Kaiseki
Kaiseki ( Japanese 懐 石 ) refers to a light meal that is served at the Japanese tea ceremony . Today the term is also used for a special style of light menu in a Japanese restaurant. Kaiseki is often served in ryōtei ( 料 亭 ) or kappō ( 割 烹 ) restaurants.
origin
Kaiseki originally meant onjaku ( 温 石 ), a stone warmed over an open fire, which one wrapped in one's clothes to warm oneself. The origin is also traced back to Zen monks who initially pressed a warm stone to the body to suppress the feeling of hunger. Later this was replaced by a light meal.
Another theory is that a poor Zen monk, since he had nothing to eat himself, offered a guest his onjaku instead of food in order to at least give him warmth.
style
Today at Kaiseki, the emphasis is less on the meaning than meal to welcome guests. It is more of a meal to round off the tea ceremony: Cha Kaiseki ( 茶 懐 石 ), German: Tee-Kaiseki.
Kaiseki can also be broadly defined and served as light food. A European-style kaiseki therefore often has little difference to a multi-course, light meal.
The order of the dishes can differ depending on whether it is served at a tea ceremony or on other occasions. A bowl of rice and suimono (clear soup) or misoshiru ( miso soup) are often served at the beginning of a multi-course meal, but can also be left out. The dishes can also be served individually for each person to create a more relaxed atmosphere, instead of taking the portions according to the strict rules of a tea ceremony.
dishes
Kaiseki cuisine was once - in keeping with its Zen origins - strictly vegetarian. Today fish, and occasionally meat, have found their way. If it is not a tea ceremony, sake can also be served.
At Kaiseki only fresh ingredients are used according to the season. They are prepared in such a way that their own taste is emphasized. Particular care is taken in the selection of ingredients. The dishes are carefully served on dishes specially selected to emphasize the character and the seasonal theme of the dish.
The dishes are arranged and garnished almost artistically, often with real leaves and flowers. Edible trimmings are often designed to resemble plants or animals.
The dishes and trimmings are just as important a part of the experience as the food itself. Some would even argue that the aesthetic experience of looking at the food is more important than consuming it.
dishes
Beautiful and seasonal Japanese ceramics or porcelain, urushi or glass can be used. Sometimes freshly split bamboo stalks are used as a container. Usually rice and soup are served in urushi vessels. The vessels are admired during and after eating; Using inappropriate dishes is perceived as embarrassing.
Web links
literature
- Katharina Sommer: Kaiseki - aesthetics for the moment . In: Tokyo with Kyoto . Iwanowski´s travel book publisher, 2010, ISBN 978-3-933041-93-7 , p. 333 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- Chris Rowthorn: Kaiseki . In: Lonely Planet Travel Guide Japan . Lonely Planet, 2014, ISBN 978-3-8297-2313-8 , pp. 843 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- Malte Härtig: Kaiseki - The wisdom of Japanese cuisine, Mairisch-V .: Hamburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-938539-52-1
- Malte Härtig: Simplicity - A cultural-philosophical study of Japanese kaiseki cuisine (Diss. 2015, published: Witten cultural studies, volume 11, Königshausen: Würzburg, 2016, ISBN 978-3-8260-5868-4 )