldiran1]

Tonkatsu, are amazing.(I specificaly prefer the irekatsu variation ) I like that they are served with salad or cabbage. They even have some sort of tonkatsu who looked like cordon bleu, with cheese and ham on the inside. Also culinary speaking, Nagasaki is really interesting. They are a lot of western and chinese influence here. Like for exemple, they do a special dessert, castella (カステラ ) but they import it before the sakoku (the isolationist policy). So technicaly it's a yoshoku dish but it's was introduced before the meiji era where yoshoku where invented. Even more strange is that Portuguese today didn't do this meal ^^ (but a couple of mixed portugo-japanese tried to reintroduce it in the mid 90s ) It's so fascinating to me.

[@milomhoek]

The Portuguese do eat castella, it is called pão de ló

[@Halkin85]

Great episode! We could get this type of food in HK when I was a child (90s). My Japanese friend told me the curry became common after WWII as the returning service men would eat it regularly as it was easier to cook in large quantities than traditional Japanese food. Did a bit of googling and it seems that there is truth to it.

[@hassovonfritzeflink9148]

Thank for your beautiful and very informative footage! Here in Germany (maybe in all of Europe) industry is trying to establish „Asia Food“: instant noodles with a thickened curry sauce or the same noodles with a thickened sweet chili sause. The Japanese definitely did a better job with Yoshuku!

[@conniefurr]

Thank you! I loved how you gave us a background for why these dishes exist. I found it particularly interesting how beef was not a regular part of the Japanese diet until the Meiji restoration and within roughly one hundred years Japan is now responsible for some of the most highly prized beef in the world. Thank

[@batteryman730]

Food is moreso representative of history and our journey rather than tradition. We experience food with flavor, texture, and smell but also the memories associated with it. If we confine ourselves by being overly concerned with tradition, then we might rob ourselves of creating a new memory by clinging to the old.

[@keeferharder4427]

Wow - this production value is absolutely insane. Great work

[@D3C]

One of the most interesting, well put videos combing history, culture and food, that I have seen on KZbin! Great job!

[@itsalwayshalloweenexceptwh5118]

It was great to hear about the earlier versions of these dishes. I did not expect this video would be about yoshoku though, since I think a lot of people who have an interest in japan already know about it. I was expecting something niche like some form of fermented soy/vegetables that is only eaten in a small town because the dish has almost died out. Or insects or konowata (fermented sea cucumber guts).

[@Wråythe1989]

Great video! It really showcases something I always loved about food but couldn't put into words until recently, and that's how much of a culture's stories can be told by their food. The context, ingredients, techniques, history, and ideas that accumulate collectively over time to culminate in a particular preparation that cannot be found anywhere else. Sampling a culture's authentic food has become one of the main reasons I travel now.

[@valmarsiglia]

Well some of these things are certainly staples on Japanese menus in the US. Then again, the majority of "Japanese" restaurants in the US are actually owned and run by Chinese or Koreans. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture estimated that only around 10% of Japanese restaurants in the US are owned by people of Japanese descent.

[@dunnowy123]

Yep, it's notable to me when it's actually a Japanese owner or staff. It's typically higher end establishments.

[@fattiger6957]

Yeah that's true. In my hometown there is probably at least a couple dozen Japanese restaurants (mostly cheap sushi) and almost all of them are owned and operated by Chinese or white people. I can only think of one that is run by Japanese people (since I heard them talking to each other in Japanese) It is also the best of all those restaurants.

[@nashb5708]

This video is great, very interesting and well done! I was wondering how this type of cuisine came be so influential And important in Japan. Your content is super underrated and definitely deserves more recognition.

[@trangnguyen-tj7nb]

I just know you put a lot of effort into editing this video, great and amazing video dude !

