Comparison Essay
Taiwanese Boxed Meal vs. Japanese Boxed Meal
Taiwanese culture was influenced by Japan during the colonial period. During that time, people from Japan tried to teach Taiwanese the Japanese living styles. Thus, Taiwanese and Japanese cultures have something in common. The boxed meal is one of the most typical examples. Taiwanese boxed meal culture originated from the Japan colonial period, but they are really different in temperate, ingredients, and decoration.
First, temperature plays an important role in the two countries’ boxed meal. Most of the Taiwanese boxed meals are hot or warm because Taiwanese are used to eat hot meals. Taiwanese also like the smell that hot cuisine provides because they think it can make their meal more delicious. Unlike the Taiwanese, Japanese boxed meals are unheated or even cold. This is because the Japanese’s concept is different from the Taiwanese’s. To the Japanese, boxed meals generate nice smell when they are hot. The smells might influence other people, especially on the trains. Thus, they only produce cold boxed meals so that the boxed meals will not generate any smell to interrupt others. This is really special to other cultures. From the sample, we can get the idea that Taiwanese and Japanese show different opinion toward the temperate of boxed meals.
The ingredients of the boxed meal are also different between the two countries. To begin with, Taiwanese boxed meal usually uses various kinds of ingredients to make the meal looks tasty. What’s more, because Taiwanese boxed meals are eaten when they are hot, the ingredients inside usually use freshly cooked dishes like fried vegetable. Taiwanese also like to put braised or fried dishes in the boxed meals because they think these kinds of food taste better with rice in the boxed meals. Compared with the Taiwanese, people in Japan like to make the boxed meals look delicious. However, the ingredients they choose are different. Japanese boxed meals are special. Unlike Taiwanese ones, Japanese boxed meal can be eaten whether the boxed meals are hot or cold. Thus, the ingredients used in the boxed meal shouldn’t rotten easily. Japanese usually mix a little bit of vinegar with rice so that their boxed meal can stay fresh longer. What’s more, Japanese tend to use food with less moisture so that the dishes in the container won’t rotten by germs quickly. From the example above, we can understand that these two cultures use distinct standards to choose the ingredient.
Last but not the least, Taiwanese and Japanese use different ways to decorate the boxed meal. Japanese usually use many side dishes to decorate boxed meals. The amount of the dishes is small, but each cuisine looks distinctive and delicate. Some Japanese housewives even decorate lunch boxes with cartoon characters’ figure for their children, which look beautiful and creative. The reason why Japanese housewives do so is that they want their children to have a great lunchtime. When their children see their favorite character appears in their lunch, they might share the view with their classmates and have a great lunchtime. This is totally different from Taiwan’s society. Taiwanese use different way to decorate their boxed meal. For instance, Taiwanese boxed meal usually uses a large piece of main dish to attract customers’ eyes. However, Taiwanese rarely spend much time to make them look creative and cute. To Taiwanese, boxed meal is a convenient way to have a meal, so it is not necessary to make a super delicate one. Although these two cultures use different way to draw the customers’ attention, we can still get the idea that they are pleasing their guest with their own style.
To conclude, Taiwanese and Japanese boxed meals have similar origin, but they are actually very different in temperate, ingredients, and decoration. These two types of boxed meal use different characteristic to please customers. Taiwanese boxed meals smell good and have large main dishes. Although Japanese boxed meal is not hot, it still tastes good. Next time if you have a chance to try typical Japanese boxed meal, you’ll be surprised by the exquisite cuisine.
Sources
日本主婦的智慧！教你最天然的便當保存技巧(2020). 親子天下. Retrieved from https://www.parenting.com.tw/article/5087833
豐富的日本便當文化與歷史小教室！成為日本母親壓力的手作便當又是怎麼回事？(2021). Japaholic. Retrieved from https://www.japaholic.com/tw/article/detail/873301-豐富的日本便當文化與歷史小教室！成為日本母親壓力的手作便當又是怎麼回事？
日本便當文化(2022). ZENPOP. Retrieved from https://zenpop.jp/en/blog/post/5086/what-is-a-bento-box-zh