A FOOD TRADITION

Yoshoku

Yoshoku is Japan's established Western-influenced cooking tradition, formed through modernization and the adaptation of European dishes to Japanese ingredients, techniques, and dining habits. It is not simply foreign food: sauces, breaded coatings, demi-glace-style gravies, curry roux, rice, and finely prepared vegetables became part of a distinctly Japanese repertoire. Common techniques include breading and frying, simmering in thick sauces, pan-cooking, and combining Western forms with Japanese seasonings. Representative dishes include tonkatsu, breaded pork cutlet; omurice, seasoned rice enclosed in an omelet; and hayashi rice, rice served with a rich beef-and-onion sauce. Yoshoku is found nationwide and complements, rather than duplicates, traditional washoku categories.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.