[@beschuitfluiter]

The edit with the maps and historical material is very good. Like these kind of videos

[@cejannuzi]

You make it sound like it's hidden in Japan. LOL. It's everywhere. I think most Japanese still have some sort of washoku vs yoshoku distinction in their head, but also realize that the dishes are very Japanized, despite the non-Japanese sources. The ban on red meat wasn't complete. Japanese in many places ate a lot of game animals. And they had been eating whale and other ocean mammals for a LONG time. BTW, I think in English it would be better to call curry rice, curry and rice. It's basically a curry served with or on rice. As for toruko rice, I would bet it's just some coinage of a Nagasaki restaurant post-war, when they combined the pilaf, the naporitan spaghetti, and the tonkatsu into a meal plate. And Turkey has pilaf dishes. Here in Fukui, in Takefu / Echizen, they did something similar with Boruga Rice. It is omuraisu, pork cutlet, and gravy / brown sauce. There is nothing that mysterious about it. Someone there saw a package of imported Volga Rice and just took the name. It is really more a pseudo-mysterious dish to encourage people to eat a big helping of government-subsidized-farmed rice. Since such dishes are so obviously just recombinations of true traditional yoshoku, there is nothing mysterious whatsoever about them.

[@WiggaMachiavelli]

I think a lot of young Japanese people would be surprised if you told them that nikujaga is youshoku.

[@meyershapiro5774]

Great video, very in depth, almost reminded me of an episode of no reservations

[@nigellokai]

Awesome video, really enjoyed this one!

[@mmps18]

I love Yoshoku so much, thank you Matthew for explaining the history!

[@starnet1340]

This is such an interesting video about all of the dishes in Japan! I'm SO excitied about the dishes!!!!

[@armaanajoomal]

wonderfully produced video. seriously thank you for this gem.

[@fogger2]

Great insights into Japanese cuisine with relevance to Japanese history and how its food culture is shaped over the years. Nice video editing, pace, and presentation too! Good job!

[@luxmundiofficial]

Hey Matthew, I'm loving all your videos and have been binge-watching them lately, especially while on the treadmill. Keep up the great work! If you're ever in the LA area you should come try my family's Mexican restaurant which has been open since 1920.

[@Impzorz]

Your videos are amazing! Very high production quality for such a small channel. As someone who loves cooking and history this channel is the perfect mix. Keep doing what you're doing and you're going to be big! (Like Tasting History grew a lot as well).

[@troyschulz2318]

8:35 ‘Japanese Soul Food’ is right! Native Japanese here (raised in Kanagawa-ken, Ayase-shi). Yoshoku has always been a staple part of my childhood (I’m very partial to tarako spaghetti and omurice), and I was always kind of confused why it didn’t seem to really export to America (at least, not the part I lived in). Glad to see it get some love from English-language YTers.

[@kae3291]

it's interesting to hear how visitors perceive a country's culture - yoshoku is like comfort food for people of my generation. I guess kids these days eat a lot more sophisticated dishes and it's understandable that the "Showa Retro Kissa" is now a a popular novelty.

[@cejannuzi]

Sadly the shokudo around Fukui CIty where I used to enjoy these dishes right alongside more washoku sort of things have largely disappeared.

[@thegastrotraveler]

This is a brilliant video, really great editing and info.

[@meowM30Wmew]

beautifully made video!

[@TalasDD]

the hamburg steak was actualy most likely introduced by the dutch as they are the only people that both refered to the Buttelle (as it is called in Hamburg itself) as Hamburg meatballs (fried midsiced meatballs preserved using onions and pepper and fried outer crust) , in distinction to Königsberg Meatballs (a large cooked meatball preserved in an barrel of slightly acidic sauce for long see voyages) and Swedish meatballs (small meatballs small enough to be frozen using ice and prepared "fresh" on a ship), and had access to japan.

[@alexyooutube]

Actually, there are a number of dishes in Hong Kong and Macau, which are similar to Japanese Doria. They are categorized under "Hong Kong Western Food". One classic dish is: "baked Portuguese chicken rice" ( 葡國雞焗飯 ). It signifies how cuisines evolve in Hong Kong and Macau region under Western Influence.

