20 Mar 2016

For all of its apparent easiness, Japanese cooking is unknown to most Batswana cooks.

 While some of its dishes may look like nothing more than rice and raw fish artfully arranged,  anyone who has tried it at home can confirm that there is more to Japanese food than the eye which its meets.

As with everything simple about the preparation, every element demands utmost care. 

The Embassy of Japan in Botswana arranged their 3^rd  food demostration and reception  in celebration of the 50 years of Independence in Gaborone  last week.

Welcoming guests,  the Ambassodor  of Japan to Botswana, Masahiro Onish said the event marked  the 50^th anniversary of independence of Botswana as well as that of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Botswana and Japan.

“It is a great honour for me to host this event in this commemorative year. I am pleased that we offer you a opportunity to experience the authentic Japanese food which is cooked by the professional chef of this residence. 

The chef will hold a demonstration in which he showcases how to cook and prepare a few of traditional and popular Japanese food, followed by a hands-on experience by a few volunteers from the audience, under his advice,” he stated.

He said Japanese food was gradually gaining popularity the world over and that in 2013 UNESCO added Japanese food to its intangible cultural heritage list. 

Onish said one of the reasons which made Japanese food popular abroad was the healthiness of its ingredients, many of which consisted of vegetables and seafoods, adding that another appealing factor of the typical Japanese food was delicate and beautiful presentation of dishes made by a skilled chef.

“We have an expression "eat by eyes" and we enjoy not only the taste of food but also arrangement of each dish.  It is unfortunate that today we cannot show you the way it can be presented since we serve food in buffet style. 

 I hope you will once experience the Japanese food presented in a traditional way,” he highlighted. 

Onish also mentioned that Japanese food has strong connection with green tea, which when taken, a person takes a sweet then slowly drowns its, experiencing a uniquely special taste, and challenged the guest to try cooking Japanese food after watching the demonstration.

As food is an important element of culture and it reflects the history of each country, indeed the guest had an opportunity to touch the Japanese culture, with different taste of different dishes. Ends