At the beginning of the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), the 鎖国 . サコク (closing the country) was repealed by Emperor Meiji, and western ideas and menus were seen as the future of Japan. Among the reforms, the emperor lifted the ban on eating red meat, and promoted Western cuisine, which was seen as the cause of the tallness of Westerners. The transformation of Japanese food is twofold: on the one hand, foreign recipes and techniques are introduced, expanding the palette of tastes of Japanese cuisine; on the other hand, the lifting of the ban on eating meat increases the consumption of meat, milk and bread and leads to a decline in the consumption of rice, the intake of which is supplanted by animal proteins. Recipes imported from the West and neighboring countries have been adapted to local tastes and ingredients. Thus, in Japan, a distinction is made between the 洋食 . ヨウショク and European dishes.
Note that, in the dictionary, the word 洋食 . ヨウショク translates to "Western cuisine" but mainly refers to Western dishes adapted to Japanese tastes. The most accurate translation would therefore be "western-inspired cuisine", which is not quite the same thing. The opening of genuine European restaurants, serving versions more in line with their original recipes, raised awareness of the difference between 洋食 . ヨウショク and European dishes in the 1980s. That’s why the word 西洋料理 . セイヨウリョウリ is the title of this lesson. It denotes very precisely European dishes in Europe and in the West in general.
However, in this course, we will only focus on European dishes that are written using katakana. A course that will be very useful, especially for reading the menus in Japanese restaurants that offer Western dishes. If the translation is not available, at least you won’t be lost. Japanese food will be the subject of another vocabulary lesson in season three.
Let’s start.
バナナスプリット
. the banana split
クレープ
. the crepe
パンケーキ
. the pancake
クロックムッシュ
. the croque-monsieur
クロックマダム
. the croque-madame
ワッフル
. the waffle
サンドイッチ
. the sandwich
ハンバーガー
. the hamburger
ホットドッグ
. the hot dog
フレンチトースト
. the french toast
ポトフ
. the pot-au-feu
ラクレット
. the raclette
タルタルステーキ
. the steak tartare
クラフティ
. the clafoutis
ターティフレット
. the tartiflette
ブッフ・ブルギニョン
. the beef bourguignon / the beef burgundy (from French "boeuf bourguignon")
ラタトゥイユ
. the ratatouille (from French)
アップルパイ
. the apple pie
ストロベリーパイ
. the strawberry pie
キッシュ・ロレーヌ
. the quiche lorraine
ドーナツ
. the donuts
ティラミス
. the tiramisu
バブル・アンド・スクイーク
. the bubble and squeak
パステル・デ・ナタ / パステル・デ・ベレン
. the pastel de nata / the pastel of Bélem (from Portuguese "pastel de nata / pastel de Belem")
パエリア
. the paella
ガスパチョ
. the gazpacho
アイリッシュシチュー
. the irish stew
シェパードパイ
. the shepherd’s pie
サンデーロースト
. the Sunday Roast
ムサカ
. the moussaka
Yet another new vocabulary course that ends. As you will have noticed, there are mainly names of English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian culinary specialties. Some Irish dishes as well and other things. I hope this course has made your mouth water for the future.
It’s time for me to leave you to your homework, to encourage you. Well, you know the routine... For today, I really don’t want to repeat the same refrain to you. You already know the song.
Goodbye.
Introduction