[@Narnendil]

This was a really good video!! Ever since I lived in Japan (13 years ago) I kind of have always wondered a bit about these types of dishes (but apparently not enough to google it myself hehe), so I was really happy to learn from this video. I wouldn't mind a part two with more indepth info about the different dishes and the inspiration behind them.

[@boijorzee]

It's a wonderful thing when food is reimagined in this way. I became aware of these dishes trough the Yakuza games but I didn't know about the how and why. Great video!

[@calrndown]

So interesting watching (but sometimes I just listen) to your videos. Thank y'all for sharing !

[@IsmaelEscobedo]

The Doria near the end kinda reminded me a little of Spanish Paella with a Gratin twist to it

[@cejannuzi]

TO me an American, it's just a rice au gratin made with a mornay sauce.

[@shakiMiki]

What a fantastic video. What I subscribe for. Thank you.

[@DrunkenDarwin]

I stumbled on Yoshoku cuisine by chance in my area. Quickly became obsessed with Tarako Spaghetti and trying to do the same type of reimagining with my cambodian and thai food.

[@tristanttn]

Good vid, bro. You deserve more subs.

[@ludovicbostral]

In France we have a simple version of the burger with a fried egg, it's called "steak à cheval", it was popular in the 80/90 ( I eat that a lot), but not so much now. Impressive to see a japanese version of this plate.

[@cejannuzi]

There might be a connection here. A lot of cooks and chefs in Japan have trained for French cuisine, and it then influenced the more rough and ready cooking of the the yoshoku of the shokudo restaurants. So we see a hamburger steak / chopped steak with a brown sauce and an egg.

[@carobru1]

Very informative and interesting documentary. Good job 👍

[@Gonz-o8j]

This is quality content. Shapo!!

[@guydrinkstea]

Great video! A lot of what you said really resonated with me because I've also been using food as a vehicle to explore culture, history, and especially how they change over time.

[@kitcutting]

The remnants of (specifically) Portuguese influence still sticks around within Japan's yо̄shoku, which in my opinion permeates the cuisine more strongly than the other colonial powers, aside from probably the French. I'm surprised that one of Portugal's contributions, tempura, didn't get a mention.

[@offthemenuyt]

Tempura is a weird one, cause despite it coming from Portuguese influence, it happened before the Sakoku policy and Meiji Era, so it’s often tagged as washoku.

[@kitcutting]

@@offthemenuyt interesting, I never knew. So that would also extend to a few Japanese bread-based dishes then, like castella cake and all dishes covered in panko? If memory serves, bread itself also came from the Portuguese, and from around the same time.

[@Ligzdotajs]

Great! Perfect way to tell the story (history) via cuisine! ありがとう!

[@tcpip9999]

Really interesting. Thanks ! Reminds me of the Vittles food documentation project.

[@openfly4u]

The Baked Rice is also done and quite common in Southern China, HK, Malaysia and Singapore. From the seafood one like in the video to chicken and mushroom.

[@davidhalldurham]

This is such an interesting video!!!! Thank you so much.

[@mtbrickhouse6292]

Very well thought out video. Reminds me a lot of Hawaii and its seemingly endless melting pot of ethnicities, cultural beliefs, and the tasty food that came with or was born from it. Saimin, manapua, and meat jun are just a few that come to mind.

[@matthewtanner5127]

food history is fascinating globally: chili peppers and potatoes come from south america for example, so it was the portuguese that introduced spicy food to africa and asia. let that sink in for a minute.

[@freesugarfromme]

WAY TOO FIREEE FOR THIS WORLD THANK U MATTHEW LI FOR THIS VID!!! FOOD HAS NO BORDERS, IT'S THERE TO PASS AROUND & ENJOY!!!

