Chinese vs Japanese Food
China and Japan are not exactly neighbors, but these two are giants in the comity of nations, in the entire world, leave alone Asia. If China happens to be one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Japan is not far behind. Both these Asian countries have had cultural influences over each other notwithstanding Japanese invasions of Chinese mainland in the early 20th century. To a westerner, Japanese and Chinese foods may appear to be very similar (which is natural considering mutual cultural influences). However, there are subtle differences also that will be highlighted in this article.
China is a very large country to have a single cuisine. In fact, it is divided into 8 regions that signify 8 different cuisines in a single country. However, there is a common thread running over all these different cuisines. In general, Chinese diet is full of vegetables and people in China consider vegetables in themselves a full meal without having to think about breads and rice. Chinese prefer to pan fry their dishes and this makes their food a bit greasy. Noodles and soy beans dominate Chinese cuisine, and they are also fond of rice. Chinese cuisine tends to avoid sugary food items.
One Japanese dish that comes to one’s mind straightaway when he talks about Japanese food is Sushi. Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with rice and seafood, mainly salmon fish. Fish and rice seems to be the preferred choice of most Japanese and the Japanese food is mostly boiled and steamed thus being healthier than Chinese food. Japanese do not deep fry their food items and believe in grilling that cooks food items quickly at high temperature with some part remaining raw. Japanese people love to eat even the uncooked, raw part of their dishes. Seaweed is seen being used in many Japanese dishes while dairy products are not dominant in Japanese cuisine.
What is the difference between Chinese and Japanese Food?
• Chinese food is greasier than Japanese food. This is because Chinese sauté or fry many of their dishes while Japanese prefer to steam or boil their dishes
• Chinese cook their food slowly, and at a low temperature while Japanese prefer grilling at a high temperature that cooks food faster but leaves the inside as uncooked or raw
• Chinese dishes are spicier than Japanese dishes, and they make more use of herbs and spices than Japanese
• Japanese cuisine has western influence while Chinese cuisine has been influenced by Muslim cuisine partly because of the silk route
• Chinese food is less sugary than Japanese food in general