by Marin Yamamoto
Do you think you know Japanese food? I have been in Taiwan for six months, where the influence of Japanese culture is quite often seen. But I believe every country interprets cultures in interesting ways. For example, there are many foreign people who think Japanese pizza is strange because it contains many unusual ingredients, but it’s just that western food has been altered to suit the tastes of the Japanese. Although most Japanese and Taiwanese eat rice every day, there are some differences in the way rice is eaten. Japanese often eat rice with toppings such as natto (fermented sticky soy beans), umeboshi (pickled plums), and shiokara, (fermented seafood with salt or malted rice). In Taiwan, on the other hand, it seems that toppings are not as important because there are a variety of side dishes. The way we drink soup is also different. In Japan this varies depending on the dishes, but most of the time we drink soup along with the meal. In contrast, it seems that most Taiwanese people drink soup at the end of the meal. In Taiwan there is also sweet soup, 甜湯 (tiantang), which is not so easy to find in Japan. Also, in Taiwan there are many foods that theJapanese do not have, such as pig’s blood pudding, 豬血糕 (zhuxiegao), chicken feet, 雞爪 (jizhua), fried pork flakes, 肉鬆 (rousong), Taiwanese meatballs 肉圓 (rouyuan), steamed buns 饅頭 (mantou), and stinky tofu 臭豆腐 (choudoufu). Table mannersare different, too. When Japanese people eat noodles we are allowed to makenoise, but Taiwanese people tell me that they are not supposed to make suchsounds in front of other people. Or in Taiwan, the way customers are led totheir table might seem very rude to Japanese people. When we go to restaurants,the waiters will look for seats for us and very rarely make you sit with otherpeople. If there aren’t enough seats the waiter will make you wait until otherpeople leave. And the attitude of the waiters is also different. In Taiwan Ioften see them eating and playing with their cell phones. This would neverhappen in Japan! At the same time, however, I also feel that Taiwanese are veryfree and I like it a lot! During the lastsix months I have encountered many differences in food culture in Japan andTaiwan. I have learned that if you go to different places, you will find manydifferent customs and practices. 日本と台湾の食文化山本まりん あなたは日本食について知っていますか?私はここ台湾に住んで六カ月、日本の影響を受けたであろうと思われるものをたくさん見てきました。しかし例えば、よく日本に住んでいる外国人が「日本のピザは変だ!こんなものをトッピングに使うなんてありえない!」と言うように、日本のピザは日本人の味に合うように変化しただけなのです。 日本人と同様、台湾人の毎日の食卓に欠かさず登場するのがあの白いご飯。そのご飯の食べ方にも違いがあります。日本人はよく白米と一緒に納豆や梅干し、塩辛などを食べます。一方で台湾人はご飯にのせるトッピングのようなものはなく、数豊富なおかずとともに食べるのが主流みたいです。スープの飲み方も日本では大体ご飯と一緒にということが多いですが、台湾ではご飯を食べてからというのが一般みたいです。それに台湾には甘い食後のスープなどもあります。日本では食後に甘いスープなんてあまり目にしません。 さらに台湾には日本にはない食べ物がたくさんあります。例えば、豬血糕(豚の血のケーキ)や雞爪(鶏の足)、肉鬆(豚肉のふりかけ)や肉圓(台湾風ミートボール)、饅頭(マントー)や臭豆腐(臭い豆腐)などです。これらは日本ではめったに見かけません。 テーブルマナーにも違いがあります。日本ではラーメンなどの麺類を食べる時、音をたてて食べても大丈夫ですが、台湾人がいうには、麺類を食べるときは音をたてないのが原則だそうです。他には店員の接客態度にも違いがあります。座席に数人で座るとき、日本ではなるべく他の客と相席させないようにするのが基本ですが、台湾では他の人と相席になるのはめずらしいことではありません。また台湾の店員の接客しながらの携帯の使用や飲食といった態度は日本では考えられないとことですが、一見してみるとすごく台湾人の自由さが出ていて、私はけっこうすきだったりします。日本人からしてみれば、なんと礼儀のない店員だと思われるかもしれませんね。 この六カ月で日本と台湾の食文化の違いを発見して、国が違えば、文化も習慣も違うということを改めて実感しました。残りの留学生活でもっともっとおもしろい発見ができればと思います。 a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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