[@haldorgoeller4221]

Man your video is so good the way you speak is just perfect ✨✨✨✨

[@walkerharnden17]

Dude these videos are excellent 👌👌👌

[@KoiStory2]

Really interesting video! The link between western culture and curry is pretty deep! When the British empire colonised india, they brought their foreign tastes and ideas to India. The british were very keen on having "gravy" with their meals, so to cater to demand from the British stationed there, the Indians served them dishes with "gravy" using their traditional flavours and spices, which evolved into the curry sauce we know today. Traditional Indian cuisine is typically drier, like my favourite biryani! Same flavours, less sauce! Curry is Japan's national dish, but did you know that curry (tikka masala) is also Britain's national dish? :D Many parts of the world are grateful to India for their influence on cuisine!

[@KbB-kz9qp]

It all looks very tasty- thanks! 😀

[@TheDaftChemist]

I hope this video pops of, came for a food video, stayed for a well told history lesson

[@farmshedharvest9225]

An outstanding and highly informative video!

[@genisay]

One of the things that drew me into wanting to know more about Japan when I was younger was their sheer amount of varied cuisine within their culture. All of which look amazingly delicious. Every thing I have had the chance to try has been wonderful, save for a few cheap dishes that were not made well. Food would be a major draw for me if I ever got to visit Japan. XD

[@aigulyam.8316]

great video, thanks!

[@rahulm4490]

Loved it! Food, history and Japan- what's not to like?

[@TheHampusen]

Very interesting video, great work!

[@UnCoolDad]

My understanding is that Japanese "curry" introduced via Britain, through the Navy. Japanology did a documentary on this.

[@Miracle7Seven]

I honestly can’t help but be a bit jealous of places outside America with their culture, cuisine and mostly their transportation. Like I just see all those people walking in cities that aren’t built for cars, having access to walk. My town doesn’t even have sidewalks in most areas and it’s just embarrassing to me and should be to our country as well. I’m not some weaboo or anything, 😂, I just don’t get how states like mine don’t have sidewalks, and yell at us for not driving or using bikes near ditches that are like 5 feet deep 🤨

[@Miracle7Seven]

I loved this video too, I learned stuff about Japan that I didn’t know before, so thank you!

[@empress9554]

From rural America, just visited Japan. Being in rural America is so depressing I live in a town of pop 48,000 people. We have more pollution here than Tokyo Japan, one of the largest cities in the world. It’s a damn shame. I even felt way safer in Tokyo than in my small town.

[@empress9554]

Tokyo had less homeless people and crackheads too.

[@DovidM]

The curry powder first used in Japan was Madras curry powder, which itself was developed for English consumption.

[@HYPERIONNakayama]

I love your content. History fan, food fan, info graphic fan

[@alexamuhlach9951]

A lot of people put down yoshoku for being so far from the authentic version of the food but I don’t understand that really because I’ve always viewed it as part of Japanese cuisine so it’s not trying to be “authentic” as it already is. It’s like how I feel about Filipino spaghetti and Filipino carbonara.

[@davidvasta]

Well done...great insight!

[@ernstschmidt4725]

its a longshot but in chile "arab rice" is rice with tiny toasted noodles. mixing pilaf with napolitan noodles might be the turkish thing.

[@jerrygo377]

great videos ... thanx for the history lessons as well!!!

[@stevenr5534]

Food reflects history and societies. I love that you embrace this!

[@JungleScene]

I've been fascinated by the Japanese take on western food for many years. This video is the most comprehensive description of yoshoku I've found yet. Great job on the video! I can tell it took a lot of work to make.

[@iskandartaib]

Incidentally, something I've been trying to figure out might have something to do with this video's subject matter. In Kamakura there's a little cafe called "Milk Hall" (I ate there three weeks ago). It's featured in a certain manga (Aoi Hana) set in that town and the surrounding area. There's another "Milk Hall" in another manga, this one was a cafeteria in a girl's school where the "ordinary" girls ate lunch (the "elite" girls had their own clubhouse with a dining table). So it occurred to me that the term "Milk Hall" might actually mean something. Google Maps shows something like four in Tokyo, and one in Hokkaido. The ones in Tokyo seem to offer cafeteria type Western dishes, the one in Hokkaido is.. well, sells milk products.. So what exactly WAS a "Milk Hall"? Were there a lot more of them during the Showa era, post-war? Were they anything like the Thai "Cook Shops" in the OTR video?

