History of the Tasting Menu: Part 5
”How does a cuisine rise in prestige and value?”
This is a question that Dr. Krishnendu Ray posed in our podcast episode about the modern tasting menu. In his book “The Ethnic Restaurateur” he discusses this idea and points to cuisines such as Italian and Japanese and how they were considered “ethnic, poor people’s food” but then gained prestige. In the case of Japanese cuisine, now, not only do Japanese sushi restaurants dominate “best of” lists, but Japanese ingredients and techniques are prevalent in many fine-dining kitchens. And this rise in value is seen through the transition in popularity between sukiyaki and sushi.
The recipe we cooked was from the 1963 edition of The Joy of Cooking.
It included:
🥩 Sukiyaki beef
🧅 Onions in
🫘 Tofu
🌿 Scallions
🥬 Cabbage
🍄 Mushrooms
🍠 Shirataki
🫙 Sauce made with stock, soy sauce, MSG, and mirin
🥚 a raw egg for dipping (“as an authentic detail,” according to the cookbook)