Indians are justifiably proud of their cooking. Scrumptious curries result from ingenious combinations of dozens of spices, discovered through centuries of trials and errors. The delicious results are admired and adopted throughout the world. The West, especially, has greatly supplemented its simplistic condiments of the past with the riches of Indian curries, resulting in what some Indians would refer to as an "upgrade" of "tasteless" Western cuisines.
But often the Indian pride of their culinary traditions borders arrogance, a belief in that the ability to bring out unique, rich tastes through combinations of different spices make the cuisine one of more, if not the most, advanced and sophisticated one. For many Indians, without willing to put in such self-righteous terms, see great potential for other cuisines to become "better" if they can learn to emulate how Indians use their spices with such dexterity and skill.
Perhaps to the dismay of such Indians, traditional Japanese cuisine emerge as a true antithesis to the Indian emphasis on use of spice. Simple in their use of sauces and flavors, Japanese dishes instead manage to bring out the most natural tastes of ingredients being used. The sweetness of vegetables, umami of meats, and freshness of seafood are all pulled to the front lines in the battle to tickle and dominate the taste buds.
Perhaps the best illustration to the principle of such Japanese emphasis on bringing out the "original" tastes of ingredients is the idea of dashi. In the narrowest definition, dashi refers to boiling a certain ingredient with water to create a light-tasting soup containing the essence of the boiled ingredient's taste. In the most famous case, seaweed is boiled to release glutamate, the chemical compound that gave umami its most basic form. Synthetic MSG provides an easy alternative.
Yet, dashi is limited to seaweed. Any ingredient, whether meat, vegetable, or seafood, can be boiled for dashi, and the resulting flavored-instilled juices to be mixed, flavored, and adjusted to produce differing tastes suited for different dishes. It is as if dashi is Japanese equivalent of Indian spices in curries, bringing forth complexities of many foods and integrate them within a single dish. The only difference is whether the tastes come from within or without.
Dashi, unlike spices, however, does not translate well to a foreign audience. An Indian, for instance, is so used to eating flavor-heavy foods from a young age that the nuanced tastes of dashi simply tastes like water. To get such people to appreciate use of dashi as a cooking method simply will not happen. On the other hand, for those used to light-tasting foods, heavy use of spices is easier to adopt, even if they need initial period for adjusting to extra spiciness and saltiness.
Indeed, even in Japan, cooking styles emphasizing liberal uses of different spices are gaining a stronger following over the past decades. Curries, for example, tasted light and sweet when first introduced to the Japanese public after modifying what came with British sailors. But increasingly, locals are appreciating "authentic" curries, which can be just as spicy and rich as those served to locals in India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia.
Even as dashi fights competition at home, though, it is too early to count on it being superseded by the heaviness of spice-focused cooking styles. As Japanese foods become fashionable across the world for perceived healthiness, more people are beginning to appreciate the idea of dashi. The fresh fish tastes of sushi are joined by newfound attention to soup base in ramen. All such focus on tastes from ingredients can rival spice-based tastes for their health benefits.
But often the Indian pride of their culinary traditions borders arrogance, a belief in that the ability to bring out unique, rich tastes through combinations of different spices make the cuisine one of more, if not the most, advanced and sophisticated one. For many Indians, without willing to put in such self-righteous terms, see great potential for other cuisines to become "better" if they can learn to emulate how Indians use their spices with such dexterity and skill.
Perhaps to the dismay of such Indians, traditional Japanese cuisine emerge as a true antithesis to the Indian emphasis on use of spice. Simple in their use of sauces and flavors, Japanese dishes instead manage to bring out the most natural tastes of ingredients being used. The sweetness of vegetables, umami of meats, and freshness of seafood are all pulled to the front lines in the battle to tickle and dominate the taste buds.
Perhaps the best illustration to the principle of such Japanese emphasis on bringing out the "original" tastes of ingredients is the idea of dashi. In the narrowest definition, dashi refers to boiling a certain ingredient with water to create a light-tasting soup containing the essence of the boiled ingredient's taste. In the most famous case, seaweed is boiled to release glutamate, the chemical compound that gave umami its most basic form. Synthetic MSG provides an easy alternative.
Yet, dashi is limited to seaweed. Any ingredient, whether meat, vegetable, or seafood, can be boiled for dashi, and the resulting flavored-instilled juices to be mixed, flavored, and adjusted to produce differing tastes suited for different dishes. It is as if dashi is Japanese equivalent of Indian spices in curries, bringing forth complexities of many foods and integrate them within a single dish. The only difference is whether the tastes come from within or without.
Dashi, unlike spices, however, does not translate well to a foreign audience. An Indian, for instance, is so used to eating flavor-heavy foods from a young age that the nuanced tastes of dashi simply tastes like water. To get such people to appreciate use of dashi as a cooking method simply will not happen. On the other hand, for those used to light-tasting foods, heavy use of spices is easier to adopt, even if they need initial period for adjusting to extra spiciness and saltiness.
Indeed, even in Japan, cooking styles emphasizing liberal uses of different spices are gaining a stronger following over the past decades. Curries, for example, tasted light and sweet when first introduced to the Japanese public after modifying what came with British sailors. But increasingly, locals are appreciating "authentic" curries, which can be just as spicy and rich as those served to locals in India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia.
Even as dashi fights competition at home, though, it is too early to count on it being superseded by the heaviness of spice-focused cooking styles. As Japanese foods become fashionable across the world for perceived healthiness, more people are beginning to appreciate the idea of dashi. The fresh fish tastes of sushi are joined by newfound attention to soup base in ramen. All such focus on tastes from ingredients can rival spice-based tastes for their health benefits.
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