A couple of days ago I decided to make some Ukrainian traditional food for my host-family. Debating about what would be the most appropriate for Japanese taste, I decided on mashed potato varenyky* (bareniki in Japanese pronunciation). As I sat a big bowl of varenyky in the middle of the table, all members of my Japanese family were already clicking their chopsticks in anticipation. I explained that this food is generally eaten with sour cream, and that was actually all I was able to say before my family attacked the bowl. I was very happy to see all the excitement about my traditional food and that it did not disappoint.
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However, very soon the situation at the dinner table took a different turn. Before I could notice, my sister and other family members were already dipping my Ukrainian food in soy souse. After the soy souse, they quickly discovered that varenyky also taste well with curry... I am not sure what exactly I felt at that moment. Of course I made this food for them to enjoy, and it doesn’t really matter how they eat it as long as they like it. Another part of me, on the other hand, somewhere deep inside was screaming, “Aayayay, this is not how it goes! Put that soy souse down!” On top of that, tonight the left-over of varenyky my host-family used as one of the ingredients in nabe udon (udon in a pot).**
I am not trying to say that all or even a majority of Japanese would do the same if presented with foreign food, but I think that my host-family’s actions represent very well what Japanese usually do with many things that come from abroad, and food in particular. Take a curry for example.
Kareh raisu is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is, however, quite different from the curry which originated in South Asia. Japanese curry, as it is often referred to, is a lot milder, sometimes may contain beef, and is generally served with white rice. It is worth noting that curry came to Japan from Britain, not South Asia, and British were the ones to modify it first. Japanese, however, had further input and turned it into their own dish. Moreover, consider pizza. It is very common to find one with white souse, sea food, or an egg on top. Teriyaki burgers also fall under the Japan-modified foods category. As I see it, Japanese more or less operate by “see it, like it, change it to fit own taste, and spread it” principle. Are these changes fore better or worse? That is up to you to judge, but Japanese seem to think they are for better. Who knows, maybe in 20 years I will come back to Japan and see somewhere on the menu nabe-bareniki.
* As described by Wikipedia: Varenyky are square- or screscent-shaped dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, cheese, cabbage, meat, or a combination of these, or with a fruit filling. Varenyky are typically topped with fried salo bits [something similar to bacon] and onions and accompanied with sour cream. Left-over varenyky may be fried. http://en.wikipedia.org/wili/Vareniki
** Please don’t misunderstand, I am not at all offended by the actions of my host-family. In fact, I find it quite entertaining what they did with my food.
"Diving into Japanese curry - new comfort food from Japan." Trend Pot NY, LLC, Mar. 2009. Web. http://www.chopsticksny.com/features/023/.
Itoh, Makiko. "Japanese beef curry (Curry Rice)." JustHungry. 6 Feb. 2007. Web. http://www.justhungry.com/japanese-beef-curry.
This is a great post illustrating the tension between authenticity and glocalization. It is a little heartbreaking when one goes to so much trouble to make the "real thing" only to see it drenched in soy sauce and curry (in America we might use ketchup or salsa...) and finally thrown into the nabe. I wonder how your host family would react to you using Ukranian seasonings on their Japanese cuisine. But perhaps this is how we get "fusion" foods. Did you try your dish with soy sauce and curry? Maybe you can take the recipe back home...
ReplyDeleteI might like to see pictures of your host family eating your food. I like that you used your experience and then added research to strengthen your ethnography. But I don't think you need a wikipedia description - I think I would trust your own description of the dish.