2022年2月8日 日本の出汁文化

日本料理は鰹節や昆布等の魚介系出汁が多いと以前書いたが、キノコや野菜も使う。 ただ、旨み成分抽出を主とした出汁で澄んだスープである。それ故、おいしい出汁の取り方は難しい。 また、海に囲まれた島国故に海産物が豊富で、大陸のように動物を食べる習慣のなかった農耕民族であることも影響しているだろう。
一方、大陸の国々では動物系を使って旨みと同時にコクも出している。それ故に臭みを消したり更なるコクを求めたり様々な工夫がある。 野菜のトマトが何故、スープにコクを与えるか不思議であったが、確かに南米や欧州ではトマトのスープは普通である。 トマト抜きのシニガンを作ってちょっとだけ歴史に基づいた食文化に思いを馳せた。


Japanese soup stock culture, February 8th, 2022

I wrote before that Japanese cuisine often uses seafood-based soup stock such as bonito flakes and kelp, but mushrooms and vegetables are also used. However, it is a clear soup with a soup stock that mainly extracts umami ingredients. Therefore, it is difficult to make delicious soup stock. Also, because it is an island country surrounded by the sea, it is rich in marine products, and the fact that it is an agricultural race that did not have the habit of eating animals like on the mainland may also have an effect.
On the other hand, in the countries of the continent, animal products are used to bring out the flavor as well as the richness. Therefore, there are various ideas such as eliminating the smell and seeking further richness. I was wondering why tomatoes, a vegetable, give richness to the soup, but it is true that tomato soup is common in South America and Europe. I made sinigang without tomatoes and thought a little about the history-based food culture.