[@fiskehandler]

According to Japanese Wikipedia, they used to serve milk and light meals (and at some point sold newspapers as well). They were popular in the Meiji and Taisho eras and completely disappeared after WW2. The article says that the modern Milk Halls simply use the name. ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9F%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%9B%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB?wprov=sfla1

[@iskandartaib]

@@fiskehandler Thanks! So they were really a thing back in the day.

[@Gallalad1]

To be fair the Japanese curry and rice tends to take far more from the British versions of curry than the traditional Indian ones. So Japan eats an imitation of British food which itself is an imitation of Indian food. Its quite cool how food cultures takes form each other

[@juanluisrodriguez7836]

Very good message at the end. Food must be one of the only things that has to remain out of politics and confrontations in our ever-polarizing world. Cuisine exchanges are fascinating and allow us to expand our minds. Nice video 👍

[@yohannessulistyo4025]

One of the most rarely discussed impact of Meiji restoration is the institutionalisation of Shinto religion, a separation between Shinto-Buddhist syncretism. It is done for a lot of things, also to fight off Buddhist dietary restriction. Other "western food" like Tempura (introduced by the Portuguese, along with firearms) are not typically considered "Yoshoku", since they were introduced way earlier during the beginning of Sengoku Jidai era (even before Edo period). Plus, Yoshoku is indeed kind of a very specific introduction period - that Meiji era. They evolved accordingly and becoming kinda "faux western" like Indonesian-western of the 1970s-1990s, which are mostly learned from Japan. The popularity of Hamburg steak and the popularity of the belief that "western people are bigger and stronger because they eat meat", is not a coincidence with the popularity of James H Salisbury's idea of promoting health through meat-eating in early 20th century. His recommended recipe of ground beef steak is named after him "Salisbury Steak" in the US since 1897. Ideas travel and kinda stayed, lagged in a foreign country during the pre-internet era. My parents and grandparents still believe that eating carrots improve eye sight as the British propaganda ministry suggested to the Germans, when they are wary about successful night bombing interception rate by RAF during WW2 - which was due to secret radar technology instead of RAF night fighter pilot's diet. Western food are reappropriated everywhere, in Indonesia, particularly Central Java, we have 'Selat Solo' - a form of Hamburg steak with caramelised onion as the sweet sauce. It was never labelled as "Indonesian food" back then, just like how Spaghetti Neapolitan (Naporitan) sold in Japanese Sogo Dept Store's cafe Chatterbox chain is always labelled "Western Food" instead of "Japanese Western Food". European influence also varies within Asia - Indonesia is not necessarily influenced 100% by the previous colonisers like Dutch, Portuguese, or British. My grandparent's RAF influence (carrot story) obviously reveals their Cantonese Hong Kong background. Then there is also fashionable Japanese obsession with anything French or Britain, depending whether it is Eastern or Western Japan - which is the same story with their electricity grid system.

[@rifting1224]

Great video! Reminds me of Hong Kong's food culture, where some of its quintessential food that you see in their cafes are heavily influenced by the British

[@Alisse.notavaliable]

My Russian Mom cooks plov a kind of pilav it's the same rice dish without the spices. The rice colorings are from the vegetable (mostly carrots) and meat is taken what ever there is. Since we had our own pigs, it was pig meat. (But the fatter the better.) But the origin is middel east - it like the dumpling - it's kinda everywhere in their own kind (Pilmeni (Russia), Maultaschen(Germany), Ravioli & Tortelloni(Italy), Bao zi (China), Gyoza (Japan), Manty (Kasakhstan), etc. ...)

[@Hiroshiki]

At 11m17s, the Doria (sp?) - that looks like a take on, or an inspiration for Coquille Saint-Jacques. While it is traditionally made with scallops, the basic ideas are all there. Thanks for the great content!

[@allenpoponick6641]

Interesting and well thought out video. Thanks

[@martinjansson1970]

10:28 Turkish rice. Nobody knows.... but isn't it kind of obvious... It's because Turks eat vermicelli rice. I'm pretty sure one of these two things happened: 1) Less likely: Somebody in Nagasaki read about Turks eating rice with vermicilli, and is inspired to serve rice with spaghetti, and name the new dish Turkish rice. It might even have been an accidental invention, and the original creator/name giver really thought that (s)he had recreated a Turkish dish. 2) More likely: After WW2, Japan receive a lot of gratis foodstuffs from USA. One of those foods was spaghetti. There was also a scarcity of traditional Japanese rice in Japan after WW2, and Japanese rice had become a really expensive luxury food (rice imported from USA never became popular, despite being given for free). People started to eat Japanese rice with spaghetti because spaghetti was much cheaper than traditional rice, but they still couldn't force themselves to quit eating traditional Japanese rice entirely. Somebody discovered that Turks also eat rice with pasta, although it is a completely different dish. To make the dish sound more exotic and marketable, and not sound like a poor mans starvation food, the new Japanese dish is renamed to "Turkish rice". Just like we Swedes eat Boston cucumber, a relish invented in 1952 in Sweden, originally made out of leftover foodscraps from making a more traditional pickled Swedish style sliced cucumber preserve ("smörgåsgurka", which was invented in the 1860:s, and was initially called "German cucumber" and similar names, because it originated from German recipes of pickled gherkins, just with a lot of adjustments to better suit Swedish preferences and availability of ingredients, Sweden started industrial native production of sugar in the 1850's, sugar become really cheap, but was still seen as a luxury food by the social groups that couldn't afford it previously, and sugar consumption in Sweden was at its peak, with Swedes adding enormous amounts of sugar into everything they ate). "Bostongurka" somewhat resembles US relishes, and everything comming from USA had a good reputation in Sweden in 1952 [ US products became mythical, mostly because the less war torn Sweden, unlike many other parts of Western Europe, didn't get access to much US products and could only look in envy as neighbouring countries got access to a lot of stuff made in USA; finally, when a lot of US made goods started to get imported to Sweden in the 1960's (because US wanted Swedish steel, copper, cars, machinery and toolery), Swedes discovered, contrary to the previous hype, that all the imported US made products was complete garbage compared to Swedish made products, and the Swedish opinion took a complete turn, and "Made in USA" became synonymous with really bad and expensive products, with the exception of cotton products, becsuse no equivalent product was made in Sweden ], so the new Swedish relish was branded after a common geographic name in USA, because it sounded good in marketing.

[@sesa2984]

Its interesting, Yoshoku reminds me of American Chinese food, or indeed American Japanese food (or That or Indian, but most especially Chinese) in that it is an entire cuisine based on adapting a foreign food culture to local tastes.

[@ChasMusic]

Thank you for this fascinating video. I'm trying to track down these dishes to see if they're available in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it's hard with the automatic captions to get the spellings. Please be so kind as to proofread and correct them so I can get some of this deliciousness you've introduced me to into my mouth if it's here - I love Japanese curry but several of the other dishes are new to me. (Correcting auto-captions is a blessing for deaf people, too, just so you know.)

[@marilyn614]

Will there one day be a video about Osho and Japanese Chinese food like Tenshinhan? I used to frequent Osho quite often when I was living in Kyoto.

[@doncasto8520]

I learned something. Great video!

[@HeatherLandon227]

Tonkatsu has always reminded me of Schnitzel.

[@manofthepeople2165]

Shanghai also has their own version of western cuisine that developed before the turn of the century.

[@rpederse]

Thank you. I knew about the isolation, of course. It’s nice to learn a major reason for it.

[@duncantalksalot]

8:07 talking about washoku keeping the most traditional foods of Japan, but using salmon nigiri, a modern addition that only happened in the past 50 years 🙊