The Japanese diet philosophy

The Japanese diet is considered to be one of the healthiest in the world, and for that reason the Japanese have an average life expectancy far greater than the western world. A Japanese food philosophy promotes balanced and intuitive eating. It encourages healthy eating habits and attitudes about food and is based on four main principles:

1. listening to your body
2. enjoying a variety of ingredients
3. eating more whole foods
4. sharing more meals with family and friends

The Five Elements Food Philosophy

Generally, Japanese diet is based on the Five Elements Philosophy in order for the human beings to maintain their optimal mental and physical health.

Five Senses

Japanese meals are perfectly balanced. Food should not only satisfy hunger, but also should be enjoyed, entertained and nourished with all five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing. aste and smell are obvious. Touch is also essential, not only for the texture of the food itself, but also for tableware. Sight is considered just as important as taste: a perfect meal can be ruined with a wrong shape or colour dish. Usually, chefs and home cooks opt for the pricier tableware option because a feather-light exclusive porcelain rice bowl that costs ten times as much as a similar-looking mass-made one makes dining much more enjoyable. Hearing also deserves attention: a quiet atmosphere is appreciated, and generally, the more expensive the restaurant, the quieter.

Five Colours

Since Buddhism arrived to Japan from China in the 6th century, the dominance of five colours – white, black, red, green and yellow – has been a tradition. The Japanese believe that these five colours have to be included in every meal. Indeed, this practice will help you serve balanced and healthy menu: white rice, black sesame seeds, red tomatoes, yellow omelet, and green beans boost the nutritional value of the dish.

Five Tastes

Five basic tastes of food are distinguished by the Japanese: sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness’ and umami. Umami can be translated as “pleasant savory taste”, delicious. Discovered fairly recently (in the early part of the 20th century) by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, umami is now a worldwide phenomenon. The word came from “umai”- “delicious” and “mi” – “taste”. People taste umami through receptors specific to glutamate. Glutamate is widely present in savory foods, such as meat broths and fermented products, and commonly added to some foods in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Five cooking methods

Japanese cooking can be broken down in to five basic cooking methods. These are “Nama”(cutting), “Niru” (simmering), “Yaku” (grilling), “Musu” (steaming) and “Ageru” (deep-frying). Meals usually start with the most delicate in textures and flavours foods, such as a few slices of raw sashimi. Then soup or simmered vegetables are followed. Then food gets progressively more substantial; crispy tempura followed by grilled fish or meat.

A Japanese Bento Box

A bento is a single-portion boxed meal usually composed of a carb (usually rice or noodles), a protein (usually meat, fish, eggs), and an assortment of pickled or cooked vegetables. A typical bento box usually contains rice, an assortment of vegetables, eggs, and a lean source of meat or fish. Actually, a Japanese bento box is the Japanese food philosophy in practice.

About 95% of Japanese eat three meals a day, considering dinner, which they usually have at home with their families, to be the most important.