Western Origins of Japanese Foods
Omu-rice and pork cutlet curry.
You may not think of fried mashed potato patties or beef stew served with rice when craving Japanese food, but these dishes of Western origins are popular in Japanese cuisine. Mari Kanazawa of Watashi to Tokyo explains the origins of some of these Japanese-Western dishes and where you're most likely to find them in Tokyo.
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9 Comments:
mmmm i love omurice, i used to eat it all the time as a kid! i want to make some now!
sustarz at 10:34PM on 03/05/08
I still love omurice and S&B beef curry (even with all of that MSG)! I never omurice was a Japanese-Western dish. Korean people love this dish too.
PattyCho at 11:33PM on 03/05/08
well, it's more like that other site describes some weird dishes in Japan, but it doesn't seem to do a very good job explaining their origins. Some said this, and some said that...
DaveFaris at 7:17AM on 03/06/08
Curry rice with the pickled ginger is heavenly, but I don't care for the tonkatsu that it comes with sometimes so I ask for korokke on top instead. =)
My mother never made omurice or any kind of fried rice when I was growing up, nor did she make spaghetti napolitan. I started making it once I moved out of the house and only in single servings because everyone I've ever shared it with thought it was ghastly.
All it was was my spaghetti sauce (or spaghetti stew as my husband likes to call it), throw in the noodles (linguini), and a tablespoon of butter in the frying pan. Heat long enough so everything is mixed together thoroughly. Add a teaspoon of ketchup, mix again. It tastes just like baked spaghetti, but firmer.
Cassaendra at 7:30AM on 03/06/08
MMMmmmmm... kare raisu... so bad for you... so totally delish... definitely qualifies as big-time comfort food. I haven't had it in ages, and I'm thinking I'll have to make a batch in the next few days! Thanks for reminding me!
BTW, in So Calif, there's a micro-chain called Curry House. It's all Japanese curry, all the time. So many variations. All so yummy. Check it out if you live near one.
LoCo at 11:33AM on 03/06/08
OMG! There was a restaurant that served kare raisu (curry rice) a couple of blocks from my apartment in Sendai, Japan. Their dish looked just like the picture but without the tonkatsu pork cutlet. It was a great place for an early dinner during the week. I was always amazed at how the dish was served. Not in a bowl but in a wide flat plate. The rice would be on one side and the curry and sauce would completely cover the plate. It always looked like an awkward dish to serve, especially when carrying two such dishes, but the waitresses never spilled any of it!
I had some students in Sendai who thought that curry was an American dish because the brand at the store was called Vamonto Kare (Vermont Curry). I saw a box of it in an Asian store and should have bought it just for old time's sake!
Otabenga at 11:52AM on 03/06/08
reason #987234987239824 robyn ROCKS
KATSU CURRY FTW!
mooonnaaa at 11:55AM on 03/06/08
I LOVE Mari's blog, thanks for featuring it Robyn! :)
CandyAddictSera at 12:47PM on 03/06/08
Interesting, apart from the English grammar errors. Sorry, I'm a bit O-C about English spelling and grammar.
@Robyn Lee: Your posts are always so special. Keep doing what we all love!
Omurice, and kari raisu... MMmmm. I like J-Curry over the Indian original. The Indian version is a bit too strong for me...
levinedym at 6:34PM on 03/06/08