# Why does Japanese Cuisine (seem to) use no tomatoes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 1, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967 "2020-10-01T11:46:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/21 "2020-10-02T23:19:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > It may be a cultural thing-- use of cheese in Asian cuisine is almost nonexistant-- Asians apparently consider fermented dairy products to be disgusting, though they happily eat fermented beans, so go figure. The two exceptions that I know of are Mongolia and Tibet. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/22 "2020-10-02T23:21:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Want Sushi soooo bad right now Ah it’s been so long since I ate sushi. Gonna get me some as soon as the world gets back to normal (if ever) ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/23 "2020-10-02T23:29:47Z")
When I moved to Orange County, CA 13 years ago, my new co-workers took me to an all-Japanese shopping mall (groceries, gifts, magazines, etc.) that had a food court. I’m not much of an adventurous eater and missed my NY staples, so I tried the “Italian Tomato” stall. It was…not the “Italian” food I was expecting or hoping for. It wasn’t just generic like Olive Garden, but oddly bland, though it definitely used tomatoes. Another (Japanese American) co-worker later explained that place was replicating properly what would be served in Japan - and was considered delicious Italian food. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/24 "2020-10-02T23:53:00Z")
Japanese curry, “aged Wagyu steak” (at a chain steakhouse) and Italian food have similarities to their counterparts but did seem oddly bland. But the French pastries and cafe coffee were perfect. And they _really_ know how to elevate chicken skin and (surprisingly) organ meats - which are both sold at distinct types of restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/25 "2020-10-04T00:02:33Z")
What is the counterpart of Japanese curry and aged wagyu steak? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/26 "2020-10-04T00:28:52Z")
Japanese curry is much milder than an average Indian one. It has a distinct, pleasant, not very spicy flavour. I only went to one steak place, a medium priced restaurant which tried to mimic an American steak house. It had an American name, possibly something “corral”. This was not a high end shabu shabu spot. All their steaks were “aged 30 days” but really nothing special. So, any adequate steak. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/27 "2020-10-04T00:35:28Z")
I’m sure you could do better. But you should really be eating (fatty) tuna sashimi plates for every meal. Reasonably priced for $15 at lunch. It spoils you for Canadian sushi because it is a product of quality not really available here, and was bought at the fishmarket that morning. I suspect the Japanese feed what we call “tuna” to their cats. Some Japanese I met who had lived in Canada praised the quality of our salmon and pretty much just ate that. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/28 "2020-10-04T01:27:02Z")
> [@Brayne\_Ded](#): > > AFAIK, tomatoes are not indigenous to Asia, and all the major Asian cuisines omit them. The Indians do use tomatoes in curries nowadays, and tomatoes are available in all Asian countries. > > As for the question about growing tomatoes in Japan, I never saw any when I was there, but they would be grown in greenhouses if they do. The climate is not that suitable, being too wet. The rainy season in June and July has prolonged light rain and high humidity, perfect for making tomato plants rot. It happened to me this year, as we had heavy rain from mid-June and not all that much sun. Apparently tomatoes have been grown in Japan for at least a century and they’ve become popular, just not in traditional recipes. > **[Japanese Momotaro Tomatoes](https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Japanese_Momotaro_Tomatoes_5032.php)** > > Momotaro tomatoes are a small to medium-sized varietal, depending on growing conditions, and average 5 to 7 centimeters in diameter and 170 to 250 grams in weight... [https://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed\_002\_1-125.html](https://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_002_1-125.html) ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/29 "2020-10-04T08:45:28Z")
Tomatoes have been very popular everywhere that they have been introduced. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/30 "2020-10-04T09:51:52Z")
Yeah, well, except, it seems, in Japan. The post before yours indicates that they were introduced a century ago at least but they only have a fringe presence in the average Japanese menu. I am just asking if somebody knows the reason. It seems you don’t accept the premise. Refute it then, please. So, pray tell: where in Japanese Cuisine have tomatoes been “very popular”? ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/31 "2020-10-04T11:15:07Z")
Japenese versions of foreign cuisine, such as Italian. They also turn up in Western-style salads. But, not in traditional Japanese cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/32 "2020-10-04T11:46:50Z")
I had read that in Japan, pizza has squid ink instead of tomato sauce. But when I spent a week in Tokyo, all the pizza I ate had tomato sauce. I live in South Korea. Big juicy tomatoes are a rarity, but little cherry ones are found everywhere, even in the fruit cup a student’s dad bought me. Tomato sauce is on pizza, but not to the degree westerners are used to. It’s a thin smear on the dough. Tomato juice is available, but it’s disgustingly sweet. V8 can be found here if you look really, really hard (or on American military bases). Yesterday I tried to order a Bloody Mary but the bar was out of tomato juice. So yeah, tomatoes are a rare boutique item here. I think they are on Burger King Whoppers, but never really noticed. I’ll do some research in the coming week. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/33 "2020-10-04T13:28:28Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I think they are on Burger King Whoppers, but never really noticed. I’ll do some research in the coming week. You may be interested in [this bit of news](http://www01.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200928000727) from 28 September 2020 then: > Retailers are suffering from a tomato supply shortage, after farmland was damaged by the record-long summer monsoon season and a number of typhoons that hit the country this summer, according to the food industry on Monday. > Local burger chain Lotteria recently posted an announcement on its website and in stores informing customers that it may temporarily stop selling or change ingredients used for burgers that use tomatoes, including the Hanoo Bulgogi Burger, AZ Burger, Wagye Edition II and Hot Crispy Burger. > McDonald’s Korea also put up a similar announcement in some stores that have not been supplied with tomatoes – offering free drinks instead – while Burger King said it will add different vegetables and extra sauce to replace the tomatoes in some stores lacking them, until the supply level comes back up. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/34 "2020-10-06T10:43:12Z")
A local bar here in Cheonan (S. Korea) still uses sliced tomatoes. It’s a pretty expensive burger, though. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/35 "2021-01-01T03:39:57Z")
Until the introduction by the West, there were no tomatos in Japanese cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/36 "2021-01-01T03:44:41Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Until the introduction by the West, there were no tomatos in Japanese cuisine As a general rule of thumb, cultures don’t use things before they have them. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/37 "2021-01-01T04:17:05Z")
Yes, enthusiastically incorporated by Americans. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/38 "2021-01-01T13:40:33Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Until the introduction by the West, there were no tomatos in Japanese cuisine. nor in Italy, nor in Spain. But they seem to have enthusiastically embraced tomatoes. I’d never thought about it before this thread, but I can’t recall ever seeing tomato when I was in Japan. I didn’t eat at “ethnic” restaurants like pizza places or McDonalds, I ate at a wide variety of “Japanese” places, including a lot of street food and attending a pot-luck dinner in someone’s home. In contrast, I saw corn (American maize) pretty often. I bought a barbecued corn-on-the-cob from a street vendor, and saw it for sale pretty often. (“Stuff on sticks” seems pretty common as street food, and the cob was on a stick, like all the other stuff.) I saw corn kernels with the other veggies at a buffet place. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/39 "2021-01-01T14:41:05Z")
This is dated from about the time this thread took a hiatus. > **[Japan: among the world's top three markets - Tomato News](https://www.tomatonews.com/en/japan-among-the-worlds-top-three-markets_2_1188.html)** > > Annual expenditure of JPY 30 billion > > Japan is one of the smallest tomato processing countries. Last season, the Japanese industry processed 23,000... ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967/40 "2021-01-01T15:30:27Z")
If I read the [tomatonews.com](http://tomatonews.com) article linked to in post #39 correctly, very few tomatoes are grown in Japan. Again, supposing that I understand it, if they were to eat sliced tomatoes in their food, more tomatoes would have to be imported into Japan and somehow kept fresh. They do eat tomato products that are imported as sauces, pastas, ketchup, tomato juice, and canned tomatoes. So it appears that Japanese do eat products made from tomatoes, but you’re unlikely to see whole or sliced tomatoes in any dish in Japan. Is what I say correct? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-japanese-cuisine-seem-to-use-no-tomatoes/921967.md?page=3)