Umami and Sake

Japanese Food and Sake

When we wonder just what the deliciousness of Japanese sake is, we also need to know how Japanese food developed together with food culture. And when we try to investigate the various secrets of the deliciousness of Japanese food, we will probably also come to one short conclusion: umami seibun, or “flavorful ingredients.” Well, since there are differences with Western food, particularly in comparison with the sauce stock used for flavoring, I would like to take a look at why Japanese food and sake go together well.

In Shigeru Otsuka’s book on the history of the food culture published by Chukoshinsho in 1975, something very interesting is written. What is written is: “There is a theory that the reason for the defeat of Japanese food is soy sauce.” In the Japan of that era, Western food was especially held in high esteem. “Nevertheless,” Otsuka points out, “if the defeat of Japanese food is due to soy sauce it is because it is overly delicious.” The point is that Japanese people rely upon this all-purpose, flavorful ingredient too much and did not develop the food which was internationally accepted. For sure, soy sauce is delicious, but I personally do not believe Japanese would ever cut corners or be negligent on flavor (actually, the opinion that Japanese people are addicted to flavor also exists). Instead, in 1975, there was not yet anybody to clearly convey Japanese food to international society, and also nutritional science had not yet developed, so even Japanese people did not understand the food of their own nation. For the generation of Japanese people with memories of food shortages still remaining somewhat after Japan’s defeat in World War II, Japanese food had an image of poverty and a sense of deficiency for Japanese people. However, from that time, after only 30 years and thanks to the efforts of our seniors, there has been a boom in this “poverty food” even in the developed, “spiritually decadent” America, and also around the world, which is something quite remarkable.

Well, no matter where the food is from, there is something known as a fundamental flavor. In French food it is fond and in Japanese food it is dashi. Whether from the East or West, the various soup stocks contain flavorful ingredients. However, the contents of Japan’s dashi soup stock and Western soup stock are quite different. In Japan’s top dashi, konbu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonita flakes), flavors come out within only 10 minutes. But in Western food the flavor comes out only after meats and bones are simmered for a long time, and after high fat ingredients like butter are added, so the styles of cooking are nutritionally quite different. In the Japanese way of cooking, supporting the goodness of the raw materials of the food is regarded as important, but on the other hand, the original taste of the raw materials of Western food are extinguished and there are many ways of cooking where the base flavor is changed through seasonings and spices. Wine, with its high acid content, is matched with these rich foods to wash away the rich flavors, and also because of its neutralizing effect. Conversely, Japanese food is plain but because there are many flavorful ingredients; when we drink Japanese sake, there is an effect of bringing out the flavors of both the food and the drink. Although the acidity in Japanese sake is lower than in wine, it contains instead as much as 1.5 to 2 times more amino acids than wine. Actually, the amino acids contained in Japanese sake, and the amino acids system glutamine, nucleic acid system inosinic acid, etc., which are contained in the flavors of Japanese food, synergistically support one another.

Since people of developed countries insist on foods with low fat, low calories, and less salt, inevitably Japanese food attracted more attention. And from that point on, Japanese flavors, as well as low calorie Japanese cooking techniques and seasonings were introduced into Western cooking. In particular, the use of flavorful ingredients such as soy sauce, miso, mirin (sweet sake), which are all condensed in fermented foods, started – unsurprisingly - in French food. I firmly believe the most suitable Japanese sake for these foods is sure to be recognized by the world as a good choice for alcohol during meals.
Table Illustrating the Delicious Components of Japanese Food

(From past experience it has been shown that rather than using the delicious components listed below individually, using them in conjunction with each other increases their savory taste exponentially.)
Table Illustrating the Delicious Components of Japanese Food (From past experience it has been shown that rather than using the delicious components listed below individually, using them in conjunction with each other increases their savory taste exponentially.)



For seminars on Japanese sake or shochu, contact Yuji Matsumoto at 310-936-4649 or ymatsumoto001@gmail.com.