Yakitori Column
vol 02Chicken Teriyaki Sushi?!
Hi, it's Robert here again. I've thought long and hard about a good follow-on to my first article about the influence of Japanese food in New Zealand ? today's topic is about the influence New Zealand has on Japanese food.
As I mentioned last time, there are all sorts of international foods to choose from when one goes out for a meal in New Zealand; the old favourites being fish and chips and Chinese. But although we think of these meals as being representative of each country, they probably aren't the respective country's traditional food. My mum for example wouldn't dare to make greasy fish and chips at home.
The reason for this, at least in my opinion, is that these restaurants make international food according to the tastes of New Zealand people. New Zealanders prefer the taste of fried rice over more traditional Chinese food such as Yum Cha; they also prefer the easy-to-cook fish and chips over a roast chicken meal which takes two hours to cook.
The same rule applies to Japanese food in New Zealand. Has anyone seen Chicken Teriyaki Sushi in Japan? It is very common in New Zealand and sells well? as does avocado sushi, banana sushi, and sushi with mayonnaise!
To Japanese people, these flavours are probably unheard of, and completely unbelievable. But New Zealand people like avocado, banana and mayonnaise, so they have tried making sushi with those ingredients, and surprisingly, succeeded. I wonder in the future if we could see even more new varieties of sushi, such as fish and chips sushi, or sweet potato sushi?
So, the big question is, can you actually have an authentic meal in a foreign country? I leave you to decide.
