Is there a big difference between Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine (restaurants)??

Question

I've seen various Japanese restaurants and Chinese restaurants. I know that sushi originally came from the Japanese, although some Chinese restaurants serve sushi as well...and I know that both cuisines have rice.

Are there any foods that really separate Japanese and Chinese cuisines??

Answer 1

Dim Sum is 100% Chinese. Tempura, Udon, Yakitori are all Japanese.
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Experts in Asian cookery know that there are large differences between Japanese and Chinese cuisines. The similarity between these two Far Eastern cooking styles is their fondness of rice, fish and fresh vegetables, while the flavours of the other ingredients and seasonings differ considerably. Also, the methods used to prepare the dishes are different and give a clear indication of the origin of the meal.

Japanese
The Japanese attach importance to fresh ingredients, gentle methods of cooking and authentic flavours, which is why many foods are cooked for a very short time only or are even eaten raw. Seasonings, such as soy sauce, are used sparingly and only to enhance the intrinsic flavour of the food. Rice, the staple food, is eaten at almost every meal. Vegetables, fish and all sorts of seafood and plants are an important part of the Japanese diet, as are meat and tofu. An important characteristic of Japanese cooking is that the main ingredients are mostly served on their own and not mixed with others in the same dish.

Chinese
The many regions within China make for an extremely diverse Chinese cuisine. However, the main characteristic of Chinese cooking is the enthusiastic use of seasoning. In addition, the Chinese love to mix a variety of different ingredients together, so it is not unusual to find meat, fish, mushrooms and other vegetables all together in one soup. Another characteristic of Chinese cooking is a penchant for unusual types of meat. Most dishes are prepared by frying the ingredients over a high heat in lots of oil.

Answer 2

Hi,

I'm Japanese.

I have been asked this kind of question so many times. And the answer is Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine are different.

Traditionally, we, Japanese, eat very subtle flavor dishes. And the flavor is usually the same that we use soy sauce, bonito or seaweed (konbu) broth, sugar, sake (rice wine), mirin (sweet cooking wine) and salt for many dishes. And since we are surrounded by oceans, we eat different kinds of fishes and seaweeds. And traditionally it was taboo for Japanese people to eat meats in the past because of our religious belief ( Buddhism) even though many Japanese people today are atheistic. And also you probably know tempura ( deepfried vegetable and seafood dish: http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/homecook/search/recipe/img/00001423.jpg ) but this is a dish influenced by Portugal cusine in the 1600. So it's not really a traditional Japanese cuisine.

Anyway, what I want to say is that traditional Japanese cuisine doesn't have meats but fish and seaweeds and no deepfried foods.

On the other hand, Chinese people use a lot of oil to make meals and also they use a lot of spices. Chinese dishes are very flavorful and some dishes are very spicy, which are totally different from Japanese cuisine. Many Americans would say that Japanese dishes taste very healthy. But the opposite meaning could be " no flavor." So if you eat some Asian food and if you think that there is no flavor, that might be some Japanese dish lol

By the way, it is true that some Japanese dishes are influenced by some dishes made in China and Korea. And sushi is said to be originally from China. But the shape of sushi (nigiri sushi) that you know today is totally different from the shape of original sushi. The shape of original sushi was like "oshizushi" which kinda looks like these :

http://food-r.img.jugem.jp/20060304_142005.gif
http://kittyomu.img.jugem.jp/20060710_150702.JPG
http://www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp/kankou/report/part2/pc2_4.jpg

And, the nigiri sushi that many people know today were actually a street food served in Tokyo in the early 1800. So it didn't really have this concept that sushi is a very epensive food. Because that was a street food, some Japanese people today still don't use chopsticks to eat sushi. It was kinda like humbarger that people didn't need to be behave and use chopstics to eat sushi. And the kind of manner still exists today that it's ok for people to eat sushi by hand because nigiri sushi is meant to be eaten by hand even though so mnay people today prefer to use chopstics to eat sushi.

Anyways, there is a difference between Japanese and Chinese cuisines. And I want to say that If you eat Japanese food other than sushi, you could understand the difference. Japanese dishes are more subtle flavor dishes while Chinese dishes are more flavorful and spicy dishes.

Answer 3

Sushi is Japanese but it's a popular food item -- it sells -- so many Chinese buffets offer it. Some chefs offer a type of food called Asian Fusion.

Clue: A building contractor who designs restaurant interiors once told us that if you wonder who is running a restaurant that sells sushi, look at the lighting. If the lighting in the restaurant is dim, then it's a Japanese-owned restaurant. If the lighting is bright, it's Chinese-owned. Serious, he really said that.

Answer 4

OMG! They are soo apples and oranges. I mean they are so different you can't even compare them! You probably went to non-authentic Chinese and Japanese restaurants. For one, Chinese food specifically Sechuan is very spicy and Chinese food in general are "stir-fries" so they tend to be oily. Japanese food on the other hand are very simple dishes. Not too oily. Even their tempura (batter covered food items that are deep fried) is not bathing in oil. Rice in general is a staple in all Asian countries. This is probably the only thing similar to Chinese and Japanese cuisine but both countries use rice very differently.

Answer 5

There is a difference...
Overall, the Japanese cooking is milder than Chinese cooking.
1. Rice.
Japanese tend to like the stickier short grain rice while Chinese like long grain rice.
2. Meats
Japanese tend to use a lot of seafood based products since they're an island nation.
Chinese tend to use more pork, chicken and seafood.
3. Broths
Japanese use dashi which is a kelp and bonito (dried fish) based stock
Chinese tend to use more chicken or pork based stock.
4. Flavoring
Japanese food tends to be milder - lightly flavored where the "natural" flavors shine.
Chinese tend to use more garlic, onion, chilie, fermented black beans - seasonings that are more pungent.
5. Cooking condiments/sauces
Japanese the condiments tend to be mild - mirin (sweet rice wine), Soy Sauce (from which you have terriyaki sauce) and miso (which is the stronger flavored condiment).
Chinese - you have a myriad of condiments used for cooking... Oyster sauce, Soy Sauce (many different types), Fermented black beans, Hoisin, Hot Schezuan bean paste, fermented bean curd are a few examples.

Answer 6

There is a lot of difference between Chinese and Japanese foods. In fact, there are many different types of Chinese foods in China. What you find here is not Chinese, or Japanese food, but Americanized food. The staple in Asia is rice, and even the rice is different in different countries.

Answer 7

yes I love both foods, but it is largely a different taste. I love Japanese food most of this cuisines taste sweet mainly due to the teriyaki sauce. You should give both a try.

Answer 8

yep all asian cuisine is almost completely different

sushi isnt chinese at all , it is all japanese but chinese restaurants tend to serve all different asian dishes such as korean kimchi

Answer 9

I would pretend they have not much in common really...
Japanese love very small portions of cool, salty flavors
raw fish, radish, marinated ( rice vinegar with salt and sugar)round corn sushi rice, seaweed of any kind, miso soup,,
(a broth made of tiny shrimp with red or white soy paste (gives it a malty as well as a chicken flavor) served with spring onion and tofu cubes, garlic flavored fried cabbage ravioli, tempura( stir fried shrimp and veggies in a light crispy rice flour batter, green tea ice cream with sweet red beans, unsweetened green tea, sake ( rice wine hot or cold) and beer are typical
Chinese prefer *** ( a deep rounded frying pan) prepared dishes: chop seafood, veggies, all kinds of
meat (lots of pork, chicken and duck) with flavored with spices, mushrooms, mungo bean sprouts, often artificial flavors unfortunately and meat softeners, a sweeter, thicker and darker soy sauce. served in a bowl with bigger chop sticks, sticky unsalted rice and hot red sauce, or dumplings steam cooked in a bamboo basket and a variety of jellies and fruit, jasmine tea...
So maybe not that much in common...:-)

Answer 10

Although sushi is primarily a Japanes style of, well, non-cooking, I have been served both raw and live seafood in China. That's right, not just uncooked but unkilled and still moving.

Because Japan is so small compared to China, the cuisine is not as varied as that of China and involves more seafood. You may feel that the Japanese don't want to mask flavors of the main ingredients with spices but they love to eat many dishes with wasabi (wasabe) and it obliterates everything except its own powerful self. And about that gentle cooking, maybe you haven't had that deep-fried, over-salted fish the Japanese love.

Tofu, of course, originated in China and is just as much a large part of Chinese cuisine as it is of Japanese. The original name, btw, is doufu, pronounced like "dough-fuh" with a very soft "fuh".

It is not an exclusive characteristic of Japanese cuisine to favor unblended dishes. This is a characteristic of most Chinese dishes also. It is not typical for any Chinese restaurant to offer dishes that mix several different vegetables and meat. This is done for "don't give me cooties" Americans who do not like to share dishes. Typically, Chinese groups share each and every dish except their personal bowl of noodles or rice. Also, you may notice that some Jaspanese soups have a large number of ingredients in them, also.

In days of yore, northern Chinese did not eat rice. Amazing but true. Where would they get it? Rice only grows easily in southern and southestern China where it is hot and wet. Wheat is the staple for most northern Chinese in the form of breads, noodles, dumplings (jaozi, pronounced "jowzuh") and stuffed buns (baozi). Nowadays, rice is transported by train to northern China so, just as Mc-D and KFC are infringing everywhere, so is rice.

Dim sum is unheard of in most of China. They don't even know the words since it comes from the minority language of Guangdong Province surrounding Hong Kong. American Chinese immigrants came almost exclusively from Hong Kong-Guangzhou area in the 19th century so that is the style that U.S. people get to eat in Chinese restaurants. And it is pretty much authentic excpet for the limited number of vegetables that are grown in the U.S. and the idea of mixing different veggies and meat into one dish for one person.

Chinese in eastern and southern China do not enthusiastically use seasoning. As a matter of fact, they use only salt, soy sauce, MSG, ginger, sugar and garlic for most dishes. They are so fond of sugar, you can't buy any vinegar in Shanghai that isn't sweetened unless it is made in Sha-anXi Province. You will never find a spice rack in a Chinese supermarket that has more than five containers. Believe me, I've beem looking for several years.

The Sichuanese use heavy spices such as hua jiao and chili peppers and the people of Gansu Province use lots of chili peppers and mountain herbs that you are unlikely to find in the U.S. Neither cuisine features any sweet dishes except pumpkin cakes and lotus bulb. For sweet dishes, stay southeast of the Chang Jiang ("long river", called "Yangtze" by Americans).

Chinese have very little penchant for unusual types of meat. Eighty percent of all meat eaten in China is pork, even considering that 12 percent of the Chinese are Muslim. Special dinners often incude one or two fish dishes but the high cost keeps it off the common man's plate. I am often asked by friends in Australia or the U.S. if I have eaten dog or cat. Never once saw it on a menu although in the northwest, you will sometimes see donkey dumplings offered. In mainland China, there is a saying that the people of Guangdong Province will eat anything that has its back to the sun so that would inlude bow-wow and meow. I have eaten snake skin many times since it is a popular delicacy in the northwest. Cow stomach and congealed duck's blood are commonly added to "hot pot" soup but I don't think that is so unusual. I ate whale mouth once and cicada larvae in Anhui Province but both were very non-typical and only offered by special selection of the host who was trying to make an impression. My Uyghur friend and I sometimes ate sheep's kidney kebabs but Muslims like any part of the sheep and so I went a long with it even though I am not much of a kidney man.