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Do You Like Indian Food and Japanese Food Too?


Jinmyo

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I'm not saying together, at the same time.

But do you like strongly flavoured foods? Do you also like subtley flavoured foods also?

I do.

But, as we all know, it's all about you.

So?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Love both, but then I like variety in my diet. I actually can't think of any cuisine that doesn't have a few things I like, though some cuisines I prefer overall to others.

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wot's all this then?

yes, i like both japanese and indian food. actually i like sushi and the noodle soups--most of the rest of japanese cuisine leaves me cold. but i'd rather eat sushi and good udon than some indian cuisines.

why am i doing this? now i'll have to pay attention to yet another thread.

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Yes, please! Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Indian (Mongo has my senses vicariously awhirl this week), Szechuan, Hunan, Hakka, Fukien, Mexican, stinky cheeses, anything garlicky and powerful and redolent. I'm not sure where my comfort level is on the Scoville index: I define "over-spicy" as "so spicy that the peppers are all you can taste"; short of that, though, I'm happy.

Subtle - yes, that too (see above, for the most part). Subtle AND powerful at the same time - yes, absolutely.

And also simple and relatively bland, on occasion. (Mashed potatoes in times of stress, anyone?)

I haven't much use for pointless things like sago, and (as frequently documented all over this board) I could happily spend the rest of my life without eating another helping of lutefisk. And no, I can't say durian grabs me. Oh... you didn't ask about those, did you. But they're almost the only things I can think of that don't sound interesting and tempting to me.

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Yes! Yes, yes I love both!

But I think it's harder for me to think of a cultural style of cooking I don't generally like. Other than "American Fast".

I'd probably have a hard time with Inuit food, come to think of it, given my fat-in-the-mouth aversion.

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I love good Indian food and like Japanese food. I'm not as knowledgeable about Japanese food as Indian food, but I do gravitate toward explosions of taste more than subtleties.

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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I've loved every Indian dish I have ever tried (with the exception of the Bengali Mustard Fish from the eCGI course, but then again, I'm 100% the failure here was in my preparation, I will attempt it again as soon as I come upon more good fish).

With regards to Japanese, Ilove certain dishes, I am a huge fan of all things Sashimi, and the (surely Americanized) Japanese dishes served at the local Hibachi are quite tasty. When talking about noodle soups and all that jazz though, I am fairly indifferent. I will eat it, but if I have other options that aren't swimming in noodles and broth, I will go with those. I certainly don't dislike any Japanese food I have had, and I have probably only experienced a small portion of the pie, but I haven't totally fallen in love with it as I have with Indian, Thai, Mexican (and other Central/South American), and Italian cookery.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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I enjoy both, but it took me much longer to embrace the charms of Japanese food. Indian is so spicy and distinctive- one or two bites of a couple of different dishes and you get a feel for it, you can see it's potential, you can see yourself in the kitchen grinding fresh spices while chicken marinates in yogurt...but Japanese is clean, delicate, all about superbly fresh ingredients. It's so subtle that it took several meals before I got to the point of craving it. It is also a cuisine I must leave in the restaurant because I live in Indiana and fresh fish when you find it is very pricey. Other ingredients like seaweed, bonito, daikon, miso, and so on are difficult to find. But I'm lucky enough to live near a great Indian grocery!

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When I lived in Japan I did not like the various curry dishes but I do like Indian curries. Could never figure out what made the difference.

What disease did cured ham actually have?

Megan sandwich: White bread, Miracle Whip and Italian submarine dressing. {Megan is 4 y.o.}

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I like Indian (as hot as it gets) as well as Japanese (everything except tempura) and just about everything else in Asian cuisine. For some reason, the oil is too dominant in the bland tempura. I'll eat some as part of another dish, but I'd never order a dish centered around tempura.

The difference between theory and practice is much smaller in theory than it is in practice.

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indian for dinner last night - japanese tonight.

my palate (which tends to gravitate toward chilies and stinky cheese) always thanks me for giving it a break.

from overheard in new york:

Kid #1: Paper beats rock. BAM! Your rock is blowed up!

Kid #2: "Bam" doesn't blow up, "bam" makes it spicy. Now I got a SPICY ROCK! You can't defeat that!

--6 Train

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Just to break up the monotony here - I love Indian food. It is probably my favorite type of eating. I like the spicy flavors when it i supposed to be spicy and the intense flavors of even the non-spicy dishes (although the sweets are a little too much). Our DC area Indian Street Foods dinner eposed me to it even more and I loved the new stuff too.

But I just don't like and don't get Japanese food. Maybe it is the subtlety, maybe it is lack of exposure and unfamiliarity with ingredients, maybe I just haven't had any good versions - but I just don't enjoy it.

Bill Russell

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I like both.

There seems to be more enthusiasm for Indian than Japanese. Why?

Is it just that Indian is more widely available - thats certainly true in the UK.

The art in Japanese food is an added dimension which is not something I've ever seen in Indian. I find the subtlety of Japanese fascinating. Of course there are hot and spicy elements in Japanese too.

David

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Indian food looks terrible (no offense intended), tastes great.

Japanese food looks beautiful, tastes alittle too subtle, somewhat bland although I do love sushi.

As Pan said above and I agree - I love Indian, like Japanese. I couldn't exist on just Japanese food, it seems too ethereal, doesn't make me feel full. I guess there's not enough comfort food there for my taste or my taste buds are deadened by the spicy food I like.

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Doesn't Japanese involve more ingredients that are for, er, tourists?

I started to educate myself on Japanese much more thoroughly thanks to Jin, and I can say it is consumed currently more often than Indian cuisine. I think it is because of my former unfamiliarity with the ingredients (yep I'd never heard of fish) and the foreign concept of technique. Indian food itself incorporates spices I was once unfamiliar with but techniques that are quite common.

Not to say that grilling a skewer is foreign, but spicing and presentation that aren't common with my southern upbringing are fascinating. As is the Japanese fermentation of various products, which may be why I'm also currently obsessed with Korean cuisine.

Jin, you aren't saying that all Japanese traditional foods are subtle, though, are you?

Rice pie is nice.

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I love both!

I love the complexity of the spice blends and the heat from Indian food and I love the subtle yet flavorful Japanese dishes.

That being said I could never spend the rest of my life eating traditional "Kyoto" cuisine that I find to be subtle AND completely lacking in flavor....

The Japanese do have many condiments to add heat to foods, karashi (mustard), sansho (pepper), togarashi (chiles), etc and spice mixes like shichimi togagarshi (7 spice belnd) and yuzu-koshou (green chile and yuzu paste), but they are added to the finished product normally, rather than blended in from the beginning. This gives a different taste sensation and I really enjoy both kinds of heat.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Jin, you aren't saying that all Japanese traditional foods are subtle, though, are you?

No, I'm not. Though even natto has subtelties.

Korean cuisine is definitely more forward than Japanese, an in my opinion, better able to use grilling of meats and so on.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Love Japanese could eat it every day.

Like Indian, I used to love it until I was in Madras for a month. The curry every day for lunch was ok, but the curry powder in everything for breakfast was just to much!

Never trust a skinny chef

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I love Indian and Japanese food.

Could eat Japanese food everyday, but please give me something other than the traditional bland cusine of some region.

Indian food is reserved for the weekend because I usually get sick after eating them(Some of the food is rich and too oily). The weekend give my stomach time to rest